Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/780

 WOMAN'S DRESS Conducted by the Editress of " Fashions For All In this important section of Every Woman's Encyclopedia every aspect of dress will be dealt with by practical and experienced writers. The history of dress from earliest times will be told, and practical and useful information will be given in : Home Dressmaking Hoiv to Cut Patterns Methods of Self -measure- metit Colour Contrasts Boots and Shoes Choice How to Keep in Good Condition How to Soften Leather .^ etc. Home Tailoring Representative Fashions Fancy Dress Alteration of Clothes^ etc. Furs Choice How to Preserve, etc. How to Detect Frauds Millinery Lessons in Hat Trimming How to Make a Shape How to Curl Feathers Flowers y Hat-pins, Colours, etc. Gloves Choice Cleaning, etc. Jewellery, etc. PRACTICAL ABVICE ON THE CHOICE OF FUR^ By The Hon. Mrs. FITZROY STEWART Continued front pase 6j6, Part 5 No. 6. LESS EXPENSIVE FURS Some Furs that are within the reach ol Women with Moderate Incomes— Bear, Beaver, Persian Lamb, Broadtail, Skunk, Moleskin, Mink T^HE purse of Fortunatus is a pleasant possession but a rare one, and most of us suffer from a decided shortage of cash. One's sympathies are with the avoage woman, who has her place in the world, a Eretty face, a taste for luxury, and a dismal ick of the one thing needful. Previous articles have shown that to acquire the six precious furs costs hundreds of pounds. But the poorer woman has at her hand some useful substitutes, such as bear, beaver, crimmer, fisher, goat, genet, mink, marten, moleskin, musquash, nutria, Persian lamb, skunk, squirrel, and wolverine. Bear Fur Bear fur is most becoming. Soft, dark fur adds to a woman's beauty, and there is a certain type of face, handsome and hard- featured, that looks its best when softened by what may be termed a ragged fur, such as the best brown bear, skunk, or even goat, whether known as Thibet or Mongolian. Bear fur is in three different colours, brown, black, and white. The brown bear inhabits Russia, the Caucasus, part of Norway, and Upper Hungary. Its fur is thick, long, and glossy, heavy in weight, but of mimense durabiUty. Cub skins are highly prized on account of their softness and lire texture, but their small size makes the skins more expensive. A good bear skin costs lo, and one of the best quality might be /15. A stole of the best fur is worth about 2i6, and a muff about l^j. But at one furrier's I saw a big muf^, like a soft, black pillow, made of two cub skins of great beauty. This muff was priced at /12. Types of Bear and Beaver If the fur were not of such good quality, a small stole might be £^ and a muff £'i. Brown bear varies in colour from almost black to fawn and cinnamon. The lighter shade of cinnamon, known as Isabella bear, is expensive, but seems now out of favour. A good skin costs l$, and one of these, mounted on fawn cloth, makes a handsome carriage rug, worth about ;^i8. Black bears come from Canada, and quite 25,000 skins are annually supplied by British North America. They are nearly black in their natural state, but are dyed to make the colour more uniform. This fur is also thick and glossy, but has a certain harshness. A good many skins are bought for military purposes, and are used for the headgear of Guardsmen in the British Army. Black bears are large in size, so one skin