9 May 1891 - 'A Servant's Wedding Outfit' by Maude Robinson

I am not certain whether this article is genuinely how Maude Robinson, a servant, budgeted for setting up as a married woman. In the article she refers to herself as Ellen, so it could be one of the GOP's "life advice in form of a short story" pieces.

We have had plenty of good hints in the Girl’s Own Paper for the outfits of girls who need evening dresses and white satin wedding gowns; but so many of the readers are working girls, that perhaps it will not be amiss to explain to them how I managed to get such a comfortable outfit when Richard and I settled down in our cottage home.

When I came to consider what I needed, I found that I had more than £50 in the Post Office Savings Bank.  That seems a great deal for a girl of twenty-six, whose wages have never been more than £16 a year, but I will tell you how I managed.

I always had an idea of saving, since a poor old lady, a cousin of our next door neighbour’s, who came out of the workhouse on visiting days, used to tell me her story.

She had been a very good cook, taking her £20 or £25 a year for many years, until rheumatic fever came, and crippled her poor hands so that she could not even tie her bonnet-strings, or lift her tea-cup for herself.  She had no home to go to, and only £3 or £4 in hand, so that at thirty-five there was nothing before her but the workhouse infirmary for the rest of her life.

“But what did you do with so much money?” I asked her once, for £20 sounded like a fortune to my childish ears.

“I just squandered it away, my dear,” she said sadly, “on pretty clothes, and treats, and excursions, for myself and my friends.  My fellow-servants always praised me for being so open-handed, but not one of them ever comes to see me now.  If ever you go to service, Ellen, be sure and put by a bit for a rainy day,” and her eyes would fill with tears.

I have been fortunate in having no call to spend my savings.  My health has always been good, so that I have had no doctor’s stuff to pay for.  My parents are not old, and father has good, regular work as a gardener, so that I have never needed to help them, though many a useful garment for the little ones have I made with my sewing machine of an evening out of my own clothes, which were no longer fit for use in service, to save my mother’s yees, which are weak, and she has plenty of mending to do without making.

These quiet opportunities for needlework have been a great saving to me.  In each place I have had, I have found time to make all of my clothes except my very best dresses; and having been well drilled in needlework, both at school and at home, it is no trouble to me.

“My places have all been in my native town, so little money has gone for travelling, although I have always gone the summer-trips of our Temperance Society, which is generally to the sea-side thirty miles away. 

I do not mind confessing that another motive for saving has been that I always thought a good outfit was such a nice thing for a girl if she got married, especially since I helped our Miss Ethel make and pack her pretty trousseau when she left us for a new home in the north of England.

Since Richard and I made up our minds, two years ago, I have actually saved nearly £24, by careful repairing and contriving, in order to have plenty to spend when the important time came.

Mistress has always given each of us a black merino dress each Christmas, and I must say that the visitors have been very liberal to me, although I am sure that I have never put myself forward to get their “tips”, as some ill-mannered servants do.

I was not quite thirteen when I first went to service.  I had done well at school, and there were plenty of mouths to feed at home without a great hungry growing girl as I was then.

So mother fitted me out as well as she could, and I started in life as a maid-of-all-work as M Shaw, the greengrocer’s, at the other end of the town, for the small wage of a shilling a week.

My mistress, who had several children, was very strict and particular.  She had been in good service herself, and knew just how things ought to be done.  She as kind, too, in her way, and took pains to teach me my work, and to keep my clothes mended up of an evening.

But it was my master whom I remember with most gratitude.  He was a cheerful, jovial sort of man, and often softened even his fault-finding with a joke.  It was he who put me in the way of the Post Office Savings Bank.

On my thirteenth birthday, my mother, who thought I should be feeling homesick, sent me a little parcel, with some apples and lardy cakes, a pair of woollen gloves, and a sixpenny story-book.  How pleased I was, to be sure!  When Mr Shaw saw me with them he said, with one of his merry twinkles, “You have been a good girl this three months, Nellie, so I think we must give you a book too. You shall come with me and get it after tea, if the missus can spare you for five minutes.”

I thanked him heartily, privately thinking that five minutes was not much to allow for a visit to the bookseller’s.  But when the time came, he led me into the Post Office next door, put down half-a-crown, and before I understood what was being done, an account was opened in the name of Ellen Williams, and the thin, buff-coloured book was handed to me.  I was so pleased, for I knew that father wanted me to begin to save as soon as possible.  The account being opened on my birthday, has made it easy for me to remember to send my book to be made up, as you have to do on each anniversary.

It was not much that I managed to put by in that place, although Mrs Shaw soon raised my wages to two shillings a week, for, like most girls of my age, I grew out of my clothes and wore out my shoes terribly fast; but at the end of two years I had added seven-and-sixpence to my good master’s “nest egg”.

