The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-07-18
Plain Dresses.

Plain Dresses.
WASH dresses for the present season
are made in such simple and jaunty
styles, that they are suitable alike for
indoor and street dresses. They are
almost invariably short in the skirt,
and, unless of very expensive materials,
they have none of the shirring and flut-
ing that make them too elaborate for
ordinary laundresses. The substantial
torchon laces and the thick machine
embroidery in colors, are the trimmings
for very handsome dresses that require
to be frequently washed, while still
palmer dresses have plaitings of the
material, bias piped bands or narrow
Hamburg edgings.
There Is fancy this season for sew
eral pretty fabrics that had long since
fallen into disuse. Among these are
French lawns of solid color at thirty
five or forty cents a yard. These are
most popular in pale sky blue, in deli
cate flesh pink, in mastic gray and in
dark violet blue. The favorite style
for making is that of plated basque
with yoke and close sleeves that are
quite short, reaching only just below
the elbows; the Overskirt is either
sheath shape or else the washer-woman,
with the edges turned up plainly all
around, and the top edge of the turned
up part finished with standing plated
frill that mayi n its turn be finished
with narrow Valenciennes lace. The
plated yoke basque should be made
over smoothly fitted high-necked lin
ing of the dress material cut in basque
shape; the sleeves are not lined. The
skirt is short usually, but may be demi-
trained, and is always trimmed with one
or two kilt-plaitings of the lawn. Such
dresses are found at all the furnishing
houses, but are so easily made up at
home that they have become the favor
lite model of the season. Ladies who
are expert in making the braid laces
and insertions, which have become SO
fashionable, sew rows of this insertion
together in yoke-shaped pieces to cover
the entire yoke of these pretty dresses,
and then fashion cuffs of lace to match.
To complete such toilettes are broad
belts of black velvet, with wristlets of
velvet, and bows on the Overskirt.
There are also parasols of lawn, lace
and velvet. A large cluster of natural
roses and violets is worn at the waist,
and the gloves are long lace mittens.
Simple white dresses of old-fashioned
cross-bar muslin are made in the way
just described, and edged with Smyrna
lace. Some of these have q single
skirt laid in wide kilt plaits and worn
with Highland sash of plaid ribbon
tied around below the hips. Aplaid of
gray, scarlet and black is considered
very stylish. White dresses for after
moons at home and for "young girl
graduates are made of inely-dotted
Swiss muslin, trimmed with plaitings
of the same, simply hemmed, not
| edged with lace. These have a basque
and elbow sleeves, while the simply
shaped and bOuffant over-skirt has
long-looped bows of pale blue ribbon
holding it up on the sides. A bunch
of dark-red Jacqueminot roses is worn
at the waist. Linen lawn dresses,
either all white or else with Japanese
zigzag figures or bars, are made in the
same way, and trimmed with Smyrna
edging and small pearl buttons in bull
let shape, yet with eyes through the
middle.
The American percales come in neat
c0lored figures, checks and stripes on q
white ground, but are more effective
with gray or blue grounds dashed with
white. These are made up in suits hav-
ing vests and cutaway coats, or else
plain basques, and are bOrdered with
bias blue percale of solid color, and
sometimes edged with white cotton lace
in large bold figures. The domestic
seersuckers at a shilling yard are also
most effective in stripes of gray-blue
alternating with pink, or with white or
buff. These are trimmed with pipings
of color, pink, dark red, or buff, and
edged with torchon lace.
| When polonaisos aro mado with
wash-dresses, they are now quite short,
and are turned up in front in washer
woman style. This suggests good
plan for undermining the long wrinkled
fronts of polonaises Of last season. The
wrinkles in the side seams are let out,
the extra length of fourth of yard is
cut of, and, after being shaped to fit
the edge from which it has just been
out, it is trimmed at the top with plait-
ing, q ruffle, or lace, and is sewed on
again as an outside facing.
The fancy for vests also enables econ
Omists to remodel basques that have
become soiled in front or are too tight
across the bust. A separate vest of
silk or piQue or damask, striped or
checked mohair, gray corduroy, or any
appropriate material, is made, and the
front Of the partly worn basque is turned
back en- revers to disclose the vest.
The part turned back as y revers be-
gins at the throat, and slopes gradually
wider to the end. AS it is defaced by
buttons and holes, the revers is covered
with the material of the vest to conceal
these.
For plain wooden dresses buntings
and de bege are most used. The Amer
lean buntings are said to wear well, but
they are not nearly SO soft and pleasant
to the touch as the French buntings.
DE bege in ecru and gray shades makes
pretty short suits, and is most effective
when entirely self-colored instead Of
being with black or brown silks. There
are also low-priced tamise cloths in
stylish shades of beige and blue, that
are being made up with pretty trim
mings of white cotton guipure falling
upon plaitings of the material.-Har-
per's Bazaar.
Another Bogus Medium Exposed.
Ar o seance on Saturday night in
Lowell, Mass, the atrocious frauds
perpetrated by Mrs. Hannah Pickering.
Of Rochester, N. H.. in the name oil the
naturalization of spirits were exposed.
She has evaded the closest investiga-
tions at her home, and won great
celebrity. Representatives of Boston
and other papers have in vain sought