The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-09-04
THE FALL FASHIONS.

"Jeannie June" says that the ladies will
not resign their pretty summer dresses
merely because September has come. 1t is
the month of all others to wear them. The
almanac, JEANNE thinks, needs reconstruct
ing, so that autumn may commence with
October. 1t is impossible to find costume
suitable for the cheated term" except,
perhaps, that of Mother Eve before she ate
the apple. Muslins, grenadines, the light
est tissues, the most delicate textures, COL
lapse and lose brightness and beauty be-
fore the steadily melting process which goes
on, with the thermometer for weeks in the
neighborhood of the nineties.
September, above all others, is the month
for country visits and the enjoyment of I'M
adultcrated country pleasures. The pic
mic dresses are the prettiest this season
that we have ever seen. One we remember
in striped cambria, lilac and white, the
stripes of the petticoat wider than those of
the pelisse, which opened part of the way
down the front, disclosing little of the I'M
der waist, and a broad sailor collar in the
wide stripe, turned back from the throat,
and tied with simply-knotted green neck
tie, the shade Of the ribbon round the little
sailor hat of white chip.
Another costume was of buff linen, with
petticoat striped in wood color and white :;
and third, of white lawn made en- paniers,
and trimmed with q wide sash made of scar
let silk.
White dresses, whether for day or eve
ming wear, were never more fashionable
than now. Some very pretty new suits
ordered for early fall visiting at country
houses are made of white mohair, with
cuffs, epaulettes, and reuerS of colored
satin. a fat rufle cut on the cross, and
bound with the color, finishes the bottom of
the skirt. Accompanying these were some
very handsome dresses in narrow striped,
checked, and changeable silk, which could
be worn upon almost any occasion.
The dresses were short, and divided at
the back into immense lengthwise putfins,
which spread out, fan-shaped, toward the
bottom, over petticoats made in silk of the
contrasting color, and trimmed with flat
ruches, three narrow frills or one wide one.
| The front breadths are perfectly plain, the
bodies high and trimmed square and low !;
the sleeves long, and ornamented with three
straight putfs, ruches, or frills, matching
the color and style of the petticoat.
These dresses are very stylish in effect,
but only suitable for somewhat tall and
slender women, the petticoat and panaerS
reducing in appearance the height OF the
figure.
Short dresses Of any kind, it must he re-
membered, are no longer to reach to the top
of CATER boots, but sufficiently long to just
"clear the ground" Short or changeable
silks will be very fashionable for fall wear,
and are richly trimmed with fringe made
in the two prominent colors of the silk,
headed with braid or twisted piping made
of satin in the same colors. In dark rlcn
shades, chameleon silks harmonic admlra-
bly, with the tints Of an India shawl for
visiting toilette. The bonnet to wear with
ii is small high chapeau Of Italian straw
trimmed with velvet, black lace, and a
| plume of short curled ostrich feathers IN
the two colors.
Feathers are to be revived this season
the graceful willow feathers and the long
curled ostrich plumes-the most dlstln-
guished of all ornaments.
There is strong, perhaps it would De
too much to say determined, effort IN pro
gress TO abolish the small bonnets and III
troduce large ones, but at present 1t does mol
seem likely to succeed. The chIgn0aS are
larger than ever, and the latest style Of
bonnets very small and worn very high.
The fullness given to the dress behind
compels the adoption of somewhat larger
hoop skirt than has been worn for some
time past, but they can never reach the
! exaggerated dimensions again that have
made them ridiculous in times past. Inc
golden mean seems to have been found al
last, and the shape is, as adjusted oy tne
| leading manufacturers, that the front OF the
skirt remains fiat, while graceful SWEEP
and tendency to expansion is given to the
! back. The lowest authorized size for ordl'
nary wear is two and half yards round 81
the base. This is very moderate, ana sun
ed to walking dresses. The next size Il
two and three-ouarters round, and the thirc
three yards. This last is not too large 1oi
a very tall lady for street wear. Iness
sizes may be considered standard. A very
short person, requiring c still smaller ano
shorter hoped skirt than the TWO anu
half yards, should inquire tor the lafseS
misses size.
What shall we say of those outrageous IN
aovarions, the paniers and the ureciat
bend ~ Fortunately, they have not ye'
been adopted by ladies south OF the Potomac
ana. indeed, so great has been the storm
ridicule which greeted them that they have
not fcurished anywhere but at saratoga
If women were but puppets, We shoula ~