The New York herald., 1873-12-21
THE FASHIONS.
Evening Dresses, Dinner Dresses, Ball
Dresses, Fancy Dresses, Walking
Dresses and Riding Dresses.
The Parlors of the Modistes in
Full Bloom.

| yesterday morning was one OF the jubilees or
nature. The fog lifsed Itself, the blue sky was
visible the sunshine shOwered down literally, and
the streets were alive with shoppers. large pro-
portion OF these shoppers visited the toy stores
| and the book stores In quest of the publications
and jolljouI TO which reference has been made in
the HERALD during the past week. certain
proportion, however, repaired to the homes OF
fashion. with which several OF the quieter and
more respectable streets at right angles to Broad
way abound And 1t is a remarkable thing that
Fashion is always at home. She always has some
thing fresh to say, something new 10 show you.
some unique caprice to OF. We might almost
! trayesty St. Paul and say. "And now abideth
i these three-Faith Hope ana Fashion and the
| greatest OF these is Fashion," We shall not make
any more apologies for this expensive and eccen-
| trio goddess than are ner due. We acknowledge
| that she leads men and women to destruction, that
| she sets up false standards to which her worship
pers must bend the knee that she monopoliZes
time which might be much more probably en-
poyed, that she Is great promoter OF heartburn
and envy, and that her votarles are little better
than slaves. All this is too sadly true But then,
Fashion is an inevitabty that there is no abolish
ing. Her dynasty never wears out. Ii we de-
throne one fashion another Immediately occupies
the vacant place. The moment we exclaim, 'The
Queen is dead" we are obliged to shout, "Long
live the Queenl" Fashion is one Of the conditions
OF existence, and ab0unus as much in Typee as
Murray HILL There would have been
| fashion in the very nudity OF Paradise had the
apple remained indefinitely untouched. IL is use
less TO try to escape from an institution which
runs in the blood. Let rather look on the
bright side of the matter and elicitate ourselves
that it is worse. The fashions OF civilization
often are to the body what good manners to
the mind-settng it of. embellishlng and recon-
/ mo nd RI ota itr wit
greater smoothness and decorum We have little
patience with husbands, fathers, sons and brothers
who 40 lot sympathize to some extent with the
fashions OF the gcntler sex. EXtravagances and
ca2rices there may be in this field but there is a
substratum OF so much that Is sensible and artistic
tnat we have little prejudice in favor OF those OF
the masculine sex who do not take the trouble
TO find it out. Perhaps American gentlemen are
less ignorant and bigoted in this respect than the
gentlemen of most other civilized nations. The
American gentleman likes to see a well-dressed
woman and as rule, is willing to defray all
the wardrobe expense Of those female MEM
bers OF his family who have right to claim his
support. We do not know tnat a much more per-
sistent pull at masculine purse strings, to deiray
| expenses OF this character has ever been made
than now. II any one is inclined to believe In the
| existence OF o panic let him visit our milliners
| and dressmakers, and the corresponding depart
| ments oil stores where bonnets and costumes are
manufactured. His Illusion Will be Immediately
| dspeled. He will come to the conclusion
that the panic was q phantasm-a good
subject for newspaper men to write
about. For our part. after having wandered
through labyrinth Of dinner dresses,
walking dresses, visiting dresses, carriage
dresses evening dresses, fancy dresses, school
dresses aces, lingerie, palet0ts, furs, hats boots
and bonnets, are inclined to think that there
| as much money in the pocket or pateriamias as
| ever and that no very great persuasion is needed
! in order to induce 1t to come out. We have never
seen the rooms OF the UlOdistes more crowded than
they were yesterday or greater variety or beau
| tlful fabrics hand. At Mme Collins, No. 26
| West Eleventh street; at the Maison Walton, No.
s62 Broadway; at Mme Lumley's No. Ito West
Twenty-third street; at G.. NJ. Oney's, No.
| 80 East Fourteenth street; at Nine. Angie
| Perre's, No. 4S University place; at Nine. Wash
| ingtons, No. 773 Broadway at the establishment
OF Miles, De rouest and iiendrickx, No. l30 Broad
! way; at Nine. X. Kendall's, No. 7l9 Sixth avenue;
| at Smiths Pattern Bazaar No. Ola Broadway; at
| Nine. Grenier's, No. 80 West Ninth street; at Mrs.
! Myers No. % East Fourteenth street; at Mrs. Van
| Dusen's, No. 35 West Eighteenth street; at Mme
/ Adophus', No. 40 East Twentieth street. more
| than usually large company OF ladies' were found
inspecting, questioning, comparing and contrast
with this and in despair over that so that the uni
| verse for the moment seemed to be divided into
two great classes-those whose duty TO
| make bonnets and costumes, and those whose
| duty IL was to try them on
| THE SUBJECT BONNETs
| AS an object bonnets are apt to wear out. As
subject they never do. There is always something
new to be said about them. They have monopo-
lized the invention OF very industrious and taste
/
| 800 years, and they will continue to exercise it
until that happy hour shall arrive when science
shall govern the world. Then, we suppose, the
bonnet will be constructed upon sanitary model
and no woman will become the victim OF neuralgia
| In the head from the unnatural exposure entailed
by the knot of silk and lace which at present
answers for feminine head gear. To come down to
| facts, however, the most bizarre shapes continue
TO be worn, ana change for the better In this re-
spect is promised In the January fashions The bon
net OF the period burlesque upon common sense,
very beautiful, very dainty, very exquisite
burlesque perhaps, but undeniablc burlcsque,
| nevertheless. When NJ. Victor Hugo remarked
that the beautiful is as useful as The useful he
| either saw no beauty In the bonnet of the day or
he was not aware that fabric of that Sort laying
! claims to beauty, existed, else he must have mod-
fed his aphorlsm. We have seen during the past
week numbcress bonnets which beautiful as
| wax flowers are beautiful, ft TO be put under a
| glass and admired as a monument OF wrongly d.
rected skin. And the worst OF IL Is that you can
not tell bonnet from q female hat We have seen
| lady connoisseurs sorely puzzled until Nine. Til
man or some other dis inguished authority came
TO their reef. There ought to he an academy Of
| modistes to determine these mooted questions by
the bye the attempt TO popularize coored ielts for
| hats and bonnets has almost iaen through
| Last winter no one could be found to
| give IL helping hand; this winter
| only little progress mas hitherto been made.
Perhaps the most popular form is that known as
''Gmmeux" the brlm OF which is wide. the crown
| low. The ornaments are OF jet or steel, and the
hat Is worn at the back OF the head. one OF the
episodes OF the month, in relation to the KIND OF
embelishmcnt used Tor hats and bonnets, is the
spreading partiality for Jet and steel. Among
the latter there are several Styles such as brown,
blue and engraved The subject OF hats and bon
nets naturally conducts 10 that OF hoods ana caps.
| The hood knOwa as the "Barathcav Is very pretty
| IN forfn oil Ia - bl1tn hnr rhnn