The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-03-10 00:00:00

GOSSIP ON DRESS.

BEFORE the shrine of fashion woman occasionally
(wrathfully writes a correspondent of the London
Echo) seems to lose all that poets and tradition speak
of as most lovely in her nature. What, indeed, can
be more degrading to a sensitive mind than this latest
story from Paris of fashion vagaries? The victims
of this freak of inhumanity are Yucatan beetles--
creatures of comparatively large size, but whose virtue.
is in the fact that they shine with the brilliancy of
pure gold. The unfortunate creatures—whose less
picturesque English relative is the bane of woman--
are held in position on the corsage by a tiny gold
chain. They are at first mistaken for some charming,
jewel, and at once command attention, and pro-
bably, admiration—it is too much to hope that
the discovery that they are alive will repel that!
The creatures are treated not as if they were endowed
with life, but as if they were really lumps of gold.
They are easy to feed, but, generally speaking, neither
food nor drink is given them. They have the gift of
long life—even without food. This and their rarity
is, perhaps, one of the compensations for the large
sums demanded for them. Metalbeetles—which they
have succeeded—probably gave the idea to som,
American speculator to substitute the real article
it is from America they come to Paris, though, if
report speaks truly, American ladies have not yet
shown the same readiness to adopt them as their
Parisian sisterhood. Probably, should they come to
be used on chapeaux—and this is suggested by the
autocratic arbiters of fashion in the French capital—
they may conquer their repugnance. .1

ALL young ladies, says the new number of the
Season, will no doubt be interested to hear something
about the newest fashions for bridal dresses. They
are made with high bodices, long trains, and richly
trimmed with flowers. Ivory-white satin is mostly
chosen, but for tall, slim figures the rich-looking moire
Pekin is often preferred. At a wedding in one of the
highest aristocratic circles in Vienna, the bride wore
a dress made of the richest satin with a very Ibrig
rounded train. The front breadth of this magnificent
bridal robe was covered with pleated flounces, edged
with pretty silver grelots, while the finest tulle em-
broidered in silver in a wonderfully beautiful pattern,
in renaissance style, went round the bottom of the
flounces. The same sort of embroidery trimmed the
high-pointed bodice, in addition to lovely bouquets,
which in their turn matched the bridal wreath and the
long trails of flowers, orange blossoms and tea roses
—the newest combination—used for adorning the
train.

THE large hats are (according to an authoritative
writer on the fashions of the day in the columns of
the Queen) coming to the front; very smart-looking
they are, and in nearly all cases becoming to their
wearers. Many are in velvet, with an encircling
ostrich feather on one side, and the brim much turned
up on the other, often with watered silk ribbon straps
and loops. Black, dark amethyst, and the old-
fashioned emerald-green are to be popular in velvet.
This particular shade of deep green, which has been laid
aside for many years, will be one of the colours in
velvet for mid-season bonnets, trimmed with black
lace, jet, or delicate gold passementerie. It will also
be used for trains and trimmings for handsome gowns.
It looks well with tan colour. Delicate gold lace and
feathery gold ornaments are much used on black lace
bonnets. Real lace veils have been popular this cold
season, and also the imitation, sold by the yard. It
has been much the fashion lately, owing to the cold
winds, to line the fancy net veils with thin gauze, and
wear them only to the tip of the nose. A few may
be seen more thickly lined, giving the idea of a
domino. White net veils are well patronised by
young girls, and also grey gauze. The coloured ones
are scarcely ever seen now.

NARROW gold braid is frequently sewn into the
necks and cuffs of gowns, instead of coloured silk,
canvas, or cuffs and collars. Many waistcoats (home
made) are composed of three or four lengths (accord-
ing to the width required) of good gold braid about
an inch wide, laid at its own width from each row on
to a foundation, with the intervening space filled in
with gold twist, worked across in loop stitch with
crochet hook. The effect is handsome, and the model
is the Egyptian embroidery, now being adapted for
waistcoats. The foundation is usually white cash-
mere laid on to muslin. Gimp and braid ornamenta-
tion, sold in sets of collar piece, cuffs, and two grad-
uated plastrons for the front, are much used on
coloured jerseys, as well as on light spring material
gowns. It is to be had in black and almost every
colour. Reversible collars are novel. There is a
double collar, and when the outer one is soiled it is
turned backwards out of sight under the neck-band,
and the clean inner one stands up alone. It is attached
to a little habit shirt.

IT is difficult to say which are really the more
fashionable—plain white or fancy-coloured pocket-
handkerchiefs. Young ladies certainly incline to the
latter. There are fancy bordered ones without
number, some in delicate shades having the white
centre, and the border of cut-out fern leaves, with net
introduced, and the whole well embroidered; others
in coloured cambric, with a powdering of spots and
hem-stitched border, or with button-holed scalloped
edges. A. grey-blue and peculiar red, neither brick
nor scarlet, are two new shades. Some are in two
colours in fine muslin, such as grey and pink, white
and blue, &c.; and again others have borders of closely
set, narrow coloured lines about an inch deep running
towards the centre. Soft-coloured silk " show"
handkerchiefs are popular, and so are the Irish lawn
and cambric ones, with hem-stitched borders of from
one to three inches deep.

