Miss Decima Moore at the Theatre 1908

Theatre Press Release 13 October 1908
Miss Decima Moore, the well-known actress, and her company have been attracting good houses during the week to the presentation of “The Truth,” a comedy in four acts by Clyde Fitch.  We know that according to classical authority “the play’s the thing,” but there is not much doubt that Miss Decima Moore was a much more powerful attraction than the play itself.  A talented actress, with a handsome presence, and endowed with all those little charms and graces which make an actress popular to every class of playgoer, Miss Decima Moore delighted all who saw her.  Her acting as Beeky Warder had that naturalness which is so difficult of attainment and she had the sympathy of the audience throughout.  The company was a very strong one.  Mr. Robert Minster as Tom Warder, Mr. Hugh Ardall as Fred Lincoln, Miss Maud Lindon, Miss Kitty Lofting and Miss Lillie Graham being conspicuously good throughout.

Miss Decima Moore’s dresses were unusually striking, and we therefore venture to give a description of the principal costumes she wore.

In Act 1 she wore a charming gown just reaching the ground, of hand-drawn pale blue soft silk, made by the nuns at Las Palmas, which she bought on her way back from the West Coast of Africa, and was converted into a charming Empire dress, ornamented with large mosaic buttons.  She wore with it a soft grey African feather stole and muff, set off by the introduction of blue velvet, and a charming hat of white with a grey rim, mounted with grey and blue feathers, and large bunches of toned blue grapes and silver leaves.

In Act two Miss Decima Moore wore a clinging gown of the softest flowered crepe-de-chine, of the new “sea foam” green, draped in soft folds from the short waist to the shoulders, fastened there by flowered buttons over a soft vest and sleeves of white tucked and hand-embroidered chiffon, the high waist at the back being finished off by a handsome old French paste “Fleur-de-lys” buckle.

In Act three there is a charming novelty in a Liberty-Paisley shawl Empire Mantlette fastened by a handsome silver clasp.  The ends of the shawl are finished off by a Paisley fringe, which shows up charmingly against the white strip dress cloth, worked in cunning design on the Valenciennes lace.

Note:
Valenciennes lace is a type of bobbin lace which originated in Valenciennes, in the Nord département of France, and flourished from about 1705 to 1780. Later production moved to Belgium, in and around Ypres. The industry continued onto the 19th century on a diminished scale. By the 19th century Valenciennes lace could be made by machine

Source: IW Observer & RSHG Archive
Images: Ann Barrett Postcards
Article: Ann Barrett