Hide Article Text (OCR)
HER SECOND MARRIAGE.WHAT FASHION PRESCRIBES FOR A WIDOW’S BRIDAL GOWN.A Revolution in Etiquette Whicb Permits White Silk end Orange Bloomsto a Widow Who Stands before thealtar for tbe Second Ttme.(CopyrtflM 1889.)New York, Fib. 16 — A chance comes 0r tbe spirit of our dreams. There’s nothing short of a revolution in progress in the etiquette of second marriage.Toe color grey. It is against its deadly einc tones that the arms of the rebels aredirected.powerful has it been to avenge the spin-,trr on the pretty widow who dared to lead , fresh captive in chains.I'd wager three yards of pearl gray silk that more than one bridegroom has felt the love glamour fading into the common light of every day before the subdued tones, the decorous, reminiscent festivities of a second marriage. The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the wedding feast. I’d wager three yards again that Hamlet’s mother stood up with the \yickod uncle iu a pearl gray gown frightfully trying to her Complexion, and that had as he was he repented the murder when he looked on her. phe bad no bridesmaids, of course. There were no orange blossoms, and she hid Per blushes under no maiden veil. She still wore the ring of her first marriago, and when they came to the proper point in the second ceremony his fingers touched it, reminding him of ghosts as ho slipped another just like it to be its mate on the same finger. She wore a l onnet probably nnd thoroughly correct cuffs and collar. It’s possible that she avoided comparisons with the gayeties of her first wedding by eschewing distinctly bridal robes altogether, and gowning herself from head to foot in traveling costume. Unless she had the genius to seek this refuge she w as all in half tones, not sorrowful, hut as if, having emerged from grief, she'wa3 yet unable again to taste joy. All very well for Hamlet’s mother, but hard on younger ar,d more exemplary widows.In these da\s of Chicago divorce such as a dress conspiracy against remarriage— suggesting tbe tacit alliance of Dame Fashion, th6 manners book and the unmated damsel to serve the last named first in case the men would not go round—could not be expected to hold. The pretty widow has rallied her forces. She seizes boldly on white, the accepted marriage color, and she carries the day. VVbite velvet was her first venture. She got that far last spring. Tho earth did not open and swallow her, and one after another she conquers white brocade, white satin, white silk this winter.She goes farther. If she be young enough and pretty enough she claims as her privilege the crown of bridal blossoms, the train of maidens and—yes, something not unlike the wedding veil. It Is by delicate gradations, by subtleties only, that you would know the altar had seen her in front of it before.As regards the orange blooms she is not without some show ol precedent in her favor. In England the bride who is a bride for the second time may not wear the myrtle or the orange. But we are not so English as we were. In most parts of Germany it is the virgin only who tw ists them in her hair. But there’ are many German and Swiss districts where a widow if not too old a one, though she would not deck herself with either flower separately, weaves a wreath of tbe two of them and puts it on withastnile. French widows never allow themselves on a second occasion the long trail of orange blossoms falling on the shoulder and catching up the veil, but society concedes them just a wee tuft of the flowers, modest in size and unassuming, but enough to assert the right to assume the marriage emblem. It is the French rule which is beginning to find followers here. A woman marrying the second or a third or fourth husband, if she wears flowers at all, is likely to content herself with a knot of white roses. But if she choose to tuck a spray of orange flowers into the tangle of her fluffy curls there may be those who will call it a trifle audacious, but there can be none who will not admit she has had abundant precedent in three or four of the prettiest weddings of the season. Lilies of the valley, the other wedding flower, have been sseu ou at least one occasion.The veilitbelf is becoming almost a debatable issue. Tho voluminous folds of lace come down from the days wheD the frionds of the maid held yards upon yards of something thicker than gauze above her head to conceal her embarrassment. No widow I, as ever taken off the crape to put on the tulle, at least the tulle worn over the face a fa Juive. There is nevertheless a form of bridal scarf, recalling the veil, which bids fair to become a part of tho regalia of tbe second marriage. As worn a week ago by a handsome blonde of 28, not a widow, but dressing for the ceremony much as if she were, in view of the fact that her husband-elect had twice become a widower, this scarf was of costly lace, three yards and a quarter or thereabouts in length, and so arranged that one end formed a loose rosette among the soft curls above the forehead, lervlng as a neat for a sprig of orange bios-«■ ms to lie in. From this point the lace was drawn backward, not touching the face but drooping over the hair and shoulders and allowed to mix with the draperies of the K’wn. It is a point scored for the widow, who usually appreciates her good points, that tiiis so-called bridal scarf is much morefraceful than the average wedding veil, ace is not always the material. Illusion tuile is even prettier. Attached to the