The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-04-18
Wooden and Silk Costumes.

The wooden and silk costumes inn
ported for spring do not differ greatly
from those of last year; hence it will
be an easy matter to alter dresses left
over that are not worn, but need SIM
ply change of drapery and trimming.
To modernize polonaises of camers-
hair or other wooden goods all Topped
draping in the back should be taken
out, and the back breadths left to hang
plainly in rich folds almost to the end
of the skirt beneath. There should be
tapes in the side seams to draw all the
fullness to the back, and this fulIness
should be disposed in box-plaits in the
middle seam, folded underneath and
out of sight; the plain part over the
tournure is deeper than formerly. A
long-looped bow of double-faced ribbon
should be sewed low on the hips on the
side seams, or else several horizontal,
or perhaps diagonal, rows of watered
ribbon may be arranged across each
side of the skirt, forming panels. In
many polonaises the fronts fall open
from the knees down as if cut away; in
altering narrow polonaiscs the material
need only be drawn back to give this
appearance. To make a polonaise of
this kind take black camel s-hair and
trim with beaded fringe or with wat
cred ribbon. Another way of putting
ribbon or passementerie on these very
plain and very stylish over-dresses is
to put row across the fronts below
the waist outlining a basque, and when
this row reaches the side seam carry it
| II fhSc 10 tho T.
met by the border of ribbon and fringe
Still another way of making soft back
drapery is to make the two middle
pieces of the back long, like scarfs,
trim them all around with galloon, and
lap them to and fro upon each other.
Small fichu capes, mantelets, and the
Carrick fichus accompany such polo
naises. The Carrick fichu represents
three capes in the back, where it reach
es to the waist, and is knotted ut the
belt in front.
To alter basque of last season is
still easier. The front can be cut off
quite short to prevent the ungraceful
wrinkling that long smooth cuirass
basques take on when the wearer is
sitting. Then put silk folded belt, or
4 belt of four folds of silk, in the seam
under the arms, or else in the further
seams of the side form, and fasten the
belt in front, leaving the back or only a
part of the back without any belt; the
back is then cut quite square, and from
u quarter to half yard in length be-
low the waist line. Another trimming,
not especially new, but very much used
this spring by the French dressmakers,
is vest Of plated silk laid on the front
of the basque its entire length; some-
times the middle forms of the back of
the basque are also covered with this
lengthwise plating. Again, there are
handsome wooden substantially of
black camel s-hair-made with plated
basques and single silk skirt, trimmed
with camel's hair to represent an
apron. The basque has three plaits in
each front and each back; the edges are
untrimmed, the belt and sleeves are of
silk, and the collar is in sailor shape.
The apron is one full width of camel's-
hair drawn back to revers of silk that
meet on the tournure, and fall open be-
low TO allow fan train of black silk to
escape; this fan train is part of the
lower skirt, and is untrimmed; a knife
plating of silk is across the foot of the
three front breadths. For such dress
it is useless to extend the silk all the
way up the three front breadths: cam
brio foundation, shaped like these
breadths. is faced ten or twelve inches
with silk at the foot, and above this the
camel s-hair apron covers the cambria,
and is sewed in with it to the belt.
To trim the foot of silk skirts new
fancy is to make flounce on a cluster
of ten or twelve knife plaits. then put
three box plaits each an inch wide. and
again knife-plaited cluster. Such
hOunces are from six to eight inches
deep when finished, are cut straight
across the silk, and it is quite the Gus
tom to hem the edges on the sewing
machine, though many of the best
dressmakcrs prohibit the use of ma
chine sewing on any part of a silk
dress where this sewing is visible We
have already spoken of the kilt-plaiting
sewed on above the knee to give the
effect of an entire kilt skirt. Lately
imported dresses have this plating
made much smaller than kilt plaits,
yet not so fine as knife plaits, and when
two shades of silk are used for piping
the dress, two similar shades are used
in alternate clusters of plaits around
the bottom.--Harper's Bazar.