Page:Costume, fanciful, historical, and theatrical (1906).djvu/84

48 silk, or wrought with pearls, and fur was a decoration beloved of both sexes.

Fur adorns the short over-sleeve of the coat sketched on page 52; and the wearer, it would seem, had infinitely better fortune in the selection of his vest and soft shirt than in his mushroom hat, which, made of cloth and stitched, could not have failed to be at least trying to the most perfect beauty.

Trains extended themselves when the waists of the bodices grew shorter, and the dresses were gathered in front, pleats falling from the bust or just below the short waist. The girdles appeared just below the armpits, and the sleeves were so long that they had to be turned back from the wrists, the scolloped border appearing on those which were wide and wing-shaped.

In France and England splendour followed upon splendour; even the prayer-books did not escape the general craze for elaboration and decoration, their covers being emblazoned with jewels and silken embroidery. Jewels glittered round every fair neck and on every fair head; and all heads were fair, assisted by art when nature denied such grace.

The hair and the train were the conspicuous points of magnificence, and fashion, playing the game of heads and tails, allowed them both to win her best attention.