The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-06-27 00:00:00

GOSSIP ON DRESS.

The Queen has the following this week: Now that
tune is here and the summer fashions have become
nnt, a prophecy, but a fulfilment, it is rather difficult
to see how they differ very saliently from those of
last year. True, in the latest dresses from Paris
there are strange innovations, or, rather, revivals, of
long-past modes—padded paniers, stuffing out the
hips a la Louis XV., and skirts tightly tied round the
knees after the manner affected eight years ago.
Neither of these areparticularly graceful or becoming,
and the fault of most of the new French gowns is
their absence of elegant drapery—a cryiq sin in
modern dress. It is this stiffness of fold and plait in
skirt—this unredeemed tightness of bodice, fit'ing
close, not to the human form divine, but to the dress-
maker's travesty thereof—which render the more
untrammelled grace of tea gowns, and the loose hang-
ing fronts of some few other dresses, so welcome to
the eye. The tea gown now is being transmuted into
a dinner gown in some cases, and on the stage actresses
have gladly welcomed it for its picturesqueness, the
freedom it allows of movement, and the relief it
affords from the stiffness of the conventional frocks
at present in vogue, and which, with their absence of
train, amplitude of tournure, and total want of
" paintableness," hopelessly mar the effect of the stage
picture and of the wearer's movements and acting.
In truth, some actresses carry their appreciation of
the tea gown's availableness too far; and the over-
dressing, which is the fault of the day both on and off
the stage, reaches an excess when a lady appears in a
modern comedy in her own house at 11 a.m. in a
grey velvet and satin embroidered with silver, and
with tulle steel-spangled front and transparent
sleeves. A far prettier and more suitable morning
frock—making allowance for the effective stage ex-
aggeration, which replaces cambric by satin—is the
pretty grey Merveilleux worn by the same lady in an
earlier scene, with its short drapery tied in a bow
behind, its plain skirts, and the telling touch of colour
supplied by a scarlet crape sunshade.

BONNETS have grown ever higher and higher, like
the weeds in the sluggard's garden ' • so, following the
law which rules fashion as well as other human
matters, we may suddenly expect to see them lowered
as by one stroke of an executioner's sword. As it is,
all strings have nearly disappeared, the height of the
bonnet above the brow being found singularly unbe-
coming when combinod with a bow under the chin.
Whether the present mania for transparent headgear
will last is a matter of question. Nervous and old-
fashioned mothers take alarm at it, and predict
either sunstroke or neuralgia to the wearers thereof,
providing as the wind blows hot or cold. That the
shapes of this year's hat are almost universally unbe-
coming is generally allowed, and wise virgins, who
care more for the charm of their appearance than
for mere novelty, cling to the pretty coquettish
little Spanish turbans, which are never old-fashioned,
and eschew the high-crowned aigretted monstrosities,
which nearly always call attention to their own nod-
ding splendours, and not to the face beneath, of
which the headgear should be but the frame. As a
frame, few hats are more becoming to young faces
than the sailor, which, after being unseen among us
for nearly ten years, four years ago suddenly again
sprang into life, as the most sensible, plainest, and
prettiest hat for girls devoted to river or tennis. The
attempt to turn its simplicity into a suitable headgear
for fetes or town wear, by adorning it with ribbons
or flowers, proved, as it deserved to be, an ignominious
failure.