When her eldest daughter left school, Mrs Shaw gave up keeping a servant, and she got me a place with Mrs White, a widow lady with a large family, where I was to have £7 a year.  I was the only servant there too, but no one was idle in that house.  All the family were in business, or at school, but they all lent a hand to the necessary work.  Even the little girls made their own bed before totting off to school, and the young gentlemen were not a bit above blacking their own boots of an evening in the privacy of the scullery, and yet I am sure they were real gentlefolks, both in birth and manners.

When they were fairly started for the day, Mrs White and I were very busy.  She always worked with me, and taught me what I did not know, and to be sure there was plenty for us to do, cooking and cleaning, washing and ironing, mending and making – there seemed no end to it; and yet we always did get through comfortably by Saturday night.

My mistress was a clever, managing woman, and now that I have a home of my own, I am thankful that I had those five years with her, and especially to have learnt her thrifty ways, and tasty, inexpensive cooking.  She gave me a rise each year up to £10, to beyond which her small income did not allow her to go; but I managed in those five years to bring my banking account up to a little over £11.  £3 of this i withdrew, when I was about nineteen, and with my mistress’s approval bought a good lockstitch hand sewing-machine.  She had taught me to use hers, and often had allowed me to do the longer seams of my own garments upon it, so I thought best to buy myself one of the same sort.  I was so proud of that machine when it was new!  It has proved a good friend to me, and must have done miles of stitching in the seven years I have had it.

When I was just twenty, Mrs White decided to take all her family to Australia.  She had relatives in Adelaide, who promised the young people better prospects than they had here, and they were all eager to go.  So my mistress disposed of her furniture, packed her boxes, and started on the long voyage, leaving me very sorrowful at parting from as true a friend.

But she did not forget me among all her business, for before she left she procured for me an excellent place as house and parlour-maid with a cousin of her own, Mrs Leslie, at “The Cedars”.

I had £14 a year from the first, which was liberal of my new mistress, considering that so much was new to me – the waiting at table, the plate and lamp cleaning, and the care of so much handsome furniture.

When I had been there three years, my wages were raised to £16, and then I treated myself to a nice little silver watch, a thing I had long wished for.

When we decided last Easter that we would look to being married in September, we talked over ways and means.  Richard had savings enough to pay for all the main furnishings, and being a carpenter, he made many useful things.

He said if he paid ready money down he should get a good discount – “No hire system for him, making you pay far more than the goods are worth, and having the weekly payments hanging over your head like a nightmare!”

I said I would undertake all the house-linen and crockery for my share, and began, with mother’s help, to make lists of all that I would need.  I did not mean to spend all my savings – “rainy days” may yet come; and if it please God to grant us little ones, the money will come in handy for the extra expenses which they bring.

I had a grand time for getting on with my shopping and work, for my master’s family were away the whole of July and August; and the mistress, knowing what I had in hand, usually gave me leave to go out as much as I liked.

One of my first visits was to my friend, Lizzie Brown, a member of our Bible Class, who supports her invalid mother by dress-making.

I took up a piece of oversewing to help her while we talked.  I told her that I had decided to get two good stuff dresses to begin with, and she said at once, “I tell you what, Nellie, if you can get them soon, I will make them at leisure times, and only charge you five shillings for each of them.  I wish I could afford to make them for nothing, but the lower price is all I can give you by way of a wedding present, for we have had so many extra expenses lately”.

So we settled that I should get a nice grey cashmere for a wedding dress, which would do for Sundays next summer, and a grey bonnet to match.  I have a fancy for bonnets, being tall, and broadly-built hats are not becoming to me.  Lizzie made me the bonnet, and put some bows of narrow pink velvet in it, and made one for the neck of the dress.  This, with grey silk gloves, and the white flowers which our young ladies brought me, made as pretty a set-out as nay bride in my station in life could desire.

For the second dress, which was my Sunday one for the coming winter, I chose a blue serge, which kind Lizzie took the trouble to braid for me, and I bought an excellent cloth ulster for 18s. 6d. at a sale.

I had two very good stuff dresses by me, and four cotton ones; but these were very light, and I thought, through the winter, when drying was bad, I should not want one of them added to the necessary washing every week; so I put them by for summer wear, and bought an every-day dress of old-fashioned brown linsey.  This only cost 10s and I made it myself, with full sleeves and wrist-bands.  There was a loop inside these, and a little button on each shoulder, so that I could fasten them right up when at work, and yet they would come down in a moment for meals, and to answer the door.

I made the skirt short, to avoid getting draggled when I was in and out of the garden feeding the fowls or hanging out the clothes.  I cannot tell you what a comfort that warm substantial dress  has been to me already.

I did not need a good jacket – indeed I Had a very good stock of half-worn clothes to go on with.  A hat I brought last winter only needed a shilling’s worth of ribbon to make it nice for every day, and I got a black fancy straw bonnet, lined it with a piece of velvet which I once had on a hat, and trimmed it with a handsome scarlet and black ribbon, for Richard likes to see something bright and cheerful.

