The Portland daily press., 1878-02-11
[Harper's Bazar.l
New York Fashions.


week, the rough threaded effects popularity
known during the winter are repeated In ma
terisls for spring and summer dresses. The
taste for grave colors, such as gray and brown,
seems to have died out as these colors are
found only in the beiges that are made of the
natural color of the fleece of which they are
woven. Ecru tints are not so generally seen
as they formerly were, yet they have not dis.
appeared; they form occasionally the back
ground for displaying brilliant colors and the
cream, ivory, tilleul, old gold, and mandarin
yellow combine with other snowy hines In the
mingled designs of the new fabrics Black Is
seen il abundance as a solid color, as q back
GROUND for high colors, and most frequently In
new Combinations with white and gray that
are very effective, and cannot fail to revive the
taste for these colors. The moss green shades
and dark myrtle green ara abundantly used
again, and indeed find their way into almost
every mixture of eolors. India red-a dull
dark shade-and dark indigo blue enter into q
number Of the combinations There is also
great deal of ivory white mixed with the dark
est green and deep tints of other colors; this
ivory tint without yellowsh hues, IL is said, will
be more stylish than the deeper cream and til
leul shades. The colors of India shawls and of
Persian rugs, with something of their irregu-
lar underlined patterns, will be found in the
sheerest fabrics for summer dresses.
Woolen stuffs, of light weight for early
spring wear are very soft and flexible, though
they have rough threads raised above the sur
face in long horizontal dashes, or as If tied in
knots, or else boucls in small round rings, curls,
or frizzed ends. Others have Grape effects and
these are found among the incest goods, upon
which are downy-looking spots like the polka
dots formerly seen. BouclS noir is finely woven
black wool with thick tufts of color all over IL.
Pale blue grounds have rough threads of olive
green; cream-colored grounds have knots of
India red and of sky blue Bourettesof two
shades of moss green have blue and rose threads
while pale gray grounds are frightened with
scarlet and olive green. There are also
many darker grounds with the rough threads
of brilliant hues forming small cross-bars; in
these two shades of blue and of red are used
moss green and brown are together; gray is with
buff and buff with blue. The best shades prob
ably are two tints of blue together, and black
with white.
The silk and wool mixtures for over dresses
are what merchants consider genuine bourettes.
though the name has become common to any
material with rough threads. One very rich
mixture of silk and wool is called lophophore
velvet as the silk cast upon the surface has as
long pile as velvet, and the colors are as varied
and rich as those in the fsathersof the lopho-
phore. Another, called Lyons plush, has plush
like stripes of silk on wooden ground, such as
pale blue alternating with cream-color, or myr-
tie green with rose or old gold. There are also
many damask-hgured silk and wool goods to
be made up as overdresses above plain silk of
the darkest shade in the mixture.
Among the novelties are the fringed stripes
OF SILK floss SO firmly woven in that is mposs-
Bile to pull them out, alternating with narrow
stripes OF wool of the same color or in marked
contrast. Another novelty is the pointille
stuts with square dots of color smaller than
thread of color sunken between raised white
threads. These are largely imported, are fine,
aud represent delicate combinations of color
The tiny armure designs are found in very fine
goods of all qualities-those of pure wool as we'll
as mixed silk and WOOL A very rich cord-like
fabric woven of thick wooden threads is forty
SIX inches wide and of most exquistey blended
colors, such as ivory with myrtle, red and moss
green; pale and dark blue with ivory and red:
drab, blue, rose and cardinal; or else delicate
pink with olive, sky blue, and white. The CO.
bait blue and tndienne red shades are seen IN
these tine materials so finely blended that
some OF them look like paintings done by the
artlsts brush instead of the loom.
For the million are mixtures of cotton and
wool woven loosely to make them soft, showing
al the colors and patterns of the nicer goods.
