The Portland daily press., 1878-08-03
SATURDAY MORNING, AUGUST 8.

in them with difficulty the heels were so high
and the toes so 'nibbed;" but then, as friend
remarked, they finished her costume so exqus-
itely! She might have been "Sarah Jennings"
Ia ner young days, splendid, penniless, and
picturesque; and we heard whispers that the
cloth gold petticoat was an old ancestral be-
longing which had only figured in private the
atricals before the rage for fine art in costume
spread Itself on such gorgeous wings.
Inere can perhaps be no better way of Illus
tratlng the artistic style of dress than by de-
scriDing few costumes two of which were
from designs by Mr.. Walter Crane, an artist
who has done much toward revvng splAndor
OF color. and the picturesque or classical in de-
sign. One of these was Greek tunic of white
cachemre worn over long trained petticoat of
white silk. The tunic consists of two straight
pieces OF nearly equal length gathered into
wide band, the two fastened together by shoul-
der-straps either of ribbon or similar material;
these, OF course. are to be worn over high
plain waist, with sleeves of any and every pos
sible design, from the narrow band to the clas
sic puff. The waist is made by rather broad
band put on the gathered front breadth, the
back having wide tape or linen band sewed
halfway across the inner side, and buttoning
around underneath, thus leaving one-half the
breadth loose, the other fitting plainly to the
figure: The drapery of the loose halt breadth
must be carefully managed, and the makers
skill brought into question. Sometimes point
at the hem is turned up and caught lightly with
q bow; again close fold is made, with buckle,
or arrow, or some fanciful ornament; but, in
any case. from the centre of the breadth elastic
bands are placed to meet the front breadth on
the left side, covered with ribbon and bow
where they are seen. This produces the cling
ing effect without too much tension. The tunic
sides are, of course, left open, and the front
breadth is frequently cut 30 as to hang in two
points at the side, where tsssel is sometimes
added. Made OF white cachemire, and trimmed
with gold or silver braid or variegated ribbons,
these tunics are extremely graceful and pretty,
but they also commend themselves to soft silk
fabrics, foulsrds, and the like, while any of the
wools OF by-gone day-Indian, llama, or Per-
sian-produce most picturesque effect.
=, A medI4val costume designed by Walter
acterized as aesthetic" consisted of four
pieces-a short under-skirt of cheap white
alpaca and coarse cachemire, rounded slightly
toward the back; on each side breadth pointed
pieces OF an embossed gold and brown velvet,
reaching above the knee, were placed; the Sec
ond skirt was of white satin, made in long,
sweeping train, cut open on the velvet gores
and finished at the sides with a cording of yell
low satin; the next garment was a soft low
Pompadour chemisettes of yellow Indian silk,
rather wide band, and fell in soft folds nearly
to the knee; tigh,-ftting gypsy, or low Zouave
waist of the embossed velvet was worn over
this, laced across in 'front.' with long side pieces
cut open on the yellow silk and similarly laced;
the sleeves were of velvet, slashed, with puff
ings of the yellow silk visible, and reached
nearly to the wrist, where they ended in frill
OF old HOnton lace, similar frill being worn
about the neck, gathered 10 just over the shoul-
der, and lying downward on the band, back
and front. With this costume rich set of
amber beads was worn in heavy strings about
the throat, and wound in the fair hair of the
wearer. Blonde-haired women, by the way,
following the artistic school in dress, are all
adopting yellow.
The artistic home dresses for ordinary wear
are even prettier tLan those designed for pub
lie occasions, chiefly because the soft wool fab
RIGS now so generally used are employed in
them, and crewel-work, Japan outline, and
every variety of silk and ribbon can be used
for ornamental trimming. Some of the most
graceful l have seen were made of serges in
the sombre shades, green, blue, and dull gray,
and In cachemires, serges, Carmelites, ETC., in
white and pale tints. A peacock blue serge
was very pretty, made with long square train
trimmed on the back breadths only with wide
bias fold of silk, the front en- princesse, the
back Watteau, clinging closely, with square
collar piece deep in the back and narrow in the
'front.', finished with long bow of silk.
The front breadths were trimmed in square
pieces OF silk: put on like lappets, each side of
the middle seam; and they, as we'll as all the
silk trimmings. were worked lightly in feather
stitch Of gold colored floss or crewel. The
sleeves were made tight to the arm, with square
silk cuffs worked in similar manner, and a
scant puff of silk at the shoulder. A house
dress OF soft gray serge made for slight figure
mad long overskirt cut in points and trimmed
with peacock feathers, fringe of peacock
blue green falling below; the back breadths
plain, with row of the peacock trimming;
the waist fronts edged with peacock, open on
q nansook pleated waist, and tied loosely across
with bows of ribbon. Fringe may be added
to the plume edging, and a collar, square at the
back, similarly trimmed. A pink cachemire
l, wrxs~l LII
ming in the front breadths which is useful in
many costumes; this was a lacing of deep dam
ask silk put in and out of button-holes worked
IN the dress; the sleeves puffed at the shoulder
and laced to correspond; Marguerite pocket
worked in damask crewels was added, and the
effect OF the whole costume, as we saw it worn
oy fair brunette, was charming. A soft
white serge was made up similarly, with lacing
of peacock blue ribbon, the back breadths
being pleated and trimmed with four bows of
aibbon in long loops, one end of each being
caugh in kLot on to the next.
A costume worn at small evening "at
home" by the wife of celebrated Royal Acad-
.emicisn, and said to have been designed by
William Morris, consisted of q petticoat of
green chaDgeable satin, the front breadth being
slightly shirred. The overdress fitted the fig
nre closely in front and in the side pieces of
the back, the back consisting of three open or
loose pieces laid on straight from the neck and
buttoning over each other irregularly, ending
satin and lace frills. The material of the over
dress seemed to have come direct from the
Orient. Where in colder cline could that
luxurious soft fabric have been found, half
silk, half wool, with threads of pale green and
white delicately wrought in hower-like de-
sign, and in and out of all tiny web of silver?
Rich as the fabric was it clung in soft folds,
the hue being the sort of green peculiar to Co.'S
TUNES OF the thirteenth century. 1 once saw
Ophelia painted in this flmy green; she wore
on her wrist pretty dove-colored bird. Per-
haps the artistic" ladies of today may come to
that With the dress 1 have lust described a
loosely knotted fichu of old lace was WON, fas-
tened by bunch of yellow roses which, as thu
lady is one of the famous "brune'' beauties of
the moment, were becoming as well as pictur-
esque.
Among the minor articles Of artistic dress the
caps OF every variety and the fichus are striking
and pretty. Miss Terry, in the play of Olivia,
has set the fashion, it is supposed, for the
quaintest and daintest of all s'confections"-
fichu of the finest India muslin, edged with a
tiny softly peated ffill of the same; on this is
laid deep collar of the muslin similarly frilled
and cut square just at the bust, the fchu fin
ished BY two long loops and ends of white satin
ribbon, one of which is caught and looped
again with flower on the left side of the belt
Simple as the fchu is, nothing can exceed its
pretty effect upon slight form, gracefully
moulded, as is the heroine of Olivia. though
think Sir Peter Lely has painted one of his
ing may have developed into distinct mode,
with certain degree of system and some guild
ing principles of its own; but it is one of those
matters left chiefly to individual taste, and
should be governed by moderation, prudence
and, above all, sense of the refined and truly
harmouious.