The new things which I needed were the following.

Grey cashmere dress - £1 3s 6d
Grey bonnet – 5s 6d
Serge dress – 17s
Dressmaking – 10s
Linsey dress – 10s
Ulster – 18s 6d
Winter petticoat – 6s
Six nightdresses – 12s 9d
Six combinations – 9s
Two flannel petticoats – 6s
Three flannel vests – 6s
Three flannelette vests – 3s
Four large aprons – 3s
Two pairs of stays – 6s 6d
Six pairs of stocking at 1s 6d – 9s
Twelve handkerchiefs – 5s 9d
One pair of boots – 10s 6d
One pair of shoes – 7s 6d
Bonnet and hat trimming – 4s 3d
Two pairs of gloves – 3s 4d
Collars and necktie – 2x 3d
Cottons, tapes, etc – 8d
Total - £9

My clothes finished, I turned my attention to the house linen, and with the help of my good sewing-machine soon made it all more strongly and neatly than any shop-made things.  We had only two bedrooms to furnish, and I bought two gay-striped Austrian blankets to lay over the beds in winter.

Two pairs of blankets at 15s - £1 10s
One small pair of ditto – 8s 6d
Two Austrian blankets – 15s
Two counterpanes - £1 1s
Four pairs of sheets - £2
Two tablecloths at 10s - £1
Two ditto at 5s – 10s
Twelve pillow cases – 6s 6d
Twelve huckaback towels – 9s
Six Turkish towels – 4s 6d
Four toilet covers at 1s 3d – 5s
Kitchen and pudding clothes – 4s 6d
Window blinds – 2s 6d
Two pairs of white curtains – 10s
Two red tablecloths – 6s 6d
Total - £9 17s 6d

These prices are by no means the cheapest at which the different articles might be had, but I had seen in my places of service how much more satisfactory is the wear of eally good material, so I resolved to buy only such.

Besides these things, I made up many useful odds and ends out of scraps I had by me – iron-holders and dusters out of pieces of print, oven-cloths from the best parts of worn-out working aprons, and a couple of house-flannels from a very thin old petticoat quilted together.

When it came to choosing the crockery, I had two pleasant surprises.  Master and mistress said they must give me something after six years of faithful service, and chose a dinner set.  It is a real beauty, with a brown pattern on a cream-coloured ground, and such a number of plates and dishes.

Then the cook, who is a quiet middle-aged person, insisted on spending 14s on a lovely pink tea-set for me.  I protested that it was far too much, but she only laughed and said she should feel free to come and dink tea out of it very often, as she has no relations in our parts to go to on her Sunday out.

These presents saved me so much that I felt justified in buying what I had longed for, but had felt I ought not to afford, namely, a small mangle and wringer combined, which saves so much work on washing day.

But the tea-set was far too pretty for daily use, so I bought six strong blue cups and saucers, some plates and dishes, a brown earthenware teapot, six different-sized jugs, some basins and pie-dishes, kitchen tins, knives, spoons and forks.  Two sets of bedroom china cost me 15s, and I brought sets of blacking and black-lead brushes, brooms, a good scrubbing brush, some tin candlesticks, and a strong double-burner lamp.

I had little need to spend on ornamental things, for our young ladies gave me some framed pictures, and the little boys a pair of vases; master’s old aunt sent me a plated teapot, and my Bible Class teacher a nice little clock, besides smaller gifts from my relations, and from Richard’s brothers and sisters.

I bought and trimmed a new brown bonnet for my mother, and gave my little twin sisters new pale pink gingham frocks, white sailor hats, and white cotton gloves; and with their long fair hair (which they generally wear in pigtails) all brushed out, they made as pretty a pair of little bridesmaids as you could wish to see, and very proud they were of their office.

After all this, I still had £20 in the Saving Bank, which gives one a very comfortable feeling in looking forward to the future; and I have the satisfaction of knowing that for years to come I shall need next to nothing from Richard’s earnings for my personal needs, and that many of the household goods which I have bought will, with careful using, be comforts all my life.

c. October 1899 / 23 December 1899 - 'The Trousseau of Today' by Dora de Blacquiere

I am unsure of the date of issue of this article, as my volume is missing the front pages. But it is some time late October. Puzzlingly, the body of illustrations of the articles described doesn't appear until a much later issue, on 23 December. Go figure. I have transcribed and scanned everything here for coherency. But anyway, as the title suggests this is an article about what a Nice Young Lady's trousseau should ideally constitute. Miss de Blacquere is cheerfully aware that the purses of the vast majority of her readers will not stretch as far as she proposes. So it's nice to know that fashion articles haven't changed very much.

