The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-09-25
lFrcm Harper's Bazar.l
New York Fashions.
PRINCEssE COSTUMES.

pieces Oh this over dress are, however, so intri-
cately and so closely combined that it is often
difficult to tell where the basque leaves off and
tne oVeI-sklrt begins, and the appearance is
gwen Oh close chnging poionaise. To do this
the lower edge of the basque is left untrmmed,
and the upper part of the over skirt drapery
comes up above the edge of the basque and
| conceals It, Sometimes only the front of the
basque is hidden. and the back is well-defined
position; in other cases the back is concealed.
and the front of the basque are shown; some
times the whole edge is tucked away out of
sight; and there are not wanting instances Of
regular basques richly trimmed on the edges,
sashed, and with revers in each seam, though
tue plain round cuirass has probably had its
day. The effect of the cuirass is, however OBJ
talned by hooking or otherwise attaching the
| oyerskrt drapery near the edge of the basque,
which is fitted plainly over the waist and low
down on the hips This over-skirt drapery Is
attached to the lower skirt usually; indeed, il is
the exception in French dresses to find the two
skirts separated. There is very little "loopirg
up IN the new draperies, and all punching
| boutfant effects are out of STYLE The low dra-
| peries that were introduced last season will be
universally used for winter dresses. These
| consist OF folds, pleats, and wrinkled breadths
sewed across the front and sides of lower skirts
either straight across or curved, OF else they are
placed diagonally, but always in easy, irregular
fashion, not set and stiff, and in most cases the
sides ara arranged differently. The back drap-
cry, as we have said before, is very slight, quite
L
pendants. few regular round over-skirts are
SHOWN, but these are not festooned to look bouf-
fant as at present They are drawn together
low down in the back. and held there by large
| long-looped bows.
COMBINATION COSTUMES.
AS this is to be hard winter, the reader
| will be glad to know that combinations in cos
| tunes remain in fashion. There are combina-
tions il fabrics and combinations in colors.
Not single suit is found made entirely of one
material; hence short patterns and partly worn
dresses can be used again as parts of new suits.
There is less shading than formerly; thus, in
| stead of a dress of one color showing tone upon
tone of that color, bright contrasts in relief up
| on dark colors are preferred. For instance, the
dark blue, green or plum-colored silks of last
winter will form excellent foundation skirts for
new over dresses of wool or of silk brocade of
/ the same color, which will be frightened up
| with facings knots and pleatings of cardinal
| silk. There are four shades of brown that will
be used for costumes; these are variations of
| seal and bronze brown. The myrtle or Russian
| green costumes are largely imported in fine
woolen stutfs, in silks, brocades, and velvets.
Plum-color and navy blue suits are shown in
profusion One pretty way of relieving these
IS to trim them with bias bands of cardinal silk
that are almost concealed with row after row of
merest glimpses of the cardinal trimmings be-
tween.
The wooen polonaises and over-dresses are
OF laine carree-square-fgured wool-all of one
color, or else they are partly plain twilled serge
| orscamePs hair, and partly striped or tnfted,
making, with the silk or velvet of the under
| skirt, three materials in the costume. Gilded
stripes on seal brown twilled goods are used for
the sleeves. bias bands, and for parts of the
polonaise, sometimes appearing as one Of the
side forms, or in the large square collar, or, it
| may be, forming most of the lower drapery of
| garment that is solid color in all its upper
| parts. In description these new arrangements
| may seem eccentric, but French taste has made
| them very pretty, aud not at all striking
Silk over dresses are usually brocaded, or
| what is called psmasse, in small silk figures, or
/ else in the raised velvet designs showing leayes
scales or geometrical figures. Conspicuous
plaids and well defined stripes seem TO have
lost favor. Small armure figures and tufted
threads in the knickerbocker styles are still
popular. One color usually prevails in the
brocaded silks, yet there are quaint moyen-age
brocades made up elegantly, with gray figures
| on blue or plum ground, or gold on green, and
even tiny cardinal figures on green, with much
myrtle green satin or silk peatings for trim
mings One of the handsomest suits is a vel
yet SKIRT OF pale drab, with narrow velvet ruff
ties headed by fine gray feather trimming; over
| this is polonaise of drab and brown silk bro
cade in very small figures, trimmed with
| feather border
LOWER SKIRTS.
Lower skirts of costumes are almost con-
| cealed by the long polonaise or over-skirt dra-
perry, yet upon the shape Of this foundation
| skirt depends much of the beauty of the cos
| tune. This lower skirt is narrow, clingiug iu
front and on the sides, and long behind.
Three yards is its average width around the
bottom. The three front cores are sloped at
the top so closely that there is no gathering or
| pleating to the belt. The two straight back
breadths are sewed to the belt in one large box
| pleat, and have a drawing string about half
| yard below the waist to draw all the fullness
backward. Skirts of French dresses are not
| lined, they are bound with braid. They are
| WIDELY faced with crinoline, on which is laid
a narrower facing of alpaca the color of the
dress, and the dress material is then turned up
| on this in the old-fashioned way. Silk skirts
are the foundation of most toettes Heavy
l cameps-hair and velvet skirts that would
make too much bulk on the hips are fitted plainly
| around the top and have deep Spanish flounces
| below to give the necessary fullness; even in
| such cases two breadths Of wide camel s.hair
are found sufficient for the Spanish tounce.
The trimming of lower skirts shows little
| novelty. Instead of knife-peating going out Of
| use, it will be more worn than ever. especially
| in narrow widths, finely pleated with the
| edges tapping, and thus forming a single clus-
ter around the bottom of the skirt. The same
trimming extends all around the skirt, but is
| apt to be narrower in front where the taber
falls over it than it is in the short train that is
| not so much hidden. In regard to the length
of skirts, we are sorry to say that while the
front and sides are short enough for comfort
/ able walking the back sbreadths are long
enough to sweep the sidewalks. These back
| breadtLs, however, are gathered into a small
| compass to form SOFT of queue train, which
is very narrow, and therefore easily lifted out
of the dirt OF the street. A fayorite design for
trimming the skirt is two lapped knife-pleat-
ings, each three inches deep, then broad bias
| band and two narrower erect knfe-pleatpgs.
Another is two box-pleatings with knife
pleating between, or the reverse of this, with
| only single box-pleatiDg. These new pleat-
ings are all pressed very fiat from top to bot
tom, and are not permitted to fly out at the
edges like ruffles. 1t is also preferable that the
| tounces should be of the wool or other material
| of the over dress rather than of the silk of the
lower skirt. The over dress is usually trimmed
| with fringe or with silk pleating
BLACK SUITS.
The richest black silk suits have over dresses
| of black brocade, either silk brocade or else
| that with raised velvet figures The brocade
basque has sleeves TO m atch and is trimmed
| about the neck ard wrists with folds and pleat-
ings. The edge of the basque is not trimmed
as it is hidden beneath the brocade drapsry
which forms the over skirt, and the effect of o
polonase is produced. Very rich fringe edges
| the drapery. The lower skirt is of silk, with
| pleated fiounces Palmer black silk costumes
| have two narrow gathered founces with
| cluster-pleated hounce between Over this is
l long over skirt trimmed with wide, heavy
K fringe. The over skirt is sewed to the lower
skirt and is shirred down one side, while the
l other has long-looped bows placed quite low