Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1876-12-01
EVENING STAR.
NEW YORK FASHIONS.



leaves may have left the trees, and the grass
grown scant and dry. but the sidewalks are
crowdea with well-dressed women, the streets
with handsome equipages, Ole shops with
beautiful holiday wares, and every corner
glowing with roses and vioets, set in a
frame OF ivies and ferns, make up bright
and attractive feature to which the crisp air
and winter sunshine-or snow-Iends an add
ed radiance.
Inducements to spend money are unusually
varied this season, enormous quantities OF
goods having been brought on To New York
from the Philadelphia exhibition and either
placed on sale or sent to the auction rooms
where they are submittes to public inspec-
ton for q few days and then sold for what
they will bring. Wherever there are great
waTerooms empty on the great thoroughiares
they arc employed for this purpose. and il is
a fayorite occupation with persons of leisure
and means TO spend their mornings Teasing
their eyes on the rare old china, books, prints,
Turkish and Eastern embroidered stuffS oe-
casionally making an acquaintance at low
auction prices. which will doubtless figure
in many cases, as an elegant Christmas gift.
Iii addition to these there are the displays
Of the regular importing houses and the
smaller but more tasteful exh ibition of the
retail stores, including the confectioners
with their decorated plum pudding ard boH-
bCas and the florists. where mounds of tubs,
roses are contTasted with huge boauetS of rel
Provence roses, and both together exhale a
fragrance which seems summer concentrated
in one exquisite breath. What delights in
deed exist for those who possess the means 10
obtain. or the tastes To enjoy them. All the
arts, all the genius, all the skill. all the in
dustry of the world are taxed wear by year to
produce something new, something beauti-
full, something odd, something finer than we
have had before. Hand-work has the prefer
ence in every department The East-Iake
mania has given color and form to modern
art and threatens To revolutionize modern
Workmanship. If il only could. III we only
had fewer things and better! Must we be-
forever changing and replacing. TO the detri-
ment of character as well as the destruction
of comfort?
CHRISTMAS GIFTS.
have remarked that hand-work has the
preference in all articles OF luxury and many
of those for Use. For years past the prast igp
acquired by hand-work in wood has been
growing and receiving constantly increasing
stimulus by the purchases and enthusiasm
OF travellers from abroad and the fashionable
mania for wood carving at home. The inn
meGse number of purposes 10 which pretty
articles in wood can be put, the great variety
and extreme availability of the material.
and its susceptibility TO more or less beauty
OF 6nish are reasons enough why IL should
| he industriously applied To holiday uses
some holiday exhibitions seem to be COM
posed OF nothing but wood. There are all
| sorts of carved frames and brackets. music
| holders and letter-holderS: there are carved
bread-irays and cheese plates, paper-cutters
and salad-kniyeS and forks from the -Rigi"
| district, pen-holders in the form of alpeu-
stocks, and pocSet-whistles like small hoops
both covered with natural goats hair. Then
| there are fruit-dishes and ornamental pieces
carved out OF a single piece of wood. in leaf
| and vine, and fruit patterns. and Swiss
| clocks in the form of old mills, dilapidated
| watch-towers and the like.
| The newest and QuainteSt articles, however
| are executed in rustic woodwork and repre-
| sent cords, half cords and quarter cords of
| wood. cut and piled, the grain showing
| through the smooth, clean surface of the
| ends, the bark at the sides, anG. moth stick
| ing fast here and there The interiors are
| hollow and may be used for bon bOHS. and af-
| forwards for matches or cigars. Sometimes
| the wood pile will have a wOOd-cutter mount
| cd upon the lid. sr the man will form the
| principal figure, and he. carrying his faggot
| his game, or his wares upon his back The
| most original cigar holders are perfect fac
| SMILES of WORKOUT leather Shoes and the
| prettieSt inkStandS a dainty boot with a COW
| cred cut-glaSs holder set in the top.
| The holiday goods which come TO us from
| Paris are more snowy and more in the form
| of articles for personal use and adOrnment.
| Marvellous things are gotten up in the way
| OF fine china, decorated glass and pearl-Ona-
| mented toilet sets. Small mirrors are sc! in
| frames formed of shells of pearl with twisted
| silver mounting, the branches holding per-
| fume bottles. and powder box of engraved
| glass. Others have frames of delicate painted
| china with gold rims. and bottles and box OF
| exquisite china to match. Black cream or
| turquoise blue is used for the base, upon
| which minute Vatican figures and interiors
| are painted with admirable fincneSs and deli
| cacy. Very new and rich jewelry shows the
| same devices upon the same grounds. The
| fashionable articles consist Of a watch sus-
| pended by chaielaine. a pendant for the
| neck. earrings ana bracelets. lie paintings
| are enclosed i'm knife-settings OF gold, with
| brlliantS tn form the design. and small round
| pearls set ike nails at the corners.
Gift rings are formed like bracelets Of sew
| eral strands, with pearls or opal, or emer-
| aids and diamonds in the center-or, rather,
| on the top, for a fashionable ring now reaches
| quite 10 the first Joint.
| Steel purses with .Fsnap" tops. for holding
| silver are among the new things, and the
pretty Nice work baskets have expanded into
wall baskets, and scrap baskets ornamented
| oil
| sorts OF odd things, in applique of red and
green with black worsted. But furs are per-
haps, the objects towards which the mos;
| longing eyes are cast, for they are new 10
| me majority and very beautiful. The fash
ionable fans are of feathers. OF course, any
thlng rare, or quaint, or odd, is better than
merely fashionable, but the term is used 10 de-
slgnate the prevailing style, in contradistinc-
ton to the style which preceded il. For exam
PIE: Fans with fine painting upon silk or satin
were predominant few years ago, and they
are still TO be seen, some of them having had
fringe OF peacocks feathers added 10 the
Top, but unless the painting is especially fine
they are less distinguished than the fans com
posed entirely-with the exception of tho
sticks-of ostrich feathers, white, black OF
natural gray. There are black and white
cocks feathers fans with peacock tips OF
are less expensive, though some of them are
| very beautiful also. OF course much of the
cost depends upon the sticks, their workman
ship, and the material OF which they ars
composed. Pearl sticks are considered less
desirable than formerly, partly because ol
their light color, partly because they are
brittle and break SO easily. Dark shell are
preferred, carved ivory for white fans and
ebony for black.
| REVOLUTION IN STATIONERY
| Some experiments in ink have recently
oeen made which promise to create a diver
SION If not effect a revolution in fashions i'm
stationery. A white ink or silver ink and a
gold ink have long been considered a deside-
Tmun in writing fluids. The first of these
has AT length been obtained in perfection II
flows freely, makes a straight hair-line, and
dries quickly. This suggests, and indeed il
demands, dark-colored papers, and several
dlnerent kinds have been prepared. one con-
slstlng of solid cardinal red. another OF solid
brown, another OF navy blue, or rather "ink''
Diue, and a fourth of the dark colors assorted.
| Ihe novelty of the combination will be likely
| 10 strike young folks especially. and inspire
| them with desire to ''try" the effect. Dark
| looking missives may shortly be expected.
therefore, 10 begin their flight through the
| post office, and nervous ladies need not lake
| II for granted on receiving good-looking
| blue, black, or brown letter that they have
| lost all their friends at one fell swoop. Ii
may be remarked, en- pdSsait, that assorted
| stationery makes one of the most welcome
| OF Christmas gifts, and some very pretty new
styles have been prepared with special refer
| ence 10 the holiday demand. Or course the
| Htod elegant has the monogram made to
L order and stamped on selected Darer hlrf