Evening star., 1876-09-01
[Frorn our Special Correspondent !

From Our Special Correspondent
Nav YORK, August 20, 1878.
Fashion Is at Newport and Saratoga, uoon
the lakes, up in the mountains, at Niagara
anywhere aud everywhere bat at home.
Only the slaves OF the lamp traverse the
streets OF the large cities, or country people
out for holiday. or on their way To see tue
Centennial. What are the prospects for the
coming season? is the question that business
men ask OF each other, and the reply Is gen
orally encouraging, for hope still spring.
eternal, and no amount of confagration aud
subsequent ashes can long deter the Ameri
can pbenix from Ia kIng his flight into the
empyrean. But the strongest wings have
received SO severe clipping within the pas;
four years that no great flights can by any
possibility be made, and the undertakings
will necessarily be limited. One OF the men
whose name is synonym of wealth sent
his family abroad this summer for econo
my's sake, aud because he did not feel able
10 support social life at Newport With @
few exceptions, therefore, the summer has
been rather quiet one, notwiths tanding the
Centennial. People have done all the work
they could, and taken their pleasures mode
rately; only the few who ride on the top
been lavish. and they are usually hypocon-
driacs or invalids, get less cut OF LIE tnan
other people OF less means.
Fashion proper mas little to chronicle; the
story has been told. The lace and the cream.
the dying ribbons and the picturesque hats,
the trailing skirts and long slender medieval
bodices, the soft fabrics and the glitterins
ornaments; II they have not had Justice
done them. have at least been recorded, and
now we stand on the threshold Of new de
Psfture ,,t rear ana Gar, are ready to begin over again
OF weary attendance on size of eleeve. and
length OF skirt, on plating, ruffitng, puffiag
and draping, each invention proving a new
MATERIALS AND PRICES.
One of the best evidences of the re y1val OF
business is the advance I'm prices. There is
nothing cheap" just now bat cottons, and
the remnants OF last summers stock-and
then 1t is only the unsaleable aud ephem eral
sty yies-goods that cannot safely be carried
over.
Standards are not reduced las the phrase
Isl one iota. The advance guard OF the
woolen fabrics, prepared for fall aud win
which make their appearance in force. In
shades OF brown and gray.
Then there are the serges-which belong to
The same family-but are heavier. Sergss
have also wider ranges OF color: claret dark
blue, bottle green, and solid butter nut Drown
eau be found In serge, while beige, for which
special preparation of the yarn 10 required,
never makes its appears nee but in IN lxed
shades OF gray and brown, lightenet by the
Invisible presence OF white. Beige and serge
especially the " nuns " or carmslite serge are
excellent standard materials, however, aud
are very useful, not only for the intermediate
seasons, but for general costume PURPOSES
that require service, and are the bettec for
their neatness and simplicity.
The most suitable method OF making is TO
employ the material only for the bJiy par;
OF The suit, and mix self coIored sil x In the
mounting and trlmIning; as for exam pie
Ior piping, bows, lining OF collar, cdGS Gld
the like. I" Piping" now means narrow fat
doubled folds, introduced as an edge, With
out the addition OF c1rd wntcl soon wears
tnrough the SILK, and Is therefore nos desira
SILK AND SILK Costumes.
A very active movement has been init
mated, having for It's object al aivsacs in
the price of silks. aud IT Will, no doubt, spec-
ulative though IL is (for 1t Is impossible
guage the value OF the silk crop at presently.
have the effect OF making black silk dress
tthat Indispensable part of q Iady's ward
robe), cost from d We TO twenty-1ve ve dollar
more this fall than II did last spring. StiE..
III Is said, have Deen too low, and the indic,a
uons OF falling of in the crop, slight tho lgh
they may bs, are gladly ssizei as u basis for
an upward movement, which will q: once
strange rs it may seem, when prices arr
going up erybody rushes 1nsanely TO buy
lust as when prices are Running down every
BODY rushes tdiotically 70 sell. The new
SILKS are In dark self colors: plum, claret.
Indigo blue, seal brown. and blacR, which
are always the most in demand. For over
dresses, instead OF the damagks and brocades
used so much for two years past, there are
silk and woOlen armuris; and small, solid
woolen checks, which are selected Of precise
ly the same shade. The sleeves may be silk,
than formerly to have sleeves differ from the
body part of the garment for street dresses
though they are still employed, aud may be
little solid checks I'm wool are much more
elegant than the w0Olen damask. That class
OF goods is only really distingue when It is
junction with all the requirements for an
elaborate and costly toilette.
SILK AND VELVET.
There is nothing finer In fabric than the
combination Of silk and velvet. Ponson's
velvet Ia the best, Of course. 1t is close, fne,
wide, all silk, and has not been affected, SO
far as price Is concerned, by the speculative
Handsome standard fabrics OF this descrIp-
tion are better purchased early, for they are
only imported In small quantities; ana when
the wide widths have all been dIsposet of
importers fall back upon the narrow widths
TO supply what Is lacking IN particularly
fashionable shades; and these narrow widths
are neither SO perfect In quality nor SO good
for the price, nor do they cut to such adVan-
tage as the wide goods.
the silks. They are black, seal brown, in
digo blue, claret, and invisible green, and
the combination OF the two rich fabrics in
the solid color Is more edec tive than any
thing more fanclful could possibly be for
street and visiting purposes.
All persons cannot, however, afford the
richest silk or the richest velvet; ald TO suit
the more limited purses OF the masses many
experiments have been made OF late years,
in order 10 discover the best means OF SUP.
plying q good, well-wearlng 'trImmiug"
velvet at small cost. Silk-faced velvets
with cotton backs are what are usually
known az "trimming" velvets, but there Is
q great difference between even these.
The best are made in France upon hand
looms like the all silk velvets, and obi tain q
surface SO close, and SO like the pure silk
fabric that only an expert could detect the
difference without looking upon the back.
Another class are the German machine made
velvets, which have q silk face, but are
made in two pieces at once. face to face; and
cut through by machinery, 30 that the sur
face is more open, and "breaks" upon folding
1t over, or pulling IL apart. Trimming vel
vets are made In colors nearly as fine q the
real Lyons, and cost from two to six dollars
per yard, according to width, and whether
machine or hand made. The difference In
the combination suits this year seems to be
the two fAbYics are more mixed In the 6orna-
ton Of the different parts. Last year, for
example, the under skirt and sleeves we're of
plain ailk, or wool, the bodice, and tunic OF
checked wool, demassie, or velvet This sea-
son the body part OF the entire costume l.
more frequently Of silk, or wool, and the
trimming wholly, or In part c0mposet O.
velvet, silk, or armure, which rivals damask
and indeed II now used In conjunction with
plain fnille0 for street dress oS.