The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-06-14 00:00:00

GOSSIP ON DRESS

THE changeable weather which has ushered bi
the commencement of June has not been conducive
to the wearing of those lighter fabrics which are
specially designed for summer clothing. The Paris
Correspondent of the Queen says: Far fewer
summer costumes than usual have been prepared
up to the present, and the woollen dress is
always kept in readiness. Thick fratistes, studded
with flowers or geometrical patternvf trimmed with
plaitings and draped with ribbons that match the
designs, are worn. Ems is the favourite colour for
the groundwork; the bcdcies are made either as a
gathered blouse or with a /large jobot of &era filet de
roie, which is more durable than lace and 'Otter than
the batiste. Walking dremtes are made of ". anent-
mite," a woollen fabric simaor to canvas, very lit
and with a hairy surface like vigogne ; it is ofteitshot,
and draped over shot silk ts match; the liodiew
opens over either a large waiitcoat, fastened) with,
small gold buttons, or gathered solds that turt. en,
the hip and terminate in a pouf aitlhe back.

Mow.tris in a more ordinary mat4rial, serving 5%Mr
early 'morning outdoor wear, tralrlling, &c.; tlert
skirts are made short and plain, trimmed only with)
wide mohair braid sewn flat in diagenal lines, andA
a, scarf tunic and drapery at the back. There is also
a renewed fancy fol bordering the foot of wool dresses'
Nr.:-tii,fifteen, or twenty rows of soutachr laid over a
cas4imere band, of a contrasting colour, as,l4rown braid
on ecru cashmere for a brown skirt, and blue braid
on a red ground for a blue skirt. There there is
Etamine, a sort of embroidered canvas, which is
made upovershot tha skirts, and likely to L& worn at
Spas an& seaside'resorts. But for dressy toilets black
lace over:silk is-a decided fashion. The laceisgathered
at the waist, andi falls over a Princesse dress made
in brocatelle; with coloured flowers. There art also
beautifuldresses of eCru, lace over shot silks, di-eped
with many, ribbon, bows. and having pronoutced
epaulettes. Dresser that are a combination of lace
and grenadinerare also most attractive. The newest
are of striped grenadine for the polonaise, the stripes
being velvet: 2in. wide: Others have frise velvet
figures, powdered with goldor scarlet; and when the
grenadine is-plains it is main over a rich shade of
satin.

A WRITER in the. same jOurnul, in an article on
"Dress at the -Leading.Dressinalters,*gives the follow-
ing: Quite new,in,idea is- a, mahogany poult de soie
skirt, with a half-yard deep. flounce of ecru lace,
slightly plaited; theiront hasadditional lace, caught
up with close set • lOops-of inahopny Telvet, a broad
band of piece veltet- borders- the back drapery.
Flounces pointed at .the.edge are•empllayed on a blue
and red shot silk in a pyramid! on.one side, and border-
ing the skirt. A, material; veritable woollen canvas
in cream, is a new idea, the making of the dress being
carried out in novel fashion. On, each side of the
skirts are panels, with .a.brocade of: coloured roses in
cross-stitch design. Perpendicular plaits of the
material are divided , by bands of red velvet, the
velvet intermingling with the back drapery. The
long basqued bodices- had three be plaits at
the back with velvet between,. while from be-
neath the arms comes, a front bodice of red
velvet, fastening with buttons-at the waist, and allowing
the puffed gilet of canvasto be quite visible. A cream
and blue spotted Chinese silk is- made in a new
fashion, admirable for.• light summer and washing
dresses. The skirt has kilt plaita-bordered with lace,
the sleeves are gathered • into ,a, band at the wrist and
lace beyond, the full bodiCe -fastening diagonally with
lace down the opening, and. draperies- and plaitings
attached to the edge of the bodice, which ie outlined
with dark blue ribbon.. Brodie:crepe de chine is a
material most camme ilfnt, which is strongly to be
recommended for summer dresses, and:is-much worn.
Another most beautiful fabrio is a. shot silk, with
broad velvet stripes at least threeincheswide

A BONNET, a happy mixture. of,' gold: an brown,
was covered with a heavy transparent- gold gauze,
having a design of spiders and: spider'- web all over
it. The edge was covered with: brown, velVet and
gold cord. A black. jetted bonnet lined:with red
showed a huge bunch of: red poppies; and the
crumpled edge was elaborately wrought in. red and
gold beads. For a young .lady nothing prettier could
be found than a simple drawn:tulle bonnet,. the brim
bordered with bluettes, a bunch. at the side. An
openwork gold bonnet was- covered all over with a
puff of Edelweiss lace, two 'large gold. buttercups in
front keeping a rosette of the same. lace.iia. position.
The bonnets of to-day are mere airy nothings-which
require a great deal of skill' to .make well; but there
has rarely been a more -becoming: style-both to,young
and old faces.