coronet of the hair, it is held in place by fl wers or jeweled 'pins and then permitted to fall free In this form the veil or scarf is from one-third to a half the width of the regulation article, sometimes even narrower. Sometimes it reaches to tho hem of the trailing gown, sometimes it is much shorter. It tends to resemble the court veil of Continental full dress, hut It is too new an add! b n to the second marriage toilet to have attained any specific shape or rules for wear-big As yet it is limited by one restriction only; it is an ornament for the back of the head, it muat not ape virginity and cover '’imtenanca.»vhen ona comes to the question of dress one is at once confronted by the que-tion of *8'' The fashions of tbe fifties are not as the fashions of the twenties. Pale lilac or Fray are the colors now in favor for the mess of a middle agod or elderly womau marrying for the second time. For th e younger woman nothing Is forbidden ex-'“pt black. The dictum of Mrs. Grundy in the |iast has been emphatic, a widow who remarries must not wear white. Latterly punctilious dame has liberalised her rr»ed thus far; a widow who remarries may wl*lte but light colors are not forbidden her, closely approaching the vir-Rirnal hue. Pearl gray baa been tba usual close approach and pearl gray haa produced an insurrection. This winter Mrs. Grundy takes her final stand; white silk richly trim; thed with laee is a pita suitable for a youthful bride at a second marriage as also for a j youtbful-looking bride of middle age. Thin I stuffs, however,are not permissible. A widow | may put on any heavy dignified lo king, white fabric, but crepe de chine, etamine, gauze, veiling, etc.. are not for her wear. Here is Dame Grundy’s last ditch and no attempt has yet been made by the widows’ brigade to force her to die in it. Dignified looking fabric it is, and here accordingly is the bridal toilet of a dear woman whose first marriago brought her grief e-iough to make one wish that the second may tie a joyful contrast. She is 25, slender, olive-skinned.Princess robe of heavy white velvet edged with ostrich feather trimming. Little princess bonnet of velvet and feathers. Mask veil of gauze. Bouquet of white roses and gardenias.A dressmaker who has gowned many wealthy brides gives me a resume of the toilets of widows who have remarried within the past two months. White silk skirt with front veiled with fine plaited gauze. This for a slight woman of 30 who looked younger by several years. 8h re empire bodice of moire antique opening in a V at the neck, the opening veiled bv gauze crossed on the bosom and having its ends tucked under a broad folded moire sash knotted at the left side. Train of moire. Tuft of orange flowers in tho hair. 8carf of gauze falling from hair behind.Rich white brocade, with trimmings of rare old lace. This for a handsome widow, of plump figure, of 33 or 34. White broadcloth edged with otter fur; white bonnet trimmed with fold of the same soft brown. This for a girlish widow of not more than 22. Milkwbitesatin made with plain basque bodice finished at tho neck with j shot of lace, in which are tucked three or four orange buds and flowers. This for a stately matron, of nearly 40, who carries her years well. Em-ire gown of white China crepe, with em-roidery and fringe like that on an old-fashioned crepe shawl. White corded silk with front of net wrought with little rosebuds; a gauze scarf puffed over a small wreath of rosebuds aud drooping from the hair—this last for a pretty bruneof perhaps 31.White Liberty silk exquisitely in the shortwsisted Empire style. From under the .’folded sash hung scant clinging draperies of white gauze embroidered, not heavily with a Greek fret in gold thread ah ut the bottom. This bride wore a half wreath of very fine white flowers, with a scarf of gauze embroidered like the draperies across the bottom. An innovation a'lmost without precedent was the attendance of two bride,maids, who wore, like the widow bride, white silk but without the gauze drapery. Truly it is hard to get ahead of a widow at any time.WHITE SII.K AKD BROCADE.A traveling dress as a costume for a second marriage saves too many embarrassments as to questions of toilet to fall out of favor these many years. A widow who remar-ries wears or does not wear, as she chooses, her first wedding ring at the second ceremony. Two or three years ago ahe usually retained it. Now she oftener takes it off. The easiest way to get married a second time is nowadays esteemed to be to get some intimate friend to give you a reception. This friend then sends out cards for an ‘At Horae, and with her card she encloses, without any form of wedding invitation, the cards of prospective bride and groom. Tbe bride’s card for such an occasion never reads “Mrs. George Brown,” supposing that Brown was her first husband; but always, supposing her maiden name to have been Amelia Jenkins. “Mrs. Amelia Jenkins Brown.” If tbe wedding is at home and the invitations are sent out by her father and mother this rule as to the retention of the maiden name is still imperat ive.
Newspaper Details
Savannah Morning News
Savannah, Georgia, US
Mon, Feb 18, 1889
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
DC, USA 06 Nov 2023
Other Publications Near Savannah, Georgia
Savannah Georgian Georgian
Savannah Supplement to the Republican
Savannah Republican and Savannah Evening Ledger
Savannah National Republican Supplement
Savannah National Republican