TEA gowns have, many dressmakers affirm, spoilt
the sale of dinner gowns, for whereas they make two
of the latter, they make twelve of the former. This
may be partly prejudice, but certainly tea gowns are
popular, and also more costly and smarter than they
were. They are made of the richest brocade and
moire, lined throughout with satin, with fronts of
either fancy gauze, crepe do Chine silk, muslin, lace,
or satin Merveilleux, and finished off with very beau-
tiful pasEementerie. Or they can be of cashmere, with
Surah fronts and cascades of lace. Some have long
hanging sleeves, independent of the close-fitting ones,
and these may be in lace or silk crepe. One worthy
of note, recently made for a foreign Princess, had the
gown proper of red and black brocade of beautiful
design, with the front and coat sleeves (the latter
reaching only just below the elbow) of crimped
red Surah, with transparent black lace
sleeves, which hang open and loose from
the shoulder to the edge of the skirt. Over
the red front fell a length of the most delicate black
lace, matching the sleeves, caught up here and there,
and finished off at the waist with a long girdle of
black and gold beads. The high collar was beaded
to correspond. Black satin or brocade tea gowns, or
those composed of wide striped satin and moire,
sometimes have the front of black lace, worked all
over with small gold or steel beads. Pale grey faille
Francaise, with gold passementerie, and front of white
crepe de chine; striped yellow and grey moire and
satin, with the front of yellow, veiled with gold-
beaded lace, with ribbons of yellow and grey satin,
are all fashionable combinations. Dressing or morn-
ing jackets of Surah have one side of the front
hanging in the usual way, and the other side gathered
up and fastened across the front on to the opposite
shoulder, with a fall of white lace hanging to the waist
corresponding with the other side of the front.

ALL the pretty novelties in bijouterie and fancy
knicknack-s are now being displayed in shop windows.
In the former there are several new designs, such as
a dog's head, with a parasol in its mouth, all in bril-
liants, as a brooch; also a few fish in line, bars of
gold with three horseshoes strung on, three flies just
settled, or the initial letters of a name in•the centre,
all in diamonds, flanked by a ruby, pearl, or sapphire
at each end; the pips of playing cards—the whole
four—in coloured enamel, with brilliant in centre;
heart with a dove flying through, in diamonds. Gold
brooches, about three inches long, are in the form of
spring flowers, a daisy, buttercup, primrose, &c. The
newest primrose brooches have the flower lying on its
leaf, with a bud beside it, all coloured true to nature.
A gold bangle, with the date of marriage engraven on
it, with a tiny key and lock, is often now given to a
bride on her wedding morn, and when the ceremony
is over, the bridegroom locks it on her arm, and puts
the, key on his watch-chain. Bridesmaids' brooches
are sometimes given in cases, made in the form of a
white satin, high-heeled slipper of very small dimen-
sions. Diamond letters, about an inch large, are
fashionable as pins and brooches.

BRAIDED jackets (remarks a contributor to Le Moni-
teur de la Mode) abound, the pattern being handsome.
By way of novelty, braid of a different colour can be
vsed to the cloth; black on copper, moss on grey,
navy blue on red, &c. Some are braided all over,
Without pattern; the braid is cleverly sewn on in
Vermicelli pattern, so close that the cloth beneath
the braid shows forth Merely as a light, or a shot
effect.

----
PASSEMENTERIE, cord passementerie without beads,
is much used for pardessus by way of brandenburghs,
ornaments, and girdles.

A LOVELY teagown is of emerald plush, with redin-
gote panels falling over a draped skirt of white lace, a
panel being in front, and one on each side, each panel
being edged with passementerie pendants. A blouse
of lace is confined by a sash of white surah, or rather
a scarf draped on a boned band some eight inches
wide sloped to the waist. At the back the ends of
the scarf form a negligent drapery. A plush Bulgarian
jacket is placed over the blouse, outlined with a
cascade of pendants. There are short, open plush
sleeves, full lace sleeves being inserted into the
armholer.

IT is considered chic in Paris to possess one red
dress, not a brilliant red, but a soft rich dark hue,
more becoming and ladylike than cardinal. They are
often trimmed with embroidery in black, a mere
chain stitch imitating braid. Besides the dress a red
jacket is worn, richly embroidered. Red toilettes are
also trimmed with fur. Indeed, fur vies with braids
as a trimming for cloth dresses and pardessus. Grey
fox is the fur of the season. It looks well on any
colour, red or others, but it looks most elegant of all

on a dark blue grey, a darker shade of its own lovely
colour.

SrunTs are rapidly flattening, and ladies are rapidly
awakening to the,. serious inconvenience of many
steels. Now, the best couturieres only put in one or
two at the top of the skirt. Draperies are dying out,
being ejected by the present admiration of redingote
panels. Waists are long, in spite of the influence
of La Tosca and Sarah Bernhardt's lovely Empire
costumes. Will women ever return to the short
Empire waist beneath the arms? Probably not,
but there is no telling what vagaries may yet ha
acted.

Tin: strong prevalence of cloth may account for
the rapid decay of draperies' popularity. It is cer-
tainly the fabric of the season, and always looks dis-
tingue, whether for plain or dressy occasions. A
great deal of white and pale grey cloth is used to par-
tially form evening or reception toilettes. Then red
cloth embroidered with gold or black has had great
success.