The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-01-10 00:00:00

GOSSIP ON DRESS.

IN an articles headed "Fashions for January," -TAI
Pollet says : The new year will, we trust, bring many
blessings to our readers, as well as the pleasures
usually attendant on its arrival. That it will be pro-
ductive of several novelties as far as la mode goes we
can vouch; some of these are bond fide "new
fashions," others the return of les modes pasees ; but
so 4Loroughly passees, as to well illustrate the old
proverb, "there is nothing so new as that which is
forgotten." Among the most fashionable new modes
is the introduction of the Roumanian embroideries on
materials produced in that country. This novelty is
welcome from all points of view; the blending of
colours is most artistic, and the designs effective and
original, while the fabrics themselves leave nothing
to be desired in the way of drapery. Above all, the
adoption of this fashion will give invaluable as-
sistance to the poor women of Roumania, who sadly
need it; a noble cause their good and accomplished
Queen has closely at heart, and which has been
warmly taken up by several grandes dames in France
and England. The price of these embroideries is so
reasonable as to leave no muse for the vulgarity of
wearing imitations; and the blending of colours with
minute spangles of gold and silver is wonderfully
becoming and effective. Having given the foregoing
as a specimen of a real novelty, we give as an illus-
tration of the return to favour of some old friends—
so long demodees as to appear novelties—the cache-
mire shawls, whose reappearance in the realms of
fashion we have two or three times informed our
readers must be the case before long. Two or three
beautiful and very valuable Indian cachemires have
been seen at high-class weddings lately; and on all
these occasions they were worn loosely round the
shoulders, the point at the back of the skirt. Cache-
mire shawls in the winter naturally lead to those of
lace in the summer—a fashion suitable to married
ladies only. These will be glad of the news in time
to prevent valuable shawls being cut up for tunics,
which has lately been the fate of many. While on
the subject of lace, there is another " revival " to be
mentioned, creating quite a furore at the present
moment, and certainly one of the most becoming
modes ever created, this is the low silk or satin cor-
sage under a high one of black lace. The low bodice
has short sleeves, aid is round on the shoulders; the
straight lines of a square low bodice would have an
ungraceful effect under the transparent lace. The
low silk, or satin, bodice matches in colour with the
under skirt; with a high under bodice, on the con-
trary, this may be of some bright colour, though in-
tended to accompany a black skirt.

A VERY great improvement in the shape of low
bodices is manifest in some of those made by the
leading Court dressmakers ; the neck is cut so as to
show the round of the shoulders, and considering a
gracefully formed shoulder is one of the greatest
beauties a woman can possess, our readers will allow
it is quite time this change took place; the strap
across the shoulder (which did duty as a sleeve), con-
cealed the curve of the shoulder, and showed the full
length of the arm, a display not becoming to one
woman in a hundred. Intelligent readers will not
need to be told that thin or ungracefully formed
shoulders are totally unsuited to the shape just des-
cribed. White is immensely worn for ball dress—
satin, lace, clouds of tulle, flowers, feathers, em-
broideries, beads, chenille, &c., being used in their
composition. Many, or most, of the white dresses
are trimmed with colour, heliotrope, mauve, citron,
chartreuse, and pink being especially liked for the
purpose. Bunches of pink marabout, or ostrich
feathers, make a most fairy like garniture
for a white dress; these feathers are some-
times tied sap in large bunches with ribbons of a
contrasting colour, such as chartreuse, or pale
"Eau de Nil." The white tulles and gauzes with
spots or figures, such as rings of chenille, either white
or coloured, are much liked for young ladies' dresses;
they are often accompanied by satin or velvet bodies
of the colour of the designs on the skirt ; but this is
considered more suitable for older women, or young
matrons. Gold and silver spots, or spangles, are also
reappearing—an old and very effective fashion re-
vived. Beads scattered over the tulle are also much
admired; one worn lately had small hoops of pearl
beads pendant all over the draperies of the skirt. The
bodice was of white man with a fringe of pearls
round the pointed basque, and a shaped berthe of
the same. This was intended for a blonde; for her
sister, with darker hair, the pearl fringes were re-
placed by those of gold bullion, and the skirt
trimmed with small hanging gold balls. Next to
white, pink is the favourite hue for ball dresses,
and of this beautiful colour there are some shades
of blush and shell pink that are exceptionally
lovely and becoming. The "sprinkled tulles," as
they are called, whether the ornaments are gold
and silver beads, chenille or little tufts of silk, are
by no means confined to light colours, nor are the
spots, &c., necessarily of the same colour as the tulle
itself. Gold and silver spots on pink or blue are
worn, but they are likely to be common rapidly, as
they will be imitated in cheap tarlatans. Gold and
silver embroidered figures on tulles and ga-zes are,
however, too expensive for the million; thistles and
small ferns are the favourite designs for these. Some
of these embroideries have a few small leaves in
brcnze added, which throw up the gold and add
greatly to its effect. Floral fringes, sprays trails,
and single flowers are used in profusion, not only on
tulle and lace dresses, but on swing and brocades for
evening wear. The moulds d velvet flowers and leaves
appliqued on net and fastened on silk, satin, or tulle,
are the ne plus ultra of recherché elegance; some
crimson rose-buds and leaves, on primrose satin, lately
shown us, were exquisitely natural.

