Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-02-01
FEBRUARY FASHIONS.

oOM1 SCnCLLI-4hC Il "
Economy-Hinfs Of Spring.
Correspondence of the Union and American.
New York February fashions are tn
fashions of the ball room, for the fes
tive dance grows madden and merrie
nightly during the month, till it cul
inmates with the arrival of lent. Acad
envy balls have been unusually gay ant
wen attended this season, owing to tn,
fact that there are very few large pri
vate receptions, for one Of the good eff
fects of hard times, is hat there is al
end of having large parties III small
houses. Instead of jams and crush par
ties the fashionable evening entertain
ments this winter are late dinners
to a distinguished dozen friends, OF e1st
a German with only about one hundred
and fifty guests, and there is an at
tempt also to revive the stately min
uets that require plenty of room: tn;
rage, however, is for five O'Clock teas
such as the English tea parties called
"kettledrums," when tea is poured and
served by the hostess to her plainly
dressed guests; also Russian teas" to
which ladies come in their street cos.
tunes to drink tea with a slice of lemon
IN each Sevres cup-delieiops beverage
that proves the lemon a universal good,
adding flavor to everything it touches,
from turtle soup to tea.
BALL DRESSES.
Returning to balls, / have to an
nounce a refreshing simplicity and re-
modelling Of old ball dresses, except
those in preparation for the Charity
ball. This is the event Of the month
in society here, as it is one Of those
public balls that exclusive ladies attend,
viz: the Seventh Regiment ball, the In
FAINT Asylum ball, and the Charity, but
the greatest Of these three is Charity.
The fashionable ball dress for young
ladies is that of white gduze de chamber,
described in a former letter. These
dresses have Aounces and an eTershift
Of striped gauze sewed on a white silk
slip or foundation, and the quaint little
corsage is high in the neck, short In
the sleeves, buttoned behind, and is
pointed; or else round, with a. belt or,
oftener still, it slopes over the hips like
the polka waists of half a century ago.
Vines and sprays of flowers trim the
waist and skirt In every direction:
These dancing dresses have quite short
trains, and often have scarf sashes
without overskirts. Among notably
simple dresses are those Of white or
pale tinted silk, made without hounees.
overskirt or flowers on the train, with
merely a close-clinging skirt and a
ihediei eorsage, with high ruff and short
pulled sleeves. Such q dress OF white
silk, with Parmeson violets in the COR
sage and the couture, worn with re-
markedly pure white diamonds, by a
high-bred, slender brunette, is restful
to the eye, wearied with the elaborate
foinces, laces and veluets sent out by
Worth to grace the lady managers Of
charity balls.
coeVRFRIEs OF BALL TonETTEs.
Some pretty and some amusing ca
prices are displayed in ball toilettes.
Amongst pretty things Is the reti-
cule or dangling pocket, fer holding
the dance list end pOcket-handkerchief
This is made of the material of the
dress or the lacing, its trimming with
a flower stuck in the centre, and worn
pendent on the left side like a chate-
lame. Another coquettish fancy is
that Of tying black velvet ribbon around
the arm above the elbow, and adding a
bracelet Of rose-buds around the wrist.
To abjure powdered hair is also in
good taste, wearing instead fnger-puf
coifeurs au natureI, whether the hair
is dark or blonde; and nothing can be
more charming than the huge black
Spanish fans, painted with crimson
roses, on sticks of tortoise shell, or the
white silk fans with silver sticks en-
crossed in japanese patterns. AS alb
surdities, what can be worse than
dresses utterly without sleeves, having
merely a shoulder-strap and fringe, OF
lace, or a vine of roses around the arm
hole, unless it be the fashion of making
the back of the waist and the hustle the
objective point for flower trimmings
This is sometimes carried to such ex.
cess that the wearer looks as if she had
sat down In a box Of flowers and they
had stuck where they r least orna.
mental.
BALL BOUQUETS.
The ball bouquet of the period is also
worthy of a paragraph. It is of long
stemmed flowers, loosely yet most ar,
tistically put together, and is made NJ
of but two or three kinds of flowers
that must not only match the fora
garniture of the dress with which they
are worn, but must also be of odorE
that do not conflict. For instance
with a dress of white gauze fringed
with lilies of the valley, the hand bou.
quet is of real lilies of the valley, pink
rosebuds, and glossy, green smilax
With a pinkinsh yellow salmon silk
dreas the round bouquet is half of tea
roses and the other half of pink buds
Sometimes the entire bouquet is is OF
double v~iolets, with a smilax wreath
Deep red Aggrippina roses are alter.
mated with pale yellow ones, and SO on
Vlolets and geraniums ~neutralize theiI
odors. Hehotropes and pink rosebuds
blend well both in color and perfume
LENTEN COSTUMES.
4uS OpPOSiJS eAGTeLne OF b cav
dress just described is the sombre at.
tire that will be worn during lent, no
only by high church and ritualistic Ia.
dies, but by fashionable folks general.
ly. This consists of black dresses Of
conventual plainness, fashioned in the
simplest manner, u~nreheved by the
smallest trace of color, with immacu.
late white neckties, and frightened only
by the flashing of the Jet trimmings,
with which they are heavily laden. 1t
Is a point of good style to show a dis.
tlnctlon between this Lenten black and
an ordinary fashionable black costume
consequently many ladies omit aulaces
flowers, and even jet, limiting them.
selves to the severest plainess of attire
All Jewels, except the most necessary
articles, are prohibited by the very de.
vout- Even solitaire diamond a rings
are laid aside, and only the useful
brooch, buttons and the inevitable chat.
elaine, with itshanging cross and ros.
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