Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-06-01

| Young, slender girl. not too tall. and wlrn
| knows how 10 carry ii of with an air of what
| may be called demure coquetry. But it looks
| IKE costume gotten up 10 produce a stylish
little effect, and not At all like the unobtruSive.
serious dess of t woman nan engage IN me
| more ways than one. Ii gets rid of buStleS and
| tournnreS fof girls; ii gives them an easy and
| convenient walking dress, and it makes IL
| possible for ladies who desire to shorten their
| Street dresses, or TO arrange a costume for the
| nsi1et when VIII clear the ground. to do so
| Nithout attracting attention or setting them.
| fashions.
| If ANYTHING could induce women generally
| 10 demanG neat decent walking dress il
would be the shameful fashion which StilI Oh
| talnS among those who wear long skirts Of
catching their dress up at the side, and hoist
ing Ii up In Sucn a way as not only exposes the
skirts but the foot and the ankle to degree
| that would condemn short dress at once
and fifty stigmatize ii as shameless. A useful
| dress must grow sometime out of our rcceSsi-
| ties; In the meantime il Is possible for each
| woman to work out the problem for herself,
although nd 3ug It would cer.ainly be less trouble
and leave her more time and strength for other
| Things II 1t could be done for her.
| GRENADINE DRESSES.
Black and whine seem to be especially re
| served OF late for extreme elegance in cos
| tunes. lhe richest materials and the most
| cosby trimmings are lavished on black or
white dresses. But the medium black which
| mas Tor so long been standby for that grand
class OF women who wish to be we'll aud fash
| lonably dressed without rendering thems elves
| Liable to too frequent changes or too large an
| expenditure, has loSs ground, and although it
sui holds It's own with large class, has no
| longer any claim to elegance or distinction
| The black grenadine in summer, has been to
| many what the black silk was in winter and
| al The year round, always useful and lady
| like: but the revival of cOlorS has driven ii
nearer and nearer to the outpostS, until il has
become very different from itself. OF has no
1aShlonaLie existence at all.
The black summer dresses sent from Paris
| are beWllderlng mixtures of black silk, black
lace and beaded paSSmenterie: They are COM
| binaIonS which defy description. because no
| TWO are alike, and because the arrangement is
so complicated that an attempt TO describe
would merely confuse. The basis is a Prin-
| ceSSe slip OF black foulard, and upon this
| folds foUnceS, lace drapery, fringe. plat
| ed lace. en- broidery and paSSmenteries are
! arranged, sometimes with a mixture of white
III satin or lace, but this is done very SparngIy.
The new medium Styles of grenadIne are in
! light or mixed cOlorS, and require no silk
! foundations or lining. The soft, silk finished
| answers every purpose for the bodice or for
the entire foundation if the dress is a Prin-
| ctSSe. Many of these new light grenadines
| are combined With silk, and some OF them with
| satin OF the same pale maStic and BRIGHT
| SHADES, presenting an appearance of exquisite
deICacy: The most retned have no touch of
! costume iii the lighter shades, and a tie #
| Willie lace or cuffs, and collar of white lace
| htIghtehIn% the freshness OF the whole.
| The aShgray grenadines are almost equally
| fashionable, and are frequently combined with
! little deeper shade in silk. kilt-plaiting Tor
| example, viii alternate section of knife
! plalCd grenadine, with another of silk, the
! folds being laid "a fine as possible. This close
| combination IS Effected throughout, and the
| genius OF the InodiSte is exercised in preserv-
| ing artistic proportion without dropping into
| mere imitation and common place
A very pretty and graceful design has a
plated back, terminating in series of draped
| tCunccS. A Belt composed of folks of silk like
the plating, starts from the side and passes
! through buckle made of a OmbinatiOn of the
| materials These buckles are repeated upon
| the skirt in the holding back of the draDery.
BUt eXqulSitely beautiful as the new pale
| shades are III the hand and in the exhibition
| rooms OF. fashionable OutftterS, they are very
tIyingtO the majority of wearerS. They re-
| quiIe an absolute firmness and delcacy in the
! person and personal belongings of the wearer
| and they soil from contact almost as quickly
| as pure white. Of course black grenadine
| dresses and OyerdreSSeS are still worn. The
! new embroIdered grenadines are even di~-
| tinguiShed. But besides being costly in them
| selves they are even enriched with great
| deal of lace and small cut bead trimming.
| The medium qualities have been reduced TO
! about half price, an indubitable evidence that
! they have lost prestige, and though they still
/ look very pretty when made up and trimmed
| with black and white lace, they are, notwith-
| standing, the resort of the economical rather
| than the choice of those who can afford at
| least meaSuiably to crafty their tastes.
SUMNER UNDERWEAR.
| In previous letter remarked upon the
improved" underwear as furnishing in one
| simple garment the uses of three, and with
| their gauZe vest and corset for base as being
| all that is required for comfort and protection
| n addition to two skirts, the one short the
! other nearly the length of the dress. This
| paragraph has stimulated many inquiries in
| regard 10 the ''lmprOyed'' underwear, its cost,
| whether it can be bought ready made, whether
| there is substitute for a corset, and the like
In order to. find out all there's to be known
upon the subject have made careful inquiries
at the principal ladies' furnishing stores i'm the
| city and visited the depot in East 18th street,
where the new garments can be procured. In
| qurieS at the regular repository for ladies I'M
| derclothing for garments cut all in one or what
they persist in calling Reform" underwear
| only provoke smile. The sales ladies'
any knowledge or association with any such
| compromising garments, and occasionally
| venture TO intimate that only eccentric ;
| ladies indulge in such monStroSitieS.
They have everything else, they assure YOU
and SO they have. There are now chemiSes,
square and deep cut; one shaped to the form,
| and embroidered upon the seams III old fash
| Toned herring-bOne, or satin stitch, and
| trimmed with fine Smyrna lace; the other
having square chemisette in front, which is
mass of lace and insertion, and with corners
turned away from the center and fashioned
down coquettishly with tiny buttons or bow
| OF ribbon. There are beautiful sets of linen
with wide Irish lace, and the night dresses,
| which are completed with deep marquiSe col
lar and cuffs of real Irish point. But all repro
duce the old forms, differing from them only
! OF all unnecessary fullneSS.. They are also, in
| the common and ordinary kinds, marvellousy
| cheap-SO cheap that it is surprising how the
| material and labor can be offered for the
| amount charged. Prices, it is true, go up rap
| idly with the quality of the material and work
manShip, and particularly with the addition of
! really good trimming or hand-work ornamen-
tatiOn, but these are not among the essentials,
and the fact remains that the common articles
of ladies' underwear can be bought lower than
| it is possible to buy the material at retail and
| pay for the making.
This fact of price is one of the disadvantages
| under which the improved underwear laborS.
1t is made in small quantities, and principally
| to order, and therefore, cannot be made
cbeaply. Moreover, the garments are very
| beautifully and duraby made of fine and sub
| stantlal material, and some of them being
! made under a patent, are dearer on that ac
count. Taking all the facts into cOnsidera-
| ton, however, their excellence and the num-
Der of garments for which they stand, two do.
| lars and half to three dollars, without trim
mings is not an eX0rbitant price.
A NEW and efficient substitute for the corSe.
| is called by the clumsy name of Emancipa-
| tiOn' waist. 1t is really wellmade, we'll
| shaped, and most comfortable cotton cuirasS,
| with or without lacingS, which admit of
enlargement. 1t can be worn next to the body
i'm hot weather, and serve as chemiSe, corset
| and corset cover. 1t is furnished with double
row of buttons, to which the skirts may be