The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1875-09-16
LETTER FROM BOSTON
Correspondence of the Journal.

BOSTON, Sept. IS, 1873.
About as often as new dress is wanted,
woman's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of
fashion. Some dyspeptc husbands or fathers
may declare that this desire is chronic in their
households, but their opinion is moi to be trust
ed any more than is that of a dress maker
lately talked with, who told me that it seemed
to her that women did nothing from morning
till night, and week in and out, but devise ways
for making new garment, or altering over an
Old one. OF course that is all she hears. be-
cause her customers go to her for the very p,lr-
pose of talking about dress. DR.. Clark. the
author of Sex in Education' had this woman's
| method OF Senerallzing. lie thought because
all his female patients were afflicted with nery-
Gus diseases, that all women were so suffering
from this class Of ailments, but there are plenty
of strong, healthy women in the world, who
never had any occasion to see DR.. Clark. But
to return to fashion. | have been interviewing
several high authorities this week on this topic
appropriate to the season. Mr.. b. L. Steven
son, gentleman of credited taste-and gentle
men have much to do with fashion here as well
AS III Parls-who is the foreign buyer for Jordan
Il Marsh, has just returned from Il tour in Ger
many and France. He tells me that he has no.
tcad very little change in the cutting of dresses
| lie saw both polonaises, and overskirts and
basques. The latter were somewhat longer in
| front. The most noticeable departure seemed
| to be in the cloaks, which were almost invari-
| ably long, flowing, and of beautiful heavy
cloths, trimmed with braids and flIrs. No lets
were to be seen. From Mr.. John j. Stevens
| who has for many years stood ut the head of
| the importers of ladies costumes, of the most
| quiet select, and thoroughly lad like styles,
| I learned that the fayorite trimming which is
| superSedng jet, is a beautiful braid interviewer
| with threads of gold or silver. lie said he saw
ladies at the opera abroad, clad in dresses Of
white vigogne and cashmere, which We're cut
with Greek simplicity, and trimmed merely
with rows of this Shimmerng braid They
Wore golden or silver circlets, to match the
braid, about their waists, and their hair was
| arranged in a classic twist. This beautiful at
| tire, Mr.. Stevens said, reminded him of the
| stage costumes of Rachel, which great actress
| he well remembers, and whose dress was al
| ways eXquisitely artistic, simple and graceful
| This gentleman spoke very plainly about the
| ied-back skirts, which have been carried to
such an extreme in Paris that II reyusion is
| inevitable. He said he was surprised to see
| American ladies adopt SO vulgar a mode of
| dress, which in his opinion tended more to I'M
| SEX women than could any of the so-called re-
| forms. At this establishment many orders
| have been received for wedding trousseauX,
| 1,ar HON a we 1ip,r Trnn
| Il Maine lady in the vicinity of Belfast, is for a
beautiful creamy white silk, to be cut with one
skirt demi-train, over which is to be worn an
| immense horn-shaped train of double silk, the
| upper half being shirred over the pannier.
| Plaitings of tulle, point lace and flowers com
| plete the garniture. Her travelling dress is to
Of navy blue silk, trimmed with knife plating
of the same, which style of trimming the Paris
| mod,tes are using as much as ever. The
| mothers dress is of a new shade OF silk, sage
gray, and is to be cut with single trained
| skirt. simply trimmed, to be Worn with point
! laces.
| Complete sets of underwear are now ordered
| by to-be brides for less price than that for
| which they can be made at home or by the
| seamstresS. Mr. Tucker who was for many
| years the foreign buyer Of laces for c. G. IIol-
! brook, and who now has charge Of that we'll
known establishment, says that this part of the
| rousseau he now orders direct from Paris. The
| work. more or less elaborate. is done by the
nuns, who earn BY their skiltul use of the
| needle only about tea cents a day. These sets
| include six garments Of each style-long skirts,
| walking skirts, chemises, drawers, corset coy
ers, dressing sacks, under skirts, night dresses
and morning dresses The whole sets cost from
$500 to 500, which is really less than the ma
terials would cost, to say nothing of time and
| labor. Similar sets are made by this same firm
by American hands, the best cottonS being used
/ together with fine linen lawn for some gar
| mentS. They are trimmed W it'll selected ham
burg cdgings, which are no more like the com
mon, coarse grade than would the wearer be to
Hercules The chief part of this work is done
| BY two sisters on the sewing machine, and it is
eXquisitely done. no such thing rs an uneven
tuck or hem being tolerated. They earn, by
| the way, from SIS to $50 week, while the
nuns get 10 cents Il day for their beautiful hand
sewing and embroidery. This shows the rea-
Son why French under garments sell for such
comparatively low prices
Mr.. Gregg has been home week from New
York, and have seen the result of the inter
Ncning weeks work. Nearly all his hats and
bonnets are of felt, which We're never finer in
quality or more exquisite in color. Ladies can
now boast of q genuine French felt, rs well as
gentlemen, if they choose. These hats, I'M
trimmed, will cost $780, $3.50 and $500. The
choice coors are cream, fawn, seal brown, all
shades Of gray, dark blues, prunes, greens, and
blacks. The soft serge ribbons used last year
are again employed because of their pliability
they hang in long ends behind in many instances.
Flowers appear to be almost discarded, except
in a few cases, where they are used with velvet
| for face trimmings. These latter are to be seen
| in all the bonnets, which flare over the face to
admit them. The hat tips forward over the
forehead, and is thus, at last, given distinc-
tive characteristic from the bonnet. Mr.. Gregg
SAYS the New 1ork and French bonucts are very
large, but he has cut all his patterns down TO suit
| New England tastes. lie has also given Il hand
some repped gaoon binding to the hats, which
are often left unfinished by French and New
York milliners The chief feature of both hats
and bonnetss the variety and quantity OF feather
garnture. Ostrich plumes, wings and birds are
often seen on one bonnet. The birds run from
small to great, and one almost as large as a pig
con | saw planted head down ON the back of a
bonnet rs if its heaven had somehow got in
verted. Two wings on either side ola hat dis
tinguishes the Mercury shape, which will have
the effect Of giving the wearer the one thing
needed to make her an angel. If some OF our
sweet-empered danes don't fly away and leaN c
Us this season. they can never afterwards say it
was not done for the want of pnions. A new
trimming which is very odd and pretty, and
which is to come for dress trimming, also, is a
Melted braid or ribbon. 1t is found in all colors,
and is used very effectively over a broader rib
bon than itself Of contrasting color. 1t is used
| in the dull tints to bind the hat, also. Two
shades Of silk and velvet are much used to-
gether still, and the feathers, or sometimes {;
| bright roll or bow of velvet, introduces the de-