STAGE AND FLORAL COSTUME.
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts."
Garrick was one of the first of our English actors to realize how much
the success of a piece depended upon appropriate costume, and, on his
taking the management of Drury Lane Theatre in 1747, at once turned his
attention to this important branch of dramatic art. He refused to
tolerate the absurdity of a heterogeneous mixture of the foreign and
ancient modes, which had hitherto debased tragedies by representing, for
instance, Greek soldiers in full-bottomed wigs, and the King of an
Oriental Nation in trunk hose. The improvement, however, must have been
very gradual, for Garrick is said to have played the part of Macbeth ten
years later in a gold-laced suit of sky blue and scarlet; while Mrs.
Yates as Lady Macbeth appeared in a hooped court petticoat of enormous
dimensions, with tight-fitting pointed bodice and elbow sleeves, and her
powdered hair dressed over a high cushion. Garrick's suits for the
characters of King Lear and Hamlet also followed the fashions of the
18th century, though he played Richard III. in a fancy dress designed
with some regard to correctness of detail. Even during the present
century, an equally absurd anachronism may be recorded. The late Mr.
Charles Mathews made his first appearance in public, at the Theatre
Royal, Richmond, as Richmond in Richard III., wearing the helmet and
jacket of a modern light horse soldier.
[Illustration: A TURKISH MAIDEN.]
The first pantomime or harlequinade was played in England in 1717, and
the earliest illustration of an English harlequin in the dress now
familiar to us, is to be found in a sketch of Bartholomew Fair, dated
1721. Of the characters of columbine, pantaloon, and clown, we have no
contemporary drawings. Of the French ballet dancers of this period there
are some carefully-executed plates in Planche's "Cyclopaedia of Costume."
They are all represented in long, and sometimes in trained skirts. The
first example of the abbreviated ballet skirt, reaching to the knee, is
given in the portrait of an actress personating Le Zephyr, about the
middle of the 18th century. The peasant costume of various nations has
also been adapted to stage purposes with excellent effect.
The late Hon. Lewis Wingfield devoted much time to designing the stage
dresses of the Victorian era, and Madame Alias--who has also passed
away--provided the costumes in Mr. Calvert's revival of Henry VIII., and
was also responsible for dressing many of the Alhambra ballets and the
plays at London and provincial theatres. Madame Bernhardt, Miss Ellen
Terry, Mrs. Langtry, Sir Henry Irving, and the late Sir Augustus Harris
have also brought their influence, money, and taste to bear on correct
stage costume, with the result that we have had many sumptuously-dressed
revivals and new plays, which otherwise might have sunk into oblivion.
Such spectacles as are often to be seen at our leading Metropolitan
theatres and music halls, if they fail to touch the public fancy, mean
absolute and irretrievable ruin to their promoters; and when it is
remembered that many thousands are spent annually in staging theatrical
enterprises, before a single seat is booked, it will at once be seen
what enormous sums must be involved in furthering dramatic interests.
The public, who have for the last sixty years been catered for so
generously, are sometimes apt to overlook the difficulties with which
the scenic artist has to contend.
It would be impossible within the circumscribed limit of a single volume
to minutely describe even the most notable theatrical costumes of the
last half century, but a few of the most effective floral costumes will
be appended for the benefit of those who desire to introduce them into
various entertainments.
The steady patronage of Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family have
done much to remove any prejudices which existed against the drama, and
as a powerful auxiliary to education the stage is rapidly gaining
ground. Dull, indeed, must the theatre-goer be if he leaves without
having assimilated some valuable lesson. To Shakespeare we owe many
ideal types of womanhood, all the more precious now that some of the
weaker sex, in an insatiable desire for progress, sometimes neglect
those lesser arts which in the past proved to them a shield and buckler.
The classical and historical pieces allow us to live again in scenes
which occurred when the world was young, and convince us, though the
tastes of the people were simpler, human nature, with its passions and
aspirations, has changed but little. Who can deny the moral influence of
such plays as "The Sign of the Cross," "Hypatia," "The Daughters of
Babylon," "Virginius," or those of the Robertson school, of which
"Caste" and "Ours" are examples? A love of music is not considered a
marked trait of the English nation, yet have not Italian and comic opera
stimulated a desire for a concord of sweet sounds among all classes of
the community? Such plays as "Patience" and the "Mikado" have developed
our instinct for colour and form, and we are taught the value of
industry and restraint when we watch well-trained actors, capable of
controlling every gesture, and of charming us with their well-modulated
voices. Our lives are cheered by viewing the comic side of things, and
on our clothing and household possessions, the stage has also laid a
refining hand.