IN some items of fashionable intelligence from
America it is noted that clover-red is a fashionable
colour for dresses; it is brighter-than crushed' straw-
berry, and shows off white lace and white shoulders to
advantage. Bunches of-blue feathers- are fastened on
the left side of the bodice, and also pinned' in the
hair. The Medicis or high collars, now so fashion-
able, have driven the hair up high on the head.
Young ladies wear one -or -two roll in front, through
which are threaded gold chains- or cord's finished at
the side with an aigrette of precious-stones or pearls,
or a flower. The short hair in the neck must be
curled with curling-irons, if this. style is adopted.
Flower coiffures are now arranged- with earls, puffs,
and rolls intermixed. Ribbon and lace head-dresses
are coming in more and more for married and, un-
married ladies; they are called'caplead-dresses, and
are very becoming. Ladies- frequently have cap,
sleeves, and plastrons of the same- lace; suck as
Duchesse, point, or Valenciennes,

IN a special article on "Summer. Fashions," a
London daily paper says-:. For purely summer dresses
the material known as nun's-veiling holds- its- awn,
whether plain, striped;, or embroidered. It is so
universally worn that: one wonders how milliners
managed before it was invented, Light and' cool, it
is made of finest wool, and in every possible odour,
dark as well as light. Those embroidered in. colours,
are sometimes made up in combination with. the
plain, and more effective dresses. The skirts are
occasionally made of "Teiling,".while the bodice are
composed of sicilienne, gros-grain, or velvet in the
same colour as the skirt; or perhaps a deeper- shade.
For instance, a cream-coloured or mushroom-tinted
skirt may be accompanied by a bodice of golden-
brown. Occasionally a black velvet bodice is-made to
do duty with several, skirts, and' there are- few things
more becoming when it is.well-fitted to. the figure.

LACE is used in immense quantities upon dresses
and mantles, both as-flounces and draped in the same
way as any other material. Some of the prettiest
sorts are worked in- ecru or holland colour upon a
ground of white net The designs are light, not too
closely covering the lace: Deep flounces of lace,
whether black or white, sometimes form the entire
skirt. One of these, measuring a metre, is, in. itself
sufficient, but fashion makes it imperative that the
edge of the lace shall fall over flounces of silk or
satin placed at the edge of the underskirt. which is
also of silk or satin: Very beautiful reproductions of
some of the best- designs in Brussels lace have been
produced in inexpensive imitations to meet the
demands of an ephemeral. fashion. These flounces
are of different widths, some persons preferring three
flounces to one deep one,. whirls others like. five or
seven, or even more:.

CREPE-DE-CHINE another of the materials of the
season. It has lain by for years, seldom being seen
save in the embroidered and heavily fringed shawls so
much affected' by elderly ladies. It is now used for
brides' dresses, as well as for those to be worn at
fetes, garden parties, and at the races. Some of the
embroidery tohe seem on this material is both costly
and artistic. One piece, intended for a wedding
gown, is covered with branches of Mae and sprays of
orange-blossom, wrought in the finest of silks. On
some others, the petal's are worked so as to be raised
from the materiel itself; and, in fact, detached from
it, save at the point of contact, just as is the original
flower. A bride's di•ess of this, worn over a petticoat
closely embroidered in seed pearls and beads, has an
effect of softness which one seeks in vain in the now
stereotyped white satin and orange-blossoms.

EMBROIDERY on net is immensely in demand this
season... Much of it is worked in separate designs,
which are laid upon the dress according to the ideas
of the milliner. Some of the colours are soft and
pleasing; others crude and harsh. There is a
terrible blue which is only too much patronised. It
resembles the "Royal blue" which was so popular
about twenty years ago, when every woman in.
England either had a dress of it or wished for one.
With so many lovely shades at hand it seems strange
that any one should deliberately select the vicious
ones; but there are many among us who are colour
blind, without being in the least conscious of the
fact. It is their misfortune', not their fault.

An old gentleman who is getting "thin at the top"
says, "Always pick out a bald-headed barber to shave
you, because he can't consistently ask you to buy any
hair restorative."
Tnnownio TIIE BOOMERANG. - The boomerang is
a piece of thin wood about an inch and a half
wide, an eighth of an inch thick, and, perhaps,
twenty inches long; its shape varies, sometimes
being like the segment of a circle, at others
like a man's arm bent at the elbow; but the way of
using both these forms is exactly the same. The
weapon is grasped at one end in the right hand, with
the concave side uppermost, and the black man takes
a run, such as the ordinary Englishman does when
he is throwing a cricket ball. On a sudden he stops
and away flies the boomerang, not straight, as some
might suppose, but revolving on its own axis SD
quickly that in the air it looks like a circular piece of
board; this motion gives it the wonderful power of
flight, which must really be seen to be believed. At
first the course is in a direct line from the thrower,
and at such a height as he may require, but as it
draws towards the limit of its distance it swerves
*lightly to the right, and, making a semicircle,
coming back on an exactly opposite course to that
which it took on the outward journey, generally
falling within a few feet of the thrower. During the
flight the revolving of the boomerang causes a
peculiar purring sound. not unlike the hum of a tom

=OVILiZ IgAl4l