The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-12-03
The Fashions.

he IdoHIouS III INC ucAI HILL year
have ceased to be probabilities; they
have become facts. 1t is as easy to de-
eide now what it is wise to buy for win
ter as it Will be two months hence.
As before mentioned, the staple dress
goods will be silk, first of all; then
camels hair-cloth, camel's hair serge, and
other rough surfaced stuff for outdoors,
and soft cashmeres and light woolen fab
RIGS for the house. The plaids, for which
successful reign has been predicted,
arc mainly two shades of the same color
in broken or solid blocks, or combina
tions OF two very dark colors, notably
blue and green. Bright tinted plaids,
like the tartan, are, for ladies, almost as
much excluded as heretofore. Even
where self-shaded plaids arc used they
are mingled with plain material Of one
or the other shade, usually the darker
The combination Of two fabrics, as
well as two shades, is so common as to
be almost a necessity now in all styles of
costume-silk and velvet, silk and satin
silk and grenadine, silk and muslin for
elaborate attiring: and silk, with all va
rieties of worsted goods, for ordinary
wear. Sometimes even two kinds of
wooden stuffs, such as brilliantine and
serge, are put together.
For the street the popular mode is a
short skirt and sleeves of the deeper tint
ed material, and long, apron-fronted
overskirt with plain round basque of the
lighter shade. Such trimming as there
is is confined chiefly to the lower skirt-a
simple hem, piped band or large cord
being regarded rs abundant finish for
the upper dress. The cuirass basque is
usually selected for street suits, its utter
simplicity making it admirable for the
purpose. It is merely a round basque
(thc waist fits the figure as closely as it
can without straining). a quarter of
yard deep, lying smoothly over the hips
without a single plat. A large cord or
piping edges it, and. where ball fringe is
placed on the overskirt, it is added to the
cuirass. IT'S modest elegance is marked;
it requires, however, not only good
figure, but admirable fitting to look well.
The polonaise is by no means thing
of the past 1t lives, and has very
graceful being; but, not being regarded
as in quite SO good style as the basque
and overskirt, it is less frequently seen.
The French models for this garment are
peculiar Sometimes they have only
front breadths and a basque behind; then
they will have back breadths with a
pointed basque in front, over an elab
oratcly-ornamented tablier. But the
long, gown-likc garment which we have
chung to for year really seems little
out Of date. 1t is still worn, and no
doubt will be for months to come; but
its wcarers, who care more for comfort
than fashion, concedc enough to fashion
in the matter of sleeves to have these
match the dress-skirt.
A novelty in skirts, which, while seen
in promenade costumes, is better adapted
to evening and house dresses, are the
box-pleated back breadths. Such skirts
have two straight widths in the back, these
being laid in three double or triple box.
pleats from the belt to the hem. The
pleats are caught together on the wrong
side by tapes, and are usually allowed
to flare about half or third Of yard
from the bottom. On the outsile hand.
some bows Of silk and velvet are placed
on the plcats, sometimes on the center
one alone, sometimes on all three. With
these pleated backs are worn'either long
pointed aprons fastened under the pleats
behind, or elaborately decorated front
and side breadths, the trimming terminat
ing under Che plests.s As viii be seen,
this is very effective in demi-trained
robes, and IL a convenient method of re-
arranging silk dresses which have sew
er4l straight widths, and are otherwise
pssse II form,