The amount allowed for the purchase of a trousseau differs with the circumstances of the family and the number of it, and is governed also a good deal by the kindly generous nature of the parents. To some cases where a marriage is in prospect which is remarkably good in a worldly point of view, the parents will probably desire to provide more handsomely than they would otherwise do were the prospects less brilliant. The amount of dress needed will be far more considerable in one case than the other; although the number of dresses may be the same, the style of them will be more expensive.

We will take a family of fair position with comfortable means, the daughter marrying an officer in the army or the navy, or a professional man of good position; and here we shall find that the sum set aside for the bride’s trousseau will will range from 100 pounds to 150, up to 200, the latter being a very usual sum, especially when a girl has no fortune, or very little to take with her to her new home.

The cost of the trousseau of today may be rated rather higher, I think, than it was ten years ago; that is, so far as regards the purchasing power of the amount allowed, which is not so great as it was; or rather, perhaps, I should say that we have advanced in our ideas of what is required and thus dresses cost more than they did formerly. On the other hand we can manage to do with fewer of them; for we unquestionably think it wiser to have less than we did. This rule seems to apply even to the trousseaux of Royal ladies. The number of unmade gowns in them is very large, which shows that the varying moods of fashion are taken into account; and it is evident that there are many materials which can be purchased and laid aside for a time without injury, and also without becoming old-fashioned. But here the commonsense view of the matter steps in and inquires
"Why buy them before you need them, if you are not ‘A Royalty’? In their case we can comprehend the necessity - there are so many people, institutions and nationalities that must be patronised on the occasion of a Royal wedding.”

Well, the true answer seems to be, I am sorry to say in that well-known phrase “Take it while you can get it” - in other words, while people are in the mood for giving. There is also something in the fact of the fixed sum which is laid aside to be spent on the one object. It is best to use it. Perhaps if any of it be laid aside, circumstances may require it elsewhere. Life is uncertain, and the father and the mother alike know human nature, and as it is their own money, and a kind of last gift to their child, they prefer it to be used as it is intended. To avoid having too many made-up things laid by which may grow out of date, it seems better to purchase the materials which may be useful in the future, and which are excepted by ever-varying fashions.

Now, serge, blue and black, is one of these materials, and a little consideration will give us others: white-dotted muslins and other thin materials, if our steps were likely to be turned to India or any other hot climate; or they would be useful even in England if we continued to have the hot summers of the last three years; and more especially if the heat were to extend into August, we would require quite a stock of clothing.

Perhaps, for the sake of argument, it is well to say that our trousseau allowance consists of 200 pounds. Of course there are very many girls who do not get more than half or a quarter of this sum, but still there are certain things that every girl must have and every trousseau must contain, and so one sum is as good as another; for where one girl would be entitled to afford ten guineas for a gown, another would need the same, but would only be entitled to pay five pounds.

Certain fashions obtain in one class which do not in another, it is true; but there are many girls who have to look as well as their richer sisters on half the annual income. This is done at the expense of personal thought and exertion, and of a patient determination which carries all before it. It is done by calculation and attention to the minor details of expenditure, by a knowledge of where to buy, and how to buy in the cheapest market. One girl will look smart and stylish, where another, with far more money, will look dowdy and plain; her gowns will have mysteriously lost their freshness as soon as worn, and nothing will be at its best in her wardrobe.

That mysterious thing what we call style seems to be both a personal attribute and an acquired virtue, as some girls have it by nature, and from their earliest days we know they will look well in whatever they wear - with a touch here, a pull there, and under the magic touch of their deft fingers, the most untoward garments look well. It is also acquired by many observant girls in a suitable environment, and I think it means that they have the initiative faculty strongly developed.

It is a great thing to find out your style and what suits you, and stick to it. Many girls look their best in a coat and skirt, and they appear smart and well set up, while we all know the other girl, who looks and feels untidy and messy and comes unscrewed at her waist. Perhaps really good style consists in an exquisite tidiness, a dainty sweetness and cleanliness which is never forgotten or omitted: bathing and brushing, and a strictness in mending all the tears, and sewing on all the buttons and [illegible because of tear and stain on page] …

The sum we have selected, first, must be divided into two parts; the first hundred pounds must be applied to the dresses of the trousseau, and the second to the underclothes and the numberless other accessories - bonnets and hats, boots and shoes, stockings and gloves, etc. - which go to make up the complete outfit of every woman. So we will begin with what seems to be an ordinary amount of gowns for any girl who is in society and therefore requires a certain amount of going out clothes of one kind or another.

In making a list of the gowns we put down the wedding gown, veil and wreath, the going-away dress, evening gowns and tailor-mades, as for a wedding at any season these will be needed, and if in the winter, a mantle, jacket, or coat, in addition, and probably some furs.

