Henrietta, Queen of Charles I., is accredited with the introduction of female labour for clothing the outer woman, and from her day mantle-making ranked among female occupations. But the tailor still ruled supreme, and though the sex of the milliner was the more sympathetic, it was left to the next century to popularise feminine services. The farthingale extended its circumference in the reign of James I., when much effort was taken to suppress it, for the King declared it occupied more room at his court than he himself. The ruff flourished, but less obtrusively than in the preceding reigns, and in its place was adopted what was known as a fall, a loose band overhanging the top of a wide collar starched and frilled at the base--a fancy some merry writer of the period noted with the epigram: A question 'tis why women wear a fall? The truth on't is, to pride they're given all, And pride, the proverb says, will have a fall. With the farthingale were worn long sleeves, lace coifs, and fluted basques, and stomachers; and later the long sleeves were replaced by those reaching the elbow, made in puffs tied with bows or tightly fitting and bordered with frills. Beneath the panier of the full skirt, which was trimmed with many bands of gold and embroidery, appeared a frilled apron, and the bodices were high at the back, and cut square in front, and over the shoulders was worn a scarf. Muffs were indispensable, and heads were decorated in monstrous disproportion. [Illustration: A FULL APRON.] The kings' favourites in France influenced dress by their caprices, which made to some extent for beauty, not conspicuously evident when the _fontanges_ head-decoration was in vogue. This was a polyglot erection which owed its birth to the fact that the famous beauty, losing her hat one day in the hunting-field, tied her hair with her garter. The _fontanges_ extended its glories to a framework of wire half a yard in height, which was divided into several tiers, each being covered with a different material; ribbon, chenille, pearls, flowers, and muslin were all brought into service, and beneath these a cluster of curls fell on the forehead. Each tier might take a different name, and amongst these, duke, cabbage, cat, organ-pipe, and mouse were chosen with as much rhyme as reason. But the christening of fashions was a common habit, and when Paris was reduced to misery by the Ligue, and depression was written large upon the dress, which, cut square and heavy in style, bore about it a suggestiveness of architecture, colours were distinguished by such quaint names as "Dying Monkey," "The Sick Spaniard," etc. Like the girl in some comic opera, "I wonder why?"