The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-05-06
The Fashions.
PARTISAN DRESSES.


is the general remark that novelties this
year are confined to fabrics and colors
rather than to styles. At some of the large
houses the eye is startled by the high
Madras colors with thir vivid yellow and
red; but at the smaller, exclusive estab-
lishments very few of these gay plaids are
seen. Instead of these are limousine
stripes with few lines of color on cream,
brown, or gray grounds, or else those in
visible brown or gray plaids already de-
scribed, or perhaps green or blue or violet
shades appear in the plaid. Modistes
who imported plaid Lousine silks last
spring in advance of the present fancy for
them are now making overdresses of
damask or clouded silks, or of the amure-
figured woods, or summer limousines; if
they use the plaid Louisines they choose
those with rich bars, such as black on ecru
| grounds, brown on cream color, or navy
blue on gray.
Among the most pleasing dresses for
| those of French gray or drab gros grain
combined with softer silk of the same
shade figured all over in arabesque de-
signs. The gros grain skirt has pleatings
headed by shirred puffs, and the sleeves
are of the same gros grain. The overskirt
of the arabesque silk has a deep apron
draped very full near the foot of the dress
and edged with very rich fringe. The
basque is of simple design. Such dresses
are made without jackets, as they are so
light that they cannot be worn on days
cool enough 10 require wraps. They cost
from $3.50 to S2I5.
| Simpler costumes entirely of colored
silk, and also of black silk, are made with
short, loose, iaunty sacks, quite short be-
hind and with deep-pointed or square
| fronts. These are made to wear over the
| basque that is worn in the house. The
trimming is usually a knife pleating with
| rich crimped fringe below. The Byron
collar of many fine pleats of the silk is
considered stylish feature for these jack
cts.
Open English embroidery on black silk
is not new this season, but promises to
| find greater favor than when first intro
duced 1t is preferred for wide fiounces,
for narrow ruffies to edge tounces, and
also for sleeveless basques, aprons, and
sashes. When associated with rich gros
grain of its own shade, or with handsome
grenadine, it makes very effective garni-
| ture.
| BLACK GRESADINE DRESSES.
The newest and richest black grenadine
dresses are made of the open, square
meshed grenadines resembling Mexicaine,
or Of plaids alternately thick and thin, or
| else they are barred or lined with velvet
| Those dresses intended for the house only
have the skirt trimmed to simulate a
tablier, but no separate apron. The foun-
dation of the skirt is silk, and for this pur-
pose the substantial glossy taffeta silk is
used. The grenadine forms a founce
around the bottom, and is then deliberately
draped on the silk; in many cases the
front, back and sides have each an ar
rangement of their own. The fiounce at
the bottom may be either deep
bias gathered fiounce, shirred at the
top, and edged with knife-pleating
or else there are many rows of knife
pleating placed to overlap each other and
headed by shiTred puff On some dresses
the knife pleating extends up the entire
back breadth; in others it is arranged in
pyramidal form on the bottom of each
| hrna1tb while Still othnrS howe tb ron rn,,-s
of the finest crimped pleating sewed on
a gathered fiounce. On the upper part OF
the skirt two breadths are shirred to repre-.
sent an apron, and these have each mar.
row ruffle meeting in the front; the back
is then held in two large putfs with sash
ends. Another tablier is formed of many
crosswise folds of grenadine, which may
be turned up or down, while others have
reversed pleating. The basque is shaped
fancifully and trimmed down the back
and front with shirring or pleating to cor
respond with the skirt. The long hooped
bows and the sash-loops in the skirt are
made of gros grain laid in fine knife
pleating and pressed fatty. The coat
sleeves are formed of folds of grenadint
placed across from seam to seam, or else
soft puffs separated by rows of shirring
instead of regular cuffs, pleating, a ruffie
and lace trim the wrists; it is the excep
ton for imported dresses to have plain
sleeves.
Grenadine suits that may be worn in the
street as well as in the house are far more
simply made. They are provided with
deep aprons, over-skirts with bouffan,
back drapery, plain cuirass basques, and
simply-trimmed skirts, like those de
scribed for silk and wool suits. The sub.
stantial canvas grenadines so long in
favor will still be used for these simple
costumes. Sometimes they form the en-.
tire suit, but in many cases they have
basques and aprons of more fancifully
plaided grenadine. Heavy crimped tape
fringes trim street suits of grenadine
There are also pretty sleeveless jackets
ana tabliers formed of lengthwise inser-
tons of yak, thread or beaded guipure,
with grenadine between. These may be
worn over silks or grenadines, just as the
wearer chooses.
| PONGEE DRESSES.
The buff, ecru and brown pongee
dresses, so much in favor last summer.
are again imported. They are trimmed
with insertion of silk guipure of their own
shade and with lace of corresponding pat
tern. The skirt and sleeves are of dark
chestnut brown silk. The pongee over
skirt has a tablier front that represents
three aprons by having three bands of in
| sertlon outlining them. The jacket, with
| short back and long front, is composed of
| lengthwise rows of insertion alternating
with the ecru pongee. Ladies of quiet
tastes prefer these plain pongees to plaids
or figured silks.
MORNING DRESSES.
Pale blue and rose cashmeres are made
into elaborate princesse dresses for house
and morning wear. In some models the
front is of pale blue silk, with a iabot its
entire length made of white thread lace.
The back of the dress is of cashmere, made
in Gabrielle fashion, with the upper part
OF the skirt in panier puffs, while the low
er part has knife pleatings of silk in which
white lace is laid. A second, of pale blue,
has pyramids of knife-pleating made of
blue and white Stripo6 Gill laid -, ,,lo,+,