Just at present the wedding gown is almost always made of ivory satin, with a Court train, this latter being so long and ample that it is nearly another dress. Of course, if the bride intends to be presented on her marriage, this is a very wise arrangement, for it will thus answer for two purposes and do for two events. Otherwise, having a Court train strikes me as a clever way of obtaining a second white satin gown, which, if you are to go out much, will be useful. But there is no need of the Court train, and you can have a very handsome wedding gown without it.

It quite depends on your after use of your wedding-gown how much you spend upon it. Thirty-five guineas, if made of the best satin at about 15 shillings a yard, would be a handsome sum; but out of your hundred pounds it would be quite excessive. So I should advise you to look carefully at the satins, and if you can get the rightly-coloured ivory - the true hue of old ivory - in the linen-backed kind, do not take a silk one, as the former will wear quite as well and will look very nearly the same. About 7 shillings or 8 shillings a yard would be enough to give at a really good shop. If you have any old lace, use it for your wedding-gown, at least for the neck and sleeves. The tulle veil and wreath together will cost about 2 pounds and after this you need to consider the shoes and stocking, petticoats and gloves.

What is called the going away gown is, next to the wedding gown, of the most importance in a trousseau, for this reason - that it will be for most women the out-of-door piece de resistance for the summer or winter trousseau. A fair sum should be allowed for it, and it should be carefully chosen. I have seen two this season which have pleased me very much. The first was a summer gown of mauve voile, lined with a slightly darker silk, and trimmed with a flat garniture of white lace with an edging of narrow black velvet. On the skirt there were two rows of this, and the same was on the bodice, which had a white lace vest and revers, and one of the new lace collars that are quite transparent and stiffened by means of whalebones at the sides, back and front. A hat to match this gown was intended to be worn with it, but I should have preferred a black hat as the wearer was fair and the contrast would have been effective. A petticoat was made to match of the same silk, which is just now a very usual thing.

The other gown was what is called a tailor-made. It was of the palest grey cloth, the bodice being also simple, with a front of white satin and lace, and revers of the satin, which were braided with black and white. The hat worn with this was one of those gathered ones of chiffon or tulle in the prettiest pale blue, with a petticoat of the same.

It will be seen that either of these gowns were of a character to be useful afterwards. Perhaps, instead of the blue hat or toque, one might have preferred one of the grey-coloured tulle, or a white one. These two are specimens of what is required in the going away gown of summer and the conditions vary but little in winter, for the cloth may be slightly heavier and some fur may be used. But the gown is a smart and dressy one and, if needful, additional warmth may be procured by means of a cape or mantle: or the gown itself may be cool, and the skirt handsomely fur-trimmed, but suitable for afternoon wear.


As a general rule, three tailor-made gowns would be a fair allowance in such an outfit as this, including, of course, the going away dress, if that were of cloth, and tailor-made.  We must consider the exigencies and requirements of our daily life, and these would demand a knockabout, everyday coat and skirt of a tweed, serge, or homespun, and another slightly better and more dressy, but not so dressy as the one I have mentioned. The tailor-made gowns may be classed as good, better and best, and therefore it is well to look about us and try to find such models for each as we may like. The cost would vary from three guineas, for the everyday one, up to six or even seven, for the best. The tailor you employ would of course make a difference in charge. if extremely fashionable or of a more quiet order.

After the tailor-mades would come the consideration of summer piques, drills, and flannels, with the muslin blouses to wear with them. Most girls have a stock of these already, and there is nothing to prevent them making such additions as will bring them up to the mark. These piques and drill dresses can be purchased at very moderate prices during the sales, and so they need not be considered as expensive. Indeed, most of the girls I know have the skirts and muslin blouses either made at home or done, by some “little dressmaker” to whom they supply patterns and materials. A pique skirt, however, it is better to purchase, unless your little dressmaker can manage the strapped seams, for which there is an obligation at present if we would be in the fashion.

As regards the coats of these white gowns, I do not think we, any of us, find them of great value, and we wear out ten skirts to one coat. Frenchwomen wear them sometimes with black or coloured skirts, and I have noticed that they are worn in this way in England; but if you must have a jacket, or do not know what to do with those you have, I should advise you to have something between an Eton and a Bolero made of them. You can purchase a shape to suit you, and have the transformation carried out by any good dressmaker who works by the day, or who will undertake such small renovations and alterations.

The next important question is, I think, the gown for functions or for dinner parties and small evening reunions; and my experience leads me to say that black satin is the best for these, and that a black satin with three bodices is the most useful. We illustrate two of these made this season for a trousseau. [I will not be scanning and uploading one of these pictures. I inherited this volume from my mother, and her brother drew boobs on it at some point during their childhood.]

The first had a yoke and sleeves of white lace; the second, an evening bodice with a white lace top; the third bodice was in black, and could be worn out of doors. It was trimmed with sequins and chiffon. A good quality of black satin should be selected, and you must be guided as to price, and whether it should be a silk or linen backed one also, by how much you are likely to require it, as a black satin shows wear rather more than a white one. The less trimming on the skirt the better, as trimmings so often mark the date of a gown, and you will be anxious that your trousseau gowns should render you as long service as possible.

