The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-08-29 00:00:00

GOSSIP ON DRESS.

ANY further exaggeration in the height of
chapeaux, or of their trimmings, as at present
arranged in front of the crown, being apparently im-
possible, many modistes in search of novelty now
place the garnitures on the top of a moderately high
crown, or put them at the back, where they attain to
a great height and fall over the top of the crown
towards the front. Nearly all the hats now worn are
made of straw, the most fashionable being those of
yellow straw veiled with yellow tulle to match, and
trimmed with a quantity of bows of moire ribbon,
rising at the back of the hat to the crown, with a few
loops falling over in front.

A sIMILAR model in bronze straw, but with a very
high and narrow crown has a scarf of beige crape or
siik muslin folded round the crown, and ending at the
back under a 1011., plume of feathers, the tips of which
quite conceal the flat top of the crown, and fall over
it a little in front. In these hats the brim in front is
wide and straight, but very short at the back and
turned up a little.

LIGHT-COLOURED straws are those generally pre-
ferred, either in the natural colour or in light beige
ivory, and red shade of beige, and similar colours.
The brim at the back is frequently turned up, like a
curtain, and lined with bronze, brown, or black
velvet; the lining of the front part of the brim
matches this, but the trimming of faille, crêpe,
gauze, &c., is in the same colour as the straw, and
often arranged in bows or loops far back on the top
of the crown. Roses and other flowers are placed in
the same position. Many of the hats are very large,
but more reasonable shapes are beginning to make
their appearance, and as the immensely high or large
hats are only becoming to a few types of face, the
smaller models will be quickly appreciated and
adopted. These new hats of moderate dimensions
are trimmed with a band of faille or velvet round the
crown, and a bouquet of flowers and grasses at the
side; one model, for instance, in yellow straw has a
band of straw-coloured faille ending en the curtain,
or raised brim at the back, in a bow, and a bouquet
on one side, composed of wheatears and velvety
sprays of bindweed, with lilac and mauve blossoms in
a variety of lovely shades.

CAPOTES are still made of every variety of tissue,
from gold network to plaited straw, which may or
may not be intermidglecl with gold or silver. The
prettiest and simplest models are trimmed with bows
of ribbon and small light bunches of flowers tied up
with ribbon. Large heavy masses of flowers are now
rarely seen either on hats or capotes.

THE skill of the tailor is more and more appealed
to for the costumes that are to follow the light
toilettes of hatiste and lace, rendered necessary by
an almost tropical heat. There is an undeniable
charm about these simple, correct, austere-looking
costumes, which are elegant in spite of their austerity,
that will ensure a long continuance of favour to these
productions of English tailors.
•

Tnn skirts of tailor-made costumes are rour.tl and
full, and mounted on silk foundation skirts. The
tunic is an unpretending draped tablier, completed at
the back by a pleated breadth, raised a trifle on one
side, or on both sides, but very full at the waist and
nearly covering the back of the skirt. As to
the bodice, it moulds the bust with the most perfect
accuracy—not a fold, not the shadow of a crease is
to be found in its faultless fit, resembling that of a
habit bodice. It is sometimes fastened straight down
the front with little round buttons put on close
together, in other eases it opens over a waistcoat of
white piqué, or a plaited cheruisette, made of white
or coloured crape, or else of silk in a colour that
offers an agreeable contrast to the dress material.

IT is mainly by the correct lines and perfect fit of
of her tailor-made costume that an elegante may be
recognised; it has neither ornaments nor useless
details to deceive the eye, everything denotes the per-
fection of cut and make that only the best tailor
understands. This quiet, unpretentious accuracy is
evidently the cause of the immense success that
follows tailor-made costumes, for ladies are delighted
at having found a style of dress which cannot be
copied by everyone.

A NEW costume, the Papalin, ranks with tailor-
made dresses for general utility, and is a very practi-
cal model made in dark-hued woollen fabrios, mohair,
and similar materials. The skirt is pleated in wide
pleats and falls straight from the waist. The short-
waisted corset joins the skirt under a waistband of
ottoman or moire ribbon tied in a large bow, with
long ends at the back. The dress is completed by a
Papalin mantelet in the same material as the dress,
cut like a short pelerine, with a pointed hood falling
from the shoulders. Both the mantelet and hood are
lined with silk, but the costume has no other orna-
ments or trimmings to detract from its absolute
simplicity of style..

