The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-01-30 00:00:00

GOSSIP ON DRESS.

ME Queen has the following. The county balls
have been engrossing most of the attention of the
gay and fashionable world of late. But this week the
London streets are full of well-known faces, back
for business and the opening of Parliament by the
Queen. In the evenings the theatres are crowded,
and there is the usual amount of dinners and dancing;
while •in the daytime, Burlington souse and the
Grosvenor Gallery, the Indian Villages in Laugham-
place and the Albert Palace, and the Japanese Settle-
ment at Knightsbridge, are all attractive rendezvous.
A few smart weddings add their quota of excitement:
and charity entertainments and revels—which is a
term of the day, suggestive of fun—complete the
list.

INDIAN jewellery, especially in silver, is fashionable
just now, for almost everyone returns from the
" Bazaar " with souvenirs in the shape of necklets,
bracelets, or puzzle rings; while the beaten brass work
from Benares and Delhi figure on dining-room as well
as drawing-room and toilet tables. 'Very large fans
are also brought back as trophies, and placed, open,
against the walls as " splashers " behind washing-
stands. These walls,
very well, and are sometimes
made additionally attractive by having a number of
very small fans, opened and I..ushed in at distances,
between the edge and tha

THERE is little to chronicle about dress at present.
Fashion may be said to be in abeyance at this time of
year—just waiting for what is coming. Black is
generally worn, and dark blue and dark green are
most popular. The fashion of arranging rich, soft
black silk over an underskirt of coloured velvet, bor-
dered with a narrow band of fur, if well carried out,
is graceful. The mantle, bonnet, and muff usually
correspond with the velvet underskirt. The black
silk is raised higher on one side than the other, or cut
open, and ornamented with jet passementerie. At a
recent wedding a very handsome black Ottoman silk
dress was thus arranged over an underskirt of green
plush. On the :right side it was slashed up in three
places, forming panels, each edged with cut jet
beads of good size; on the left, a cascade of black
lace fell from the waist, and was caught up by large
jetted birds placed above each other at distances,
with a sable tail in each beak, or arranged to give
that effect. The plush skirt showed at the back and
right side, and had a band of sable. The plush
mantle was very short at the back, had sable tails
only in front, and was fastened below the throat by
the claws of two flattened jet birds, with outspread
wings. The bonnet was of jet, with loops and strings
of green plush. The same may be carried out
entirely in black satin, for morning and evening,
omitting the sable tells. A white tulle ball gown, re-
cently worn at a large county gathering, was arranged
in much the same style, with pearls, and had four
pearl and glass beaded birds placed down the folds on
one side, with a curled white ostrich feather, clutched
in the claw of each bird; similar ones being on one
arm (instead of a sleeve) and at one side of the
head.

BEADED passementerie in white and pearls, fawn
and gold, black with jet, and in all sorts of colours,
is now made to match gowns of all kinds, and to fit
accurately round low, square, V, or high bodices.
They add greatly to the appearance, and, as they are
m*de separate, they can be varied, or their place
taken by fichus of gauze, muslin, or lace, as the occa-
sion requires. Some of the passementerie trimmings
are merely edgings, while others are more elaborate,
and are wide at the top, and taper into the waist in a
becoming shape. A good many in gold and " rosary"
beads have been adapted to brown velvet, tulle, and
silk gowns. The collars of square pieces of glass cut
in clever imitation of large sapphires, rubies, emeralds,
as well as jet, are frequently worn at balls and other
entertainments. They are mounted on velvet, and
can be had in single, double, or even (for a very long
throat) in treble rows. S mords—perfect little copies
of antique and foreign, as well as English sabres—
mounted as the heads of long pins, are now much
seen, piercing bonnets and hats at the back, or run
through bonnet strings and lace cravats or fancy hand-
kerchiefs Bangles with half a dozen weighted simu-
lated coins in gilt, silver, or in imitation of old, dis-
coloured ones, are now popular. The fancy tops of
umbrellas are extremely varied. Some have ball-1;i,
composed of plated gold or silver, or of cut crystal,
mounted in a si-')er coronet; others have two, or even
three, small Japanese figures in a group, in discolcured
ivory, placed at the top, or birds' Leads; while many
are in embossed gold or silver, and have a whistle at
one end. In real jewellery the rewest designs for
brooches are a pair of scissors of diamonds, or a chick,
in diamonds, contemplating the broken egg (in the
most delicate white enamel, edged with gold) from
which it has just emerged; a chicken charging a frog ;
a running deer, or fox, and a fox's head on a whip, or
by itself; a Life Guardsman, mounted, all in
diamonds, with eyes or other small details in rubies.