So you must be careful only to select designs that are not of an extreme character; and both materials and patterns should be fashionable, but not too “loud”. In this you will need wisdom and if you patronise a good shop they would help you. The extreme of style one year will often become the special fashion of that which follows.

The next gown is one which, while suitable for a dinner at a hotel or restaurant, could also be made suitable for a very smart garden party. It is of white silk and chiffon, with white lace over it. The bodice was a square with transparent lace sleeves. These lace gowns were much worn this year, and I have always thought them perfect epitomes of smartness and beauty. The gown illustrated cost about ten guineas, I believe, but this expense could be lessened in various ways, as the shop was a very fashionable one, and nothing was grudged in its construction as to the material.

The other gown which was prepared for the trousseau, was a white, satin-faced foulard, with a tiny mauve design on it of leaves and spots. This was an afternoon visiting and concert gown, and was not very costly, only about six guineas. It was made with a painted double skirt, and the trimming was tiny gathered ruchings of white silk. In the winter the place of it would be taken by a handsome tailor-made gown of cloth. I think that, taking into consideration the garden parties of summer, the trousseau of the winter would probably be less expensive. But still, if you were wise, something would be laid aside, or some preparation made for the summer gaieties that are sure to follow.

The next thing that I must dwell upon here is the hats and bonnets. The fashions of this present season seem to require a hat or a bonnet for every costume; but, on the other hand, we never had such a year for black hats, and they were quite correct for any costume, so the law was abrogated in its original sternness, which spelt ruin for some moderate allowances. Still, the going away hat or bonnet looks better when not black; and it seems more suitable, too, that it should either match the dress or contrast with it. This year the drawn chiffon hats were so much in vogue that they were often chosen. Otherwise, a white hat is the prettiest possible choice for a youthful bride. The tailor-made travelling gown must be considered in the choice of a hat or bonnet, which would be of a quieter style, and one that would be afterwards the ordinary walking headgear. The bonnet and hats for this trousseau would cost from seven to eight pounds.

In the matter of gloves we are very fortunate, for it seems to be the fashion now to wear white for every toilette. I see some black worn, however, as well as grey and lavender and for the evening Swede are still used. White are to be obtained as low as 1s 11d a pair, and if you are to go to a well known shop they are very good, and can be cleaned two or three times, but they must be kept mended and the buttons sewn on. Of course your evening gloves cost more, but with care they can be made to last. Of gloves you would need - one kind and another - perhaps two dozen; and you should select a supply of all those suitable for the various purposes you may need - riding, driving, cycling, ordinary walking in the country, best, second best and evening, and when you have got them please remember that you must see to their preservation and keeping and find a suitable basket or box and a dry place to keep it in.

Veils, parasols, waterproof, en tout cas, umbrella, pocket handkerchiefs, neck ties, feather boa, and endless small lace additions to dress - all of them cost money. IN fact, one of my recent brides, on going over these last things, declared that her trousseau consisted of sundries; and that, when she added the boots and shoes and stockings, she might as well have 25 pounds at once. This was the girl I have always admired for her straightforward consideration of the subject, as she said that it was the only time in her life she was sure to have all she wanted - a regular outfit - and she meant to have it.

"If I were only one of the boys!" she said. "They always have outfits for somewhere, if not Ashanti, it is India. And just see what they want. Bullock trunks and theodolites; and if the War Office changes a button or a tag, there is a new uniform at once. Oh, you don’t know about boys! Their millinery is so excessive!”

And after this outburst the boys assured me with groans that it was really dreadful.

[That is the end of the October article. Here is the 23 December article, with all the illustrations.]
 

The very best thing for ordinary wear is a tiny kind of Bolero jacket (see Fig.1) made of muslin and lace, which meets with a button or ties in front over the chest, and is long enough to cover the stays to the waist at the back. Fine nainsook for ordinary daywear, and a good strong muslin for best, with a Valenciennes edging round it, and an insertion too if you like to go to the trouble and expense it will occur. With this little addition you will look quite presentable when you go to your dressmaker’s. No one knows what some women look like when they go to be "tried on" at their long-suffering couturiere’s. The French call them cache-corsets, a far better name than ours, and much more descriptive.

The model in Fig.2, with crossover fronts, is a useful one, for if you do not like it as is, you can remodel it into a Bolero, with rounded fronts, by merely standing in front of your glass, and pinning it into shape. In silk, some of these are really beautiful, being made of pink, pale blue, or white, with insertions of lace, and trimmings of pink baby-ribbon. This, however, is also to be seen as an additional ornament to the batiste and cambric ones. In fact, there is no extent of luxury to which you cannot go, in the extravagance of your linen, and I must not omit in this article to illustrate and to tell you all about these beautiful things.