FLORAL COSTUMES.
A POPPY.
The bodice and skirt of red accordion, pleated _mousseline de soie_, the
petals of the flower and belt in bright red silk. Large silk poppies
appear on the shoulders and bust, and one of extra size is used for a
head-dress. With this costume neat black shoes and silk stockings should
be worn, and a palm-leaf fan covered with poppies and foliage should be
carried.
[Illustration: A POPPY.]
LILY OF THE VALLEY.
Corsage and skirt of white pleated Valenciennes lace mounted on green
silk. A full berthe of the flowers. White lace hat entirely covered with
these blooms, and fan to correspond.
MOSS ROSE.
Gown of pink satin, veiled with tulle and flecked with rose buds. A
ruche of moss roses at the hem of the skirt and on the bodice. A Dolly
Varden hat trimmed with moss roses and pink ribbon.
WILD ROSE.
Dress of shot pink and white satin, embroidered or painted with clusters
and trails of wild roses and foliage. Skirt edged with full ruche of
pink tulle studded with roses, and corsage trimmed to correspond.
_Coiffure poudre_ dressed with small basket of roses and pink ribbon.
WHITE ROSE.
Gown with Watteau train of white satin edged with leaveless roses,
chains of the same flowers carried across the front of the dress, and
outlining the square-cut bodice, and elbow sleeves. Ruffles of lace. A
wreath of white roses in the powdered hair, and a crook decorated with
flowers and ribbon streamers.
SUMMER ROSES.
Gown of cream-coloured brocade, with design in shaded roses and foliage,
trimmed with garland of roses of different tints embedded in tulle.
Decollete corsage trimmed to correspond, and a damask rose worn in the
hair.
WILD FLOWERS.
Dress of pale blue satin, veiled with green tulle. Trails of
forget-me-nots, poppies, marguerites, buttercups, and grass depending
from the waist-belt to edge of skirt, and bodice trimmed to correspond.
A Leghorn hat garnished with wild flowers, grass, and blue ribbons.
GARDENIA.
Greek dress of white crepe de Chine, embroidered in classical design
with silver. In front diagonal trails of gardenias and their dark
foliage arranged from the right shoulder to left side of dress. The hair
bound with silver bands. A shower bouquet to correspond.
THE SHAMROCK.
Gown of emerald green satin appliqued with velvet shamrocks of a darker
shade. The stomacher a large trefoil in emeralds, and the short sleeves
cut to resemble the Irish emblem. Corsage veiled with green tulle strewn
with tiny shamrocks, and a coronet of the same in the hair.
THE THISTLE.
High dress of eau de nil satin. The skirt edged with a wreath of
thistles, which are also embroidered in a bold design on the front of
gown and bodice. Satin hat trimmed with thistles and ribbon, and black
staff tied with thistles and ribbon streamers.
DANDELION.
Gown of yellow accordion, pleated chiffon finished on the skirt with
trails of flowers from the waist to hem of the skirt, interspersed with
the seed pods commonly known as blow-aways. The bodice of pleated
yellow chiffon with dandelions across the berthe and clusters on the
shoulders. A wreath and aigrette to correspond.
IRIS.
Dress of white satin, veiled with mauve chiffon, flecked with iris
petals. Trails of mauve and white flowers tied with bows of satin in
alternate shades, and carried across the skirt. Square cut corsage to
correspond, and elbow sleeves. A muslin cap trimmed with the same
flowers. Powdered hair.
LILAC.
Gown of cream satin brocaded with mauve and white lilac, Marie
Antoinette, white chiffon fichu, and cap trimmed with clusters of shaded
lilac and foliage. Elbow sleeves with chiffon ruffles. The white satin
fan painted to correspond, and caught by a flower chatelaine. The hair
dressed with the same flowers, and a twisted scarf of mauve and white
chiffon.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Evolution of Fashion, by Florence Mary Gardiner