"Yester-year"; ten centuries of toilette from the French of A. Robida

Grace, distinction, originality, a supjDle and natural elegance, well-hung skirts, extremely becoming head-dresses, were among the delightful features of that period, and the women of 1830 have a right to a high i)lace among the most charming figures of the past, when we evoke the dead modes of Yester-year.

At a later date, when our poor nineteenth century shall have slijjped into the gulf which it is, alas, already approaching, when the belles of to-day shall have become grandmothers in their turn, when the typical women of our age come to be represented, those of 1830 will be chosen to represent its first, and those of 1890 its second half.

That was an epoch of good taste ; the drawings and paintings of the time, by Devéria, Gavarni and others, bear witness to the graceful toilettes of the ladies from 1825 to 1835, from the second period of the Restoration to the early days of the July Monarchy, during the great renewal of ideas and arts.

Ah ! We have known those women, and they are the most interesting of all to us, theirs are not vague faces summoned xxp from the far past. We have known them as good and charming old ladies, with curls around their faces as of yore ; but the curls are white, the eyes which once were bright and laughing look through spectacles.

After the fall of the Empire, Anglo-mania in dress prevailed for some years, and also a touch of Cossacko-mania ; Paris imported fashions from London, but by degrees this ceased to be the case, and the Mode at length began to invent very pretty styles.

The ' bag '-shaped gown and the sheath gown continued to be worn for a few years, with attempts at bodices, somewliat longer

Hat—1815.

waists, large puffed sleeves, and more or less ugly hats, of the oddest shapes, and great size ; sometimes, indeed, the face was almost completely hidden.

With tranquillity, however, luxury revived. With the return of the Court, and a repose that had not been known for twenty-five years, the salons recovered their former brilliancy, and were no longer little gatherings whereat malcontents, or mere gossips, discussed the last victory or tlie last reverse of the Emperor, as the sole subject of conversation between two rubbers of whist. Let us take up one of the old slides of the great magic-lantern which time passes before us so rapidly, and we shall find the fine ladies of the Restoration, the romantic belles, and the ' lionnes ' of the July Monarchy attired as follows.

The gown is white 'gros de Naples' with yellow flounces at the bottom of the widened skirt, the same trimming is worn on the shoulders in pelerine shape, the sleeves are ' leg-of-mutton '—the latter newly ' out,' and contemporaneous with the 'elephant' and ' imbecile ' sleeves. With this gown is worn a

PARISIENNE i8r_(.

fluted collerette, and a big hat of rice-straw with satin ribbons and nodding feathers. We may

Eveniug-dress : Ilestoration perioil.

also observe fuller skirts, trimmed with gauze pufifs and satin bows, lace flounces and inser-

tion, canezous, tartan skirts, large decorative hats adorned with Lig buncLes of flowers— Mme. Herbault's liats^ worn by all the belles in the chronicles and novels of the period —and loose gloves completely covering the arms.

That lady who is dreamily playing the harp at a fashionable party, whose shoulders are draped in a scarf of striped gauze, wears on her head a large Scotch or Tam-o'-shanter cap (béret) which suits her poetic profile ; on leaving the salon madame will wrap herself up in a cape, or in a fur-lined cloak made with a tippet and a large collar, while monsieur, in a curled toupee, a blue coat Avith brass buttons, and tights, will put on his box-coat.^

For summer wear, for tlie country, for walking, for visits to the Tivoli wizard, there are canezous of Organdy muslin ruched with tulle, and large straw hats with broad upstanding libbons. For the theatre, and for outdoor wear in cold weather there are boas (these 1 Carrick. have recently been revived), which afforded opportunities for many pretty movements, as the serpents of fur were twined about bare shoulders, and also showed off the delicate tints of the complexion.

Hat—1820.

In 1827, in honour of the arrival of the first giraffe at the Jardin des Plantes, all the fashions were ' à la Girafe.'

In 1830, the sole remainder of the giraffe fashion was the large tortoisesbell comb which