Tim petticoats of transparent evening dresses are of
satin or silk, and are very often bordered with a rich
frayed or pinked out ruche of the same; this keeps
out the skirts and prevents the over-skirts of tulle
clinging too closely to it. Satin ribbons are much
worn as trimmings to young girls' dresses, and are
placed in horizontal rows round skirts, tunics, or
flounces; on tunies and tabliers they are also arranged
in diagonal lines; while need for loops, edging, tunics,
basques, &c., they are particularly effective. Bodices
of satin or velvet are very fashionably worn with
clifferent skirts for evening wear; velvet is no longer
confined to the darker shades for this purpose; pink,
pale blue, turquoise especially, and other light colours
are now seen. Kid bodices have again made their
appearance; they require not only such perfect making
and shaping, but such beautiful figures to do them
justice, there is no prospect of their becoming generally
worn, as they display the least defect in the figure of
the wearer.

Tun following from the Queen on ball and dinner
iresses will also be acceptable to our fair readers:
At the present season when country houses are full
for the county balls, a good deal of attention is
turned to ball gowns and to dinner and evening toi-
lettes. Some of the white ball gowns are quite fairy-
like in appearance, and two are worthy of detailed
notice. One had two tabliers composed of a network
of small crystal beads, the first being long to the right
side, and the other shorter to the left, caught up with
quantities of satin loops, finished off with crystal and
pearl balls. The front of the skirt was of bouillonS
satin, ending in a full plaiting of tulle, with loops and
balls of crystal and pearls scattered lightly over; the
train of satin, draped very simply, and the bodice of
white elastic cloth, edged with several rows of crystal
beads, and short sleeves of the pearl and crystal net-
work.

Tun second dress had a tablier of white satin, with
slanting lines of silver-lined beads and pearls as inser-
tion, drawn to one side, looped with ribbon, edged
with festoons of pearls, and falling on to a very full
ruche of white tulle, powdered with tassels of pearls.
The back was composed of three deep gathered
flounces of while tulle, reaching to the waist, with fine
kiltings on each. The pointed satin bodice was laced
up the back, had a soft tulle fichu, a plastron of pearls,
and sleeves of satin and inserted pearl embroidery.
Another dress of an exquisite shade of mauve tulle had
the front arranged with scarves, drawn up on the
right side with graduated loops of tolerably broad
satin ribbon, and the back consisted of four gathered
flounces, with two kiltings on each. The pointed
satin bodice was cut in a low square, back and front,
and trimmed with mauve tulle berthe and tucker. A
pale coral-pink satin was covered with ficelle lace,
drawn very gracefully to the right side and fastened
on the hip, and again near the knee with pale pink '
feather tips. The satin bodice had a long feather
curled half-way round the shoulders, deftly arranged
among some soft falling ficelle lace.

SOME ball dresses of pale café au lait lace, with satin
bodices and small fichus of lace, had the sleeves com-
posed of two points of satin meeting in the centre of
the arm, with dainty little bows and fancy buttons:
the colour and the style look very well by night. Bail
dresses are being made or softest tulle; in shades of
pale blue, pink, mauve, mushroom, white and black.
The last are profusely trimmed with sparkling jet
beads, and have the bodices of velvet, satin, elastic
cloth, or ottoman, edged round the shoulders and
basque with bead embroidery. A very handsome ruby
plush dress was made with two bodices, and combined
an evigning and tea-gown. The skirt was plain and
long Zt the back, but cut in points all round, showing
double frills of buff-coloured lace. One bodice was
shaped to the figure, and had a full front of lace. The
long sleeves and cuffs of lace very smartly arranged.
The second bodice was cut in the form of corsets, in
red plush, without sleeves, and was filled up with a
chemisette and short sleeves of the tinted lace.

ANOTHER effective dinner dress had the bodice and
plain three-q. uarter train of bronze velvet, with panels
of a peculiar shade of pink-yellow, brocaded with
blush roses, and opening in front from a folded plas-
tron of cream Valenciennes lace, over the palest pink.
A gold-coloured brocaded satin was made with a plain
front, a draped tunic crossing the hips, and falling
into a long train in loose folds, the linings being of
plain satin; the bodice was a very wide low square,
with a gold-coloured tulle tucker. Some dresses were
composed of a soft silk, called Bengaline, sonttiwbat
like ottoman, and trimmed with Oriental embroidery.
Nearly all the ball skirts just cleared the ground, but
the remainder were demi-trains.

The politician 4 wish at present—" Many happy
rams.*