At Fig.3 we find the drawers to match, the upper pair being of white China silk. All are wide at the knee, and cut in the French style, without bands at the waist.

Fig.4 represents three chemises, made of fine flowered batiste, lace-trimmed, with baby ribbon runnings and bows. The designs and trimmings are novel.

Fig.5 shows three more chemises, made of cambric linen, embroidered in flat embroidery and pink silk, with a lace flouncing round the shoulders. Wide lace is mostly used for silk underclothing, and tucks ornament it in great abundance, but not much insertion.

In Fig.6 we find some examples of fine longcloth petticoats, edged with both lace and embroidery.

 


At Fig.7 there are some beautiful flounced and laced skirts, some of these with an upper and under flounce, which makes the effect fuller and more transparent.

"The three nightgowns shown at Fig.8 are severally of nainsook and of silk. The one at the top, on the left, is of white silk, with wide lace, and a narrow insertion; the one below it, of fine nainsook and very fine embroidery, is cut square at the neck. A large proportion of our newest nightgowns of superior quality show a tendency to this style, and are either half-high or low; and in several instances I have seen short sleeves, with a sailor collar, opened in a pointed shape. The third model here is of white silk, with frills of silk, embroidered, and edged with real lace."

Fig.9 shows the very pretty new night-dress cases that are often supplied on the Continent with the night-gowns themselves. A very genteel practice prevails, however, of making them of white satin, of a very large size, and edging them with deep lace. In England these ideal sachets have become a favourite wedding present for those young ladies to make who are clever with their fingers, and do not desire to enter into any great expense.

The small dressing jacket so much used will be seen in Fig.10 where three are shown. They are made of batiste, nainsook, and silk, the latter having a tiny Bolero jacket as an additional ornament. These little jackets are extremely useful, when we do not require a larger covering, and have only to smooth our hair and wash our hands before dressing.

25 March 1899 - 'Frocks for Tomorrow' by the Lady Dressmaker

One of the special colours of the coming season is said to be yellow, but no exact shade is quoted, and so I had better warn my readers and tell them that there are yellows and yellows, and some of them are calculated to make one look – dreadful! I think a lemon yellow is, as a rule, the safest shade of all.

White gowns are in preparation, and, so far as I can see, will be quite as much worn as they were last year by everyone, and really they seem universally becoming.

Black skirts are no longer correct when worn with light coloured blouses. There should always be a repetition of the colour of the skirt in the blouse. For instance, the skirt being of blue cloth, the blouse should repeat the blue, mixed with any other hue you may select.

I do not see any sign of that disappearance of the blouse which has been so often threatened; but I see that the advent of the tight-fitting small coat may render them unnecessary, as the small coats are made in such a dressy style, with fronts of lace, and pretty decorations, so that they take the place of a bodice.

There is also a very decided advance in the popularity of the Princess dress. Indeed, so tight-fitting are the present styles, that we might really just as well adopt it, for we are wearing what is next akin. In evening gowns there is a great liking for it, and a desire to do away with the waist-band that has been worn so long; and as we must be slim and slight this year, if we are to be at all in the fashion, so we shall see that all styles will tend to help this one. What a sad thing for the extremely stout! But I think it is in reality a good thing that some women and men should never allow themselves to become so, for if we think the matter over seriously we shall soon arrive at the conclusion that it spoils our usefulness both to ourselves and to others, and makes our days a burden. So if Dame Fashion steps in to decree against it, we may hail her interposition as a blessing indeed.

The “tunic” drapery is the new note of all the spring skirts, and really so tight-fitting are all of them, that we wonder how we are going to sit down! In Paris this form of trimming has been most popular,  and there the blouse and skirt are arranged so as to look exactly like a polonaise.

The new toques are larger than those of last year, and much wider. They generally should match the colour of the gown with which they are worn. The trimmings are put on both in front and on the left side, and consist of ostrich tips, chou bows, or rosettes. It is said that gold ornaments are to take the place of paste ones in all the hats of next season; and I notice that steel buttons are more used than anything else for gowns and blouses.

FOUR SPRING GOWNS

The edges of so many of the new gowns are cut in scallops that this mode of decoration seems to be quite one of the fashions of the year, and a glance at the drawings for the month shows how extremely short the coats have become. That called “Four Spring Gowns” shows some of the prevailing modes with great accuracy. The figure on the extreme left wears a cloth Princess gown made up with tartan velvet yoke, sleeves, and panels. The colour of the cloth was blue, and the tartan was one of the blue and green ones, with a tiny red line. The front is decorated with embroidery. The next figure wears a velvet or cloth gown of black, with a coat scalloped and braided. The collar is of white silk embroidered with black; hat of velvet, with white silk and white feathers. The third figure wears a gown of sage green cloth, trimmed with a green silk check and bands of green velvet, front of chiffon and white silk. The seated figure wears a plain walking gown of grey cloth; the bodice is a tight-fitting one, with a very short basque; and the whole is edged with rows of machine stitching on the bodice and skirt.