Three or four colors are combined 10 each, and
there is an attempt to carry out more marked
designs of stripes and bars than are found in
rich fabrics. These will be sold for 80 cents q
yard, and are of single width. More useful
than these are the modest beiges, either plainly
woven or twilled; these are imported in lighter
shades OF gray and brown than have been used
hitherto.
A novelty is finely woven camePs-hair of the
purest quality, almost as thin as grenadine, yet
woven as plainly and as smooth as organdy
muslin. This comes Ia excellent coal black,
aud will be popular for summer over-dresses.
This shows the preference for straight woven
stntfs above those with twlled surfaces that
hold dust, and is the outgrowth Of the bunting
that became so popular last summer. The fab
ric is far finer than the best French bunting
worn last year and will be more servicea5ie
The fancy for rough-shreaded materials
reaches its height in the new grenadines, as
these knotted, twisted, thickened threads are
seen on grenadines of every desgn-in the
Mexicaine squares, in the plain canvas meshes,
IN brocades, in stripes and 10 plaids. There
ara many black grenadines with armure grounds
and with crape-like effects, but those with the
Dourette patterns are most largely imported.
Some of these are knotted in damasse patterns
of cord-like threads that make the whole fabric
look like passementerie. Others have Mexi-
caine open squares with finer threads woven in
the open spaces to give the grenadlne greater
hrmness, so that it will not fray, and these
support little knobs aud boucle twists of silken
threads or else plush-like spots or very coarse
threads. The striped grenadines have first a
moss stripe then stripe of open lace-like fig
ures. The brocaded designs are small, in dia-
mond or lozenge shape, or else in flower sprays
Tbe colored grenadines show all the rich India
colors as quantity combined as those already
described for wooden goods 1t is scarcely pos-
| sble to find any of single colors but there are
to be later importations of the roug b. threaded
grenadines In dark myrtle green, indigo blue,
moss, seal brown and steel gray. These will
be made up,as the Mexicanes of last year were,
over silks OF the same shade. special novel;
ty is black grenadine lanliaee, with iatteasd
threads of metal woven in the bars; these have
old gold threads, silver, steel blue, tinsel red
and pearly white. Madame Raymond speaks
CT similar fabrics. with trimmings to CORE
| spoDd, among Partisan novelties.
Cashmeres are staple goods, and are largely
imported. They come in the stylish dark cOlors
| and in pale tints for chidren's dresses There
are also many armure and basket-woven goods
made OF the finest cashmere woods; the quad
rifle and honey-comb cloths are also among
| these.
Soft finished percales, cambrics and toile d. Al
SAGE can not have raised rough threads, as their
surfaces are necessarily smooth bat they are
| printed in precisely the same gorgeous India
| colors seen In richer fabrics, and the designs
aim to represent ths gnarls, rings and irregular
threads also. Occasionally some of these de-
| signs elop stripes and cross bars, bat they
| are more often merely the mixed bourette fig
| ures; there are a few with white grounds, but
the majority have dark blue, seal brown, or
| black backgrounds nearly hidden by the gay
colors thrown upon them. There are some
| cool clear grounds, and many Of the clean
| looking lilac that washes accompanied by per-
Gale of plain solid color like the groundwork, to
serve as foundation for the dress, while the
gayer stuff is for the over dress. Bordered
percales are largely imported; some Of these
are gay bourette figured borders, with plain
percale for the body OF the fabric, while o. hers
are just the reversal plain border to figured
| percale. There are also the tiny square dots or
points for children's dresses, aud some have
granite effects in gray grounds, with bars or
| dashes of blue and of rose.
Organdies asd lawns will be greatly wern.
They have plain uuted grounds. with borders
OF flowers, fern leaves, holly, daisies and
grasses that look as If painted by hand. The
grounds are ecru, blue or lilac, or else solid
pink with cream-colOred flowers, or turquoise
| blue strewn with white daisies. Others of
| sulphur color with plantain leaves of the same
shade, or violets on lilac grounds, are very
| pretty, and still others have black grounds
| with chintz figures Hints about tnakilg such
dresses were given in the New York fashions