CANVAS and network fabrics will be warn through-
out the autumn in combination with faille Francaise,
faille Chinoise, and other plain silken materials, and,
although the majority of the dresses are in two colours,
many, and these not the least ladylike and childish,
are in one colour only. A charming toilette in dove-
grey etamine has a plain skirt of &amine pekin, with
horizontal stripes more closely woven, and thickly
embroidered with fine cut-steel beads. The upper
part of the dress! is a draped polonaise of plain eta.
mine with a deep corselet bodice of dove-grey velvet,
ornamented round all its edges with large steel beads
cut in facets. The high velvet collar and the yell et
parements are also bordered with beads. The grey
straw hat worn with this dress is trimmed and lined
with gray velvet, the brim is bordered with steel
beads, and a dove with outspread wings ornaments
the front.

HORIZONTAL stripes in the same colour as the dress
material, or in one or more contrasting hues, are de-
cidedly fashionable. Thus an entirely new model has
a plain full skirt of blue gros grain, with horizontal
bands in two shades of nasturtium colour, a dark,
rich brown in the centre, and dark gold colour on
each side of it. The tunic is of blue vvoolleß network
material, full and draped, but short on the left side,
and terminating in a long pointed end; a similar but
shorter end starts from the right side of the tournure,
and the two are knotted together below the hip on
the right side, the pointed ends being tipped with
yellow and brown tassels. At the back is a long
ifull
drapery of the net. The tight-fitting jacket sof silk
bordered with a coloured band resembling those on
the skirt. It is cut square on the chest, and the right
front crosses over and is fastened- on the left side,
from this point the jacket opens again, showing a full
ehemisette of woollen net cut with the tunic. The
sleeves and neck are trimmed with a coloured band in
the two nasturtium shades.

GREAT discretion will be needed by the wearers of
horizontal stripes; they are becoming to very tall and
4,slender figures, but when adopted by ladies of
medium or of low stature they are apt to give the
appearance of a barrel, an effect which can only be
remedied by the draperies of the tunic falling over
and obliterating the lines in parts, so that they are
nowhere seen their full extent, from the waist to the
edge. - -
'

CROSSITAY stripes are also fashionable, and are
often found in combinations of four or five different
colours, all rather bright in tone but harmoniously
blended. These striped fabrics are never employed
alone, but are made up with plain silk or woollen
materials; the striped fabric is used for the draperies,
and is arranged in several ways, in horizontal, per-
pendicular, and bfas lines. The edge of the skirt,
for instance, is trimmed with horizontal stripes, the
upper part of the corsage and the ornaments in front,
with perpendicular stripes, while tho revers, lining
of the draped tunic, when this is seen, the parements,
&c., are all striped on the bias. There is, however,
no absolute rule with regard to the arrangement of
stripes; the only important point is to vary their
direction so that a harmonious result is produced.

THE mode of white woollen toilettes for seaside wear
will last till late in the season, as long in fact as the
season itself lasts. These dresses are generally very
simply made, with box-pleated skirts and pleated
bodices. The skirt is sometimes untrimmed, but some
elegant models have a band of white open embroidery
between the box-pleats of the skirt, and embroidered
plastrons ornamenting the front and back of the cor-
sage, which has a pleated drapery outlining the plas-
trons. The collar and parements are of white velvet
embroidered with gold.

AN exceptionally pretty toilette is made of fine
cream-coloured serge; the plain skirt is bordered with
a wide band of blue and gold-coloured silk em-
broiaPry in a rich 114naissance pattern. A long
roundod tnnir. is c2therecl in at the waist and tamed
nm-ler at the edge, forming a graduated puff, short at
tht sides and long in front; the back breadth is draped
in loops like a wide sash. The corsage has slightly
rounded points, and is open in front over a pointed
pleated plastron of blue surah ; the fronts bordering
the plastron are embrpidered to correspond with the
skirt, and the parements are also embroidered, but
the collar is of surah, fastened in front with a gold
clasp.

TOILETTES of thinner white materials, for evening
or dinner wear, are combined with some other fabric
in a light pale shade, either pale pink, tea rose, straw,
light citrbn, or an ethereal shade of blue. The acces-
sories to these toilettes are sashes of wide &ami
i ne
ribbon, embroidered or brochiS n serpentine lives with
gold. The ribbons are as wide as scarfs and in soft,
pale colours, and are used as bretelles, in which case
they are folded to reduce their width, as revers, panels,
ex. Narrower ribbons of the same description are
employed as stripes on light materials, and are sewn
on in perpendicular lines on one side only. Bands of
cream etamine, embroidered with silk spots or stars,
are also employed aa_ stripes on plain material, or
alternating with some other fabric.-21Tyra's Journal.

A youth in Orange, who was violently interested in
the story of William Tell, tried a few days ago to
shoot a tin cup from his father's head. At last
accounts the tin cup was as good as ever and the old
man's funeral was largely attended.