The use of natural flowers for decorating the person is instinctive among
certain peoples, and a question of fashion among others. It is in
Oceanica especially that this taste seems to be nationally developed, and
from the narrative of Cook we know that the Tahitian belles use in their
toilet the perfumed flowers of the pua and tiare (_Carissa grandis_ and
_Gardenia Tahitensis_), whose dazzling whiteness renders still more
marked the ebony blackness of their wealth of hair.
In Europe this custom is traditional in many countries. Women of fashion
scarcely ever appear at a soiree or ball without wearing a camellia or an
exotic orchid on their breast or in their head-dress, and so, too,
gentlemen of "high life" do not go out without a boutonniere of white
violets or Cape jasmine.
But natural flowers, being ephemeral, were once replaced in the toilets
of ladies by artificial ones. The artificial flower industry originated
in China, and from thence passed into Italy and afterward into France. In
course of time people got tired of artificial flowers for decorative
purposes, and then imitation fruits made their appearance, and were worn
in the toilets of dowagers and mothers of families.
Now that fashion, that tyrant born of dressmakers, milliners, and tailors
of renown, obliges us to clothe ourselves according to accepted models,
the kaleidoscope no longer suffices to find the most varied designs and
most fantastic cuts for garbs or ornament.
In recent years pleasing objects have been borrowed from the animal
kingdom, such as small birds and quadrupeds, and insects with brilliant
colors and of strange forms. What formerly would have been a repulsive
object (such as a great longicorn or beetle) is worn with ease by the
belles of our time. The use of such objects of natural history, however,
has been about confined to the decoration of head-dresses or the
manufacture of jewelry.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--DRESS TRIMMINGS OF FRUITS AND SEEDS. 1. Seeds
of _Casuarina_ and fruit of alder. 2. Acorn cup, involcure of beech, and
pod of medick. 3. Fruit of _Eucalyptus_, cups of acorns, Job's tears, and
cones of cypress.]
As the need of creating new models is always making itself felt, one
ingenious manufacturer, Mr. Collin, has turned toward the vegetable
kingdom, and brought out an elegant and original style of dress-trimming
made of certain indigenous and exotic fruits and seeds that no one would
ever have thought of using for such a purpose. Instead of pendants made
of wood and covered with silk or velvet, Mr. Collin uses dry fruits or
seeds, which he has previously dyed, gilded, or silvered.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--DRESS TRIMMINGS OF FRUITS AND SEEDS. 4 and 5.
Fruit of alder. 6. Fruit of _Casuarina_. 7. Fruit of _Arbutus_. 8. Fruit
of _Casuarina_.]
In order that the effect may be good, it is necessary that the objects be
not uniform. Their surface must be naturally carved and hollowed, and the
projecting parts must detach themselves well from each other. The number
of species now used is relatively large, but a selection from these will
inevitably be made. Some patterns will be better liked than others, and
ladies who are to wear these new trimmings this winter will be able to
make their choice of them at the fashion stores. When such articles as
these make their appearance, they often spread with surprising rapidity.
It is now but a few days since the great dressmaker Worth adopted them,
and the linen trade already has them in stock. We recently saw at
Suzange's some linen aprons and collars ornamented with small groups of
fruits and seeds prepared by the Collin process, and which produced a
most pleasing effect. The idea has even occurred to apply these trimmings
to furniture and upholstery.
In the manufacture of these articles the cones of several species of
_Casuarina_, the tags of alder, as well as the naturally carved fruits of
certain _Eloeocarpi_ of India and Australia, were first used; then came
the fruits of the umbelliferous plant, _Oenanthe_, the spiral pods of
_Medicago_, the fruit of the water-caltrops, _Melia_ and _Zizyphus_, the
cups of the acorn, the involucres of the beech, the seeds of _Coix
lacryma_, etc.
The naturalist ought to be glad to see objects that form the base of his
studies taking a direction favorable to the industry of his country.
On another hand, these products themselves cannot fail to arouse the
curiosity of ladies who have the instinct of observation. And, who knows?
Perhaps a frock or mantle trimmed with these vegetable ornaments may
prove a more certain propaganda in favor of botany than the most classic
lessons on this gentle, science!--_La Nature_.
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