TAILOR-MADE GOWN OF SHEPHERD'S PLAID

There is a great liking this spring for shepherds’ plaid, and it seems likely to be used for gowns and blouses as well as capes. Our sketch shows a tailor-made gown, which is trimmed with black braid, and has one of the shaped flounces on the skirt. The collar is lined with white silk, and there is a front of tucked silk muslin, and a tie and bow of the same. The hat is of a white straw, and is trimmed with white plush, black velvet, and black and white feathers. Veil of white, with black dots.  The second figure for this illustration wears a charming costume of pale grey cloth which shows the manner in which braid is put on and mingled with embroidery. The braid in this case is of white silk; the edges of both coat and epaulettes are scalloped; and the braiding is arranged in a pointed shape on the skirt. The toque is a very pretty one of a grey shade to match the gown; and is of velvet, ornamented with a wreath of green leaves and an arrangement of white wings.

TEA-GOWN FOR A YOUNG LADY

It is sometimes useful to know how to make a tea-gown for a young lady which will be useful and pretty and youthful enough in its style for the years of its wearer. The tea-gown illustrated is of black silk, and is cut very plainly. It opens over a skirt of white satin, with a vest of the same. This last is covered with white net with jet embroidery. There is a flounce of the silk on either side of the front, which is lined with white satin, and the high collar is lined with the same. The lady in out-of-door costume who stands beside her is dressed in a dark blue cashmere or cloth gown, scalloped and trimmed with white braid, a hat of fancy straw, with pink roses and quills.

I have no doubt that many people are wondering whether capes are going to be worn still, and how they will be made; so I must proceed to answer that question now. The new capes are much like the best winter ones have been, cut very round in front and scant as to fullness, rather longer too than they have been worn at the back, and with the same very wide and full flounce surrounding them. There are also some very short ones, but just now it is said to be too soon to speak of capes, or indeed is there much known about purely summer things, though I hear that thin materials will be worn over silk as much as they were last year, and some new materials which combine the thin and the thick together have been brought out; they are woven together making one material. But I do not know whether they will be popular, and most people like the silk undergown and its pleasant rustle. The effort to deprive us of them resulted in failure, and nun’s veiling and all soft linings were pronounced a failure.

Amongst other novelties, there is a new shape of Tam-o’-Shanter, which has a kind of peak added to it in front, rather after the manner of a jockey’s cap. This makes them far more becoming, as well as more serviceable in all weathers, and in every way they look more close fitting than of yore. This new Tam has been worn during the last winter at many of the country meets, accompanied by a long tight-fitting coat. A bright red, a light mauve, and a pretty stone colour have all been seen, and very well and suitable they looked. There has been a universal tendency to wear light-hued cloth this season, and nearly every shade of red and scarlet.

I suppose everyone has seen by the papers that the latest idea at weddings has been to have the wedding breakfast in the train which conveyed the bride and groom, as well as the whole wedding party, to London from the country town which had been the scene of the marriage. This fashion will of course be reserved for millionaires only, but as straws show how the wind blows, at several recent marriages the newly-wedded pair have made their escape from the door of the church and there has been no wedding reception of any kind. So perhaps even our very modified form of wedding entertainment will be reduced still further and end off at the church.

The going-away gown at all the recent smart weddings seems to have been invariably made of cloth: man-colour, petunia, light grey, turquoise blue, dark and light mauve, and heliotrope are all colours that have been seen at recent marriages in good society. The first-named was lined with a shot-blue glace silk and was made with a bodice which had a full vest of cream-coloured lace and revers of dark blue velvet. The dress of petunia cloth had a coat of petunia velvet, slashed with mauve; and as a rule gowns of pale grey are trimmed with grey velvet of a darker shade, with a hat to match. The turquoise blue was an embroidered gown with chenille and silk, and was relieved by cream-coloured lace and a collar. All of these gowns will be useful afterwards, and were none of them too grand for daily life. This is a point that many girls with a limited allowance have to think of, as the going-away gown often has to become the walking and visiting dress of the future days. So it must be chosen with deliberation and care.

I hear that in Paris the popular gown for the early spring for ordinary wear will be black serge; this is made as a coat or Directoire coat bodice, braided or not as is preferred, in fact maybe in any way that seems suitable to everyday use. The best gown as I have said is of some light-hued cloth, and for best summer wear the thin grenadines over silk are most fashi8onable as well as the most useful of dresses. So there is no doubt as to the gowns that will be wanted. The next thing to consider is what are the requirements of our own wardrobes, and what can we do without, alter or purchase for the coming season.