Los Angeles daily herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1873-1876, 1874-03-06
New York Fashions.


arrive weekly. They consist of car
ffage dresses of two shades of silk or
else of contrasting colors; of black
costumes that are partly silk, partly
cashmere; pretty wooden fabrics, such
as vigogne and armure, made over silk
skirts; and charming dresses, suitable
for the house, promenade or carriage,
made of striped summer silks. The
importations thus far are confined to
basques and overskirts, but polonaises
will appear later.
The new basques are square in back
and front or straight around, with En-
glish backs and lappels, or else much
shorter behind than before; the fash
ion of slOping them short on the hips
with pointed front and back is not
seen. There are both single and dou-
ble-breasted basques the latter are
made with "plastron or straight
narrow vest piece set on the front and
fastened by two straight rows of but
tons from the high throat down to the
edge of the basque. The faring Medi-
els collar of both of the materials of
which the dress is composed finishes
high necks; rufus are also added to this
collar, and are sometimes used without
it, and are always voluminous; indeed
the neck will be dressed more elabor-
ately than ever. The fashion of hav-
ing the sleeves different from the
basque also continues. If the dress is
of two shades, the darker Is used for
the basque and the lighter shade for
sleeves; when the costume Is composed
of two materials of the same shade,
the sleeves are usually of silk like the
lower skirt and the basque of the
wooden fabric of which the upper skirt
is made. Thick round cords are intro
duced instead of fiat piping folds for
edging cuffs, ruffs, basques, etc. Cum
ming little pocket flaps are set on the
side or back of basques, and the breast
pocket with lengthwise flap reap
pears on outer garments.
The new costumes exaggerate the
old fancy for fiat clinging fronts of
dresses with very bOuffant backs.
Some of the new, upper skirts intended
to produce this effect are too intricate
for description. They consist of alter
nate breadths of two shades of silk
tied in a tangled mass, and draped in
mysterious fashion upon the back
breadths of the lower skirt, making
them far more bouffant than the
graceful skirt of the present season.
Such Over-skirts are designed for
elaborate dresses made with tablier
fronts; others that will be more gem
orally adopted are far similar in shape.
Among these are the Greek over-skirt,
with its apron draped high on one
side, and falling long on the other,
crossing the front diagonally; the
square Medicis oversight; the smooth
clinging English model; and various
others, with very long fiat aprons
reaching almost to the toe. The aprons
of the latter are either pointed or
rounded, and may consist. entirely of
folds meeting in the middle as they
descend from each side, or else the
apron is of two breadths, with sloped
seam down the middle on which are
set coquettish little bows. The pretty.
round Over-skirt of to-day will not be
discarded, but will be oddly lemodeled
by.draping the right side high by a
bow placed quite far back, while the
left will hang plainly to the edge of
the dress skirt, and the clinging front
breadth will be buttoned its entire
length to the breadth next it on each
side by large buttons and bound. but
ton-holes. rle t.z as.r ..,-.t
Tabliers are narrow, often covering
but one breadth, and never extending
beyond the first side gore, which is
now sloped closely, measuring only
finger-length across the top; where it
is sewed to the belt without a particle
of fullness. This first side breadth is
very often trimmed differently from
the front breadth, and it has become a
decided fashion to have some length
wise trimming on each side, from belt
to foot. This is either a row of four
folds, widening gradually toward the
foot, or else shirred puffs; this trim
ming is more often used to cover the
second side breadths, thus separating
the front of the skirt from the back,
and forming the dividing line for the
two kinds of trimming around the foot
of the dress. .Tabliers of diagonal folds
and the shirred perpendicular puffs
have already been described; the pref
test horizontal tabliers consist of
three clusters, each made up of broad
side pleating, with a much narrower
pleating Called knife-blade pleating)
falling upon it, while the heading is
four bias folds turned upward accord
ing to the latest caprice, and very ir-
regularly folded, instead Of the prim,
smooth, rundown folds now i'm use.
In dresses OF, two shades the first three
breadths Of the skirt are light, the
back ones dark. ~
The new skirts show simple plan
for massing their fullness behind,
which also produces q panier puff,
shOrtens the back breadths for the
street, or gives them q pretty sweep
when worn as demi-trains. This is
done by putting a drawing string
across the three back breadts, on the
wrong side, about half yard below
the belt. When this is drawn tightly
the three front breadths cling closely,
and the back has bouffant puff,
which is easily shortened for the street
by q couple ofctapes hanging from the
belt and buttoned to the shirred tape
cover below itJg5 sO bSfV I.
The new skirt trimmings are pleat-
ings of silk of two shades, shirred
fiounces, puffs made by reversed pleats,
and folds turned upward and Topping.
With long over-skirts the trimming
of the foot of the lower skirt is quite
narrow in front, and widens gradually
on the sides and back. The new pleat-
ings are alternate strips from one to
two inches wide Of light and dark silk,
as two shades of brown, or else of con-
trasting colors, such as plum and blue,
or else salmon and chestnut brown.
This is pleated to bring the darkest
silk on top, while the lighter shade is
folded under, and appears Odly as a
shaded facing. To do this fold the
light strip double, making the seam at
its edge the beginning of the dark