The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-07-02
IMPROVED rIG-LEAvES.
An Init'atory step towards the Original
Fall Fashions.
THE MAULE.

|
order dress to be made for her. She
asks her dressmaker to mold dress
upon her, and, when this is done, she Is
called mOule.
To be nodded, you must begin by
adapting eUerv article Of your under
clothing TO the shape and size prescribed
by fashion. Therein lies the only Sc
cret OF perfection in dress which the
Pdrisienne possesses over other women.
Next to the Parisien1te IL is the Ameri-
can woman who is considered to be the
best dresser" She has one fault how
ever she Is not always juponne accord
ing to the requirements OF her toilet.
As rule, each dress should have It's
separate set OF skirts. to be worn exclu-
sively with il, and this should be pro-
vided by the dressmaker herself, as 1t
should always be almost OF the same
length and width rs the skirt OF
the dress, and always of the
same shape. Now tW0 underskirts, at
the utmost, are worn. The one which
accompanies the dress, and which Is OF
white muslin, is trimmed with lace In
sertions and edginRs. No fiOunces are
worn on understands. They are too
bulky for the present style OF dress
The skirt to be worn under this mus
lin skirt is OF white foulard, which ma
terial clings better than any other to
tho figure. And this skirt (Which is
gored, so as not to form a single plait)
| Is stitched to the edge OF the corset, in
order to leave the figure perfectly un-
trammeled bv band or belt however
thin. The skirt Is also trimmed with
lace insertion and edging. The corset
| Is very long--n IN Jeanne d'drc. AS
guide, it should be OF the length OF the
| dress cuirasse, which cuirasse, by the
by, is now only simulated by trimming
on the dress. This, again, is to avoid
giving extra size to the figure.
Some dispense with the second skirt
Of white silk they wear an undergar-
ment of white silk under the cor
set, which garment they trim with lace,
as II It were skirt 1t is made as long
as an ordinary skirt, and It takes the
place Of one. In reality, therefore, no
skirts are worn by the most strict.
| TO reoapitulate, a fashionable lady's
toilet now consists OF white silk
bodice inlaid with Valenciennes. which
white silk bodice Is continued into o
skirt, which is also richly trimmed with
ment answers two purposes and rs
called by two names. Then comes the
long cuirasse corset Of white or pink
satin. which improves the entire figure.
An extra white foulard skirt may be
stitched to the edge OF the corset, but
this is not necessary. 1t should, how
ever, be worn under costumes not pro-
vided with special unkerskirt OF their
own The dress itself, Of whatever ma
teriaI 1t may be, is OF the. Princess
snape-that Is, in one piece, from neck
to hem of skirt. The trimming on the
dress stimulates cuirasse and even tunic.
But separate cuirasSes or tunics are
quite laid aside, as being too bulky,
and hiding the outlines Of the figure too
much. 1t thus follows that nothing is
worn under dress body excepting the
under corset Bad, indeed, must be the
figure that does not look mOlded under
this system OF clothing. You may
wear cotton dress Of five dollars, ii you
| viii but under this must be worn the
i finest foulards and the richest lace.
Nor is it the dressmaker who can
make the figure. This depends entirely
on the corset manufacturer There is
even talk of having dress cuirasses
made by corset makers, and the skirts
would then be fastened to the corset,
which would at the same time form the
body OF the dress.
Colors are very little worn this season.
We see chiefly black and white. Black
is worn for general occasions; white Is
reserved for full dress. White Princess
tunics, made exactly like Princess robes,
are much worn over black or celored
skirts. They are quite as long as
dresses. and have long trains at the
back. These trains are looped up at
the back, through thick rich cords OF
the same color as the tunic. White
poplin tunics over black skirts are re-
markably elegant.
All dresses, tunics, skirts, etc, are
tied back as tightly as possible round
the figure. The knees should nearly
meet. Only the smallest possible steps
in walking can be taken. How ladies
dance / cannot imagine. 1t is true that
dancing is going out Of fashion. Ladies
even prefer to sit out dance with an
agreeable partner.
But, for evening wear. the baby dress
Is certainly the prettiest thing that has
come out for long time. In front, i'm
agine baby's christening dress. made
low, square in the shoulders, and trim
med la Pri,,cesse all down the
front of the skirt, which is made OF puff
a thick white cord. The back OF the
bodice is also Of silk and is laced at the
back, so that In front the lady appears
, to be dressed la Bebe, while at the
back huge train Of white silk follows
all her movements; and so per-
fectly is this Rskirt made, that the
train is never perceptible when
r the dress is viewed only from tne
, front. Nearly all evening dresses
! are made in this style. All the. Others
, form Louis XIV front skirt and train
, They are called La Valliere" dresses
, some others call them Manteau dt
Cour"
Hats and bonnets are literally covered
q with flowers or feathers. In shape they
\ do not differ much from those. OF las
g year. They may be worn over the nose
a at the back Of the head, or on one side
t according to the taste OF the wearer
i Very large, full caps of white lace ar
) worn under some Of the new bonnets
v and are tied like scarfs-under the chin
/. q little on one side, to the left.
Even lace and baby bonnets have beel
too much worn lately. Fashion own
them no longer.
Parasols should always be OF the sam
color and material as the dress, and b
t. trimmed to match the trimming on tn