The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-01-27
French Costumes.

UNIQUE combinations of color and some
contrasts are found in newly-imported
Partisan costumes. There is Il fancy for
arranging brown and blue together. Thus,
new French dress has a skirt of nut
brown velvet, with a long over-dress of
pale blue cashmere. Another rich suit
has long apron and sleeves of very dark
leaf brown cashmere, with a cuirass and
lower skirt of striped brown and blue
silk The fronts of the cuirass have but
one dart, and are cut bias, with the stripes
meeting in the center. The long side
forms are of cashmere. The high En-
glish collar-at least two inches broad
is of silk lined with cashmere, and is
turned back in front to show the lining.
The fiat mother-of- pearl buttons have
dragons engraved on them, and are sewed
on through eyes. The deep apron is
edged with brown silk fringe tied with
blue like that in the striped silk; large
peated pocket of the silk is on one side.
Costumes of the soft Angora wool stutfs
are trimmed with straight feather bands,
and with a new repped velvet, which is
laid in plcats. The lower skirt has the
over-skirt sewed in with the belt; this
over-skirt forms deep apron front, and
has pufls behind.
1t is more particularly in the attention
paid to small details that the beauty of
French dresses consists. Different mate
rials used in the same costume are nicely
matched in shade, and the trimming is of
the most appropriate kind. Among pretty
and new arrangements of t1ounces are
those with groups of side pleats, three in
cluster, fastened down two inches be-
low the top, then turned backward and
fastened again. This is done on straight
wooden flounces, and the lower edge is
finished with a narrow, side-pleated frill
of silk. Another plan has first a box
pleated founce at the foot, then side
pleating, then a gathered bias tlounce
above. There is a special fancy for sim
gle box-pleated tlounce AROUND the bot
tom of the skirt; in these box-pleats are
made to stand out very fully, like ruche.
Square trains of three straight breadths
are very popular when made of velvet,
while the front breadths of the skirt are of
silk. The train is scalloped on the sides
and across the bottom, or perhaps it is
finished by loops of the silk cut out, lined
with another shade or contrasting color
and turned upward to the edge of the
skirt, so that the lining is seen. Other
trains have broad band of bias velvet on
theedge. ..
One large pocket is more stylish than
two on the over skirt. There are various
designs for pockets. Some are deep,
slender pouches, drawn up like reticules
near the top, others have four or five
straight rows of side-pleating crossing
them, while still others are pleated from
top to bottom and trimmed with bow.
Cuffs cannot be of too simple shape fol
stylishness; in fact, the favorite fashion
dispenses with them altogether, and mere
| lv has the sleeve cut to flare over the
wrist and remain open in the side seams
Piping folds and pleating are the trim
mings for cuffs. Lady Washington
sleeves, with full ruffles at the elbow, arr
worn with evening dresses. Transparent
sleeves of net or figured lace are also
worn with thick silk or velvet cuirasses
-Harper's Basar.