IN gloves, there are the Suede ones, with long lace
arms attached, which are much worn just at present
at balls, by young girls. The glove itself is of kid,
but the upper part, commencing at the wrist, and
reaching almost to the shoulder, is of open work silk,
naatch`ag in colour. These are made in all shades to
wear with ball and evening gowns. Others, in fine
woven silk and wool, for day wear, called cashmere
gauntlet gloves, have the upper part puckered with
coloured dots, in the "smocked" fashion. Some de-
lightful driving gloves for men are of knitted wool,
very thick, with deep gauntlets, which draw up over
the coat sleeves. The fingers have the usual leather
protectors. Pocket handkerchiefs, with broad
coloured borders, powdered with little anchors in dark
contrasting shades, are very popular just now. Horse-
shoes may also be had in the same style. Diced
borders are also fashionable, in narrow width, in two
colours, such as red and white, blue and white, &c.
The owner's name is frequently worked across one
corner of a handkerchief, in imitation of her usual
signature, and this is pinned back on to the bodice of
the dress, when the handkerchief is tucked into the
front. Vests for fastening down the fronts of bodices
are made of velvet or plush, with the centre out in
five or six points, and buttoned together with a gilt
button down the middle, with satin, or a ecrap of the
dress material puffed through between each point.
Cuffs are made to match. This is a smart addition to
any dark dress. Waistcoats to put on are to l?e seen in
white, black, or red cloth, braided military style, in gold
braid, or in white and red cloth, with black braid. To
a black dress, for half mourning, white ones with
black braid, and cuffs to match is a great improvement,
and looks smart.

SLIPPERS embroidered with garnet beads are the
latest novelty, and very dainty they look. Very neat
shoes of ruby, dark green, blue, brown, or black
velvet, with paste ruckles, are much worn, with silk
hose corresponding in colour. They have velvet heels,
and are cut very lovr on the instep, which is becoming.
Evening shoes of two colours have recently been in-
troduced. Some are in pale-coloured satin with
bronze leather toes, either with the satin drawn from
the sides to the front over the leather (which forms
the toe and high pompadour flap), fastening with a
paste brooch, or joined by fine stitching to the sides,
and ornamented by a minute bow on the toe. Some
pretty bedroom slippers are in quilted satin, with two
small flaps turned over the edge, like a " turned-
down " collar. In ruby satin, with lining and flaps of
pale blue, or in black, with yellow or red; they are
very "chic."
FANCY writing paper is constantly varying, and to
th)se who care for such things, there is always a
fashionable novelty of the day. Shakesperean paper,
rough-surfaced, with a quotation in one corner, is much
affected by some; while pale blue, called " Ciel
Met ropole " at one place, and " Gordan " at another,
is popular among others. There is also Zulu and
Pompeian paper. The latter is very unfinished at
the edge, and has the discoloured, pinkish-yellowish
appearance that paper long buried might be sup-
posed to have. Facsimile style is adopted to visiting
cards, as well as paper and envelopes. The init3ais
or name is written in the ordinary handwriting, then
engraved, and stamped in gold and colour. On visit-
ing cards the name (or names) is in black. As yet
only gentlemen have adopted this fashion. Some
people write their notes and the address on the en-
velope in gold Ink. Others write across the envelope,
from corner to corner, in a slanting way, somewhat
puzzling to a postman much pressed for time; and a
for show their departure frem custom by affixh.g two
large seals in red and black wax, one parti...ly over
the other to their letters.

The feathery mimosa, with its yellow flowers, is the
flower par excellence of the day. It towers aloft in
tall va.es, droops low on dinner tables, and is en-
twined as a half-circular wreath up the sides of
gilded palm leaf fans. Next in favour come tulips,
in red, yellow, and white. Ball and wedding bou-
quets are to be seen entirely of tulips or poinsettia
4inged all round with fern, and at a recent wedding
trie bridesmaids carried bouquets composed of maiden-
hair fern, with a red velvet bow and long ends; at-
tached to the bouquet-holder by one poinsettia bloom.
For button-holes, viblets, nestled among tinted ivy
leaves, are the fashion.