Tim sailor's hat shows its orgin too plainly to be
disguised after such a fashion, and obstinately refused
to look "good form " out of its proper sphere. But
in that sphere it has no rival, and its Renaissance has
acted largely on the whole style of river and tennis
frocks, which have grown steadily prettier and more
sensible. Not only ribbons, furbelows, and laces—let
alone those muslin gowns so dear to the heart of
painters of riverside scenes some few years since; not
only these are now tabooed as unsuitable to boating or
its kindred delights, but women have discovered that
cottons, frocks, &c., on the water lose their freshness
directly, get creased and limp and dejected, and
that for us, as for men, flannel and its kindred stuffs
are the only fit river and tennis wear This discovery
has been followed by a bold raid on masculine posses-
sions in the form of the quaintly and brightly striped
cricketing flannels, and by a certain approximation to
masculine gear in the fashioning of shirt, jacket, and
loosely-tied silk scarf. The skirts of such frocks may
be made as plainly as the wearer will, though women
would do well to remember that the perfectly
unadorned housemaid skirt is becoming to very few,
and that a la-reuse or fishwife tunic, and open jacket
of plain flannel over a striped skirt and shirt, are
prettier than a complete zebra costume, especially
when the stripes of the stuff are rather voyant in
colour or size. The guards' red and blue is more
popular than ever, but to our mind it is too hot for
summer; sea-greens and dull blues are a softer com-
bination—a harmony instead of a contrast, and quite
as serviceable. Bunting is a good deal used for boat-
ing drerses, and has most of the good qualities of
flannel, besides being tougher, lighter, and less liable
to shrink; but it is not so flexible, and does not drape
as softly or gracefully.
COTTON crêpe is more used this year than ever
before, and is now made in many dull shades, that,
together with its wrinkled surface, give it the soft
charm of an Eastern fabric. It has the advantage,
not always possessed by cotton stuffs, of looking wall
made up with silk or even damask or velvet; but lace,
except coarse Greek point, or any trimming distinc-
tively Western in appearance, destroys its beauty at
once. No material is so useful for every day white
dresses, &c., as it need only be washed through and
wrung out, then left till dry and shaken out into
crinkles at its own sweet will, without being ironed or
got up in any way.
* *

THERE is nothing very original in ball dresses,
except that they grow lighter and more diaphanous
every y Gar ; and the distinction between dancing and
dinner gpwns is more clearly marked. Ostrich fea-
thers in plumes and tufts are still the most lovely
of trimmings for those who can afford them, and
artificial flowers seem not to have awakened from
the long sleep, which all those who love beauty in
dress could well wish were their last. From grace-
lessness and want of meaning, these mock blossoms
have few equals, though conventionalised renderings
of nature, such as rich hued velvet and silk foliage
and flowers not imitating but recalling real ones, may
commend themselves to many of us. But this and
other questions present themselves to us in different
lights, according as to whether we see dress as an art
or as a fashion—there is a wide difference between
the two, though, perhaps, they might be combined—
in Utopia or Atlantis.
* *

MANTLES seem to be less worn this summer than
ever, and not at all by young ladies; though, with
the hot dry weather, pretty dust-cloaks, or "dusters,"
as the Americans call them, will, as usual, make
their appearance. The shoulder capes have vanished,
much to most women's relief, and such little visites
at are worn end at the waist; and are drawn in very
close to the figure. Silk gloves are better worn
than they used to be; though in most cases women
who use them would, if questioned in the "Palace of
Truth," own that in wearing them their poverty and
not their will consents. It is a foolish prejudice;
silk is in every way a softer, pleasanter, healthier
covering for the hands than kid; but as we have said
before, with most women, dress is neither an art nor
a science, but a fashion; and fashion long condemned
silk gloves, and only allows them under protest now.

AT the present moment the great world of women
seem in a state of indecision as to a small item of
dress, which is yet one of the most important in its
bearing on the general effect of features and com-
plexion. Be it tucker or cravat, frill or collar, the head-
ing of the neck of the gown is a leading fact to most
women who wish to look well; and nearly every finish
of the kind worn for many years looks just now old.
fashioned or dowdy, while it is very difficult to invent
anything fresh. If men were consulted, their verdict
would almost invariably be in favour of spotless lisse
or muslin frilling, or starched collar and cuffs, on the
ground that they look so clean.* But women know
how trying such adjuncts are to all but the most per-
fect skins and the freshest of youthful countenances,
and they dread this test of youth and untarnished
grace. Certes, we all own that, with tailor-made
frocks, white or cambric collars and cuffs are the
only possible wear; but with more elaborate gowns
we are sorely at a loss to know what to do. The
canvas and gold braid folds have been rightly
eschewed as vulgar ! velvet bands, tightly confining
the neck of the bodice, suit but few, and, together
with black lace scarves, &c., are liable to the crush-
ing masculine comment, "They don't look fresh."
Fashion has condemned the ." Toby" frill—that
sweetest, most graceful and tender setting (when
daintily made of softest muslin or beautiful lace) of
a lovely throat—and it is found difficult to replace its
loss.