West-Jersey pioneer., 1879-03-27
LADIES' DEPARTMENT.
SPRING FASHIONS.

the new goods are to be made up and worn.
| 1t is settled fact that the short skirt is
absolutely necessary for street and outdoor
wear; that demi-trains are given to home
dresses and carriage robes, while the long
court train, either square, lozenge-shaped,
or round, is reserved for full dress occasions
or ceremonious toilets, for evening or after
noon parties.
The panier appears in modified form on
nearly all dresses, the front of the basque
or polonaise being frequently turned back
in revere from the bottom of the waistcoat,
and punched up in pleats or gathers under
the jockey basques or back draperies. =
Every dress has a waistcoat, or some trim
ming that gives the effect of one, and the
waistcoat is now the part of the toilet around
which all the rest of the component parts
are grouped, as it were. In many of the
best houses, and particularly in large guam
titles and great variety at A. I. Stewart q
Co.'S, are seen black satin waistcoat pat
terms, exquisitely embroidered down the
fronts, and with cuffs, also embroidered, to
be used on the sleeves, and small springs or
stars, or other minute patterns, on sepa-
rate slip of satin, to be used for covering
the buttons that fasten the waistcoat. Long
lace jabots are worn, as matter of course,
with waistcoats. In fact, there is as COM
plete a revival of Louis XIV. styles and
ideas in dress effects as possible. The ten
dency to bright colors and Frenchy combi-
nations of bright and neutral tints in fab
RIGS, and also in the different materials used
in the composition of toilets, is striking
feature in spring styles.
Bonnets and hats present great variety
of shapes this spring. AS rule, both hats
and bonnets are larger, but this is not in
variably the case. The cottage shape is
still the favorite, but there are also bonnets
with brims rising over the forehead, with
sides pressed fiat to the head, while other
brims are repetitions of the halo bonnets of
several seasons past, barring at the sides as
well as above the forehead. The most ele-
CANT importations are of soft chip or Tus-
can, with large crowns Of medium height,
and wide brims of equal dimensions all
around. These brims the millipers indent
in various ways to suit different faces. And
here the art of the truly artistic milliner
makes itself apparent. Usually the brim
flares over the forehead; but this vacant
space is not filled with flowers, bows, or
ribbons, but with the hair, which is arranged
in bands or puffs lying in glossy masses
against the satin shirred or velvet lining
Heavy masses Of large, rich flowers, and
short but broad and nodding ostrich tips,
adorn the outside of the brim, and frequent
ly long Mercutio plume waves down the
left side almost to the shoulder. These
plumes come in rich and rare colors, and
frequently one plume is dyed in two colors,
say garnet and straw, or old gold and gen
darme blue, the midrib of the feather mark
ing the division of color.
Young ladies and young married women
wear brims falling low over the forehead,
but rising high at the back, where they are
filed in with heavy sprays of flowers and
ostrich feathers.
Rough and ready straws for general wear
have similar shapes, but not SO pronounced,
and the same general style of treatment in
regard to trimming is adhered to for these
| as for the costlier soft chips and Tuscans.
| English walking or rounds hats are as
popular as ever, coming in chips and straws
| black, white, and colored, with larger and
| less tapering crowns, that are fiat, not
rounded on top. These, again, are trim
med in all the various styles that obtained
last season, with additions in the way of
broad bands of mixed, barred, striped, and
armure ribbons and silk, with side trim
mings of wings, ostrich tips, buckles, and
all sorts of fanciful metal ornaments, the
Jockey designs being the favorities.
| Bonnet strings are of various kinds-rib-
bon, lace, gauze, grenadine, and sheer India
null muslin, embroidered and edged with
Breton or other laces; but whatever the
material employed, the strings are all much
wider than we have had for many years.
Ribbon strings are de rSgeaer two and a
half inches wide, and lace, gauze, silk, and
India null strings are generally an eighth
or quarter of yard in width, according
to the sheerness or body of the material
used.
( Turbans, of straw, chip, and silk, are
much worn this spring by young ladies and
very young girls, and in these there are also
several popular shapes. There are English
/ 4ol, fY1rhanc and rpOn1ar
Turkish turbans, and these take cores
ponding variety in the style of trimming.
Bonnets for ordinary wear, it must be re-
membered, will in great measure, Lowever,
partake of the cottage shape, with close
brim. But these close cottage bonnets,
mostly of American manufacture, are larger
than the little capote-lik cottages of last
fall. They are given wider brims in front,
deeper curtains in the back, and the crowns
are larger, hatter on top, and altogether
more pronounced than the felt cottage
shapes of the past season. The trimmings,
! too are more elaborate, and of more va
risd character, embracing flowers, feathers,
lace, ribbons, and metallic ornaments OF va
rious kinds.
To give an idea of the immense variety
| in models seen at late openings in New
| York we will describe a few bonnets, re-
marking, however, that no two bonnets OF
hats are trimmed alike.
One of Ehrichs' pattern hats is black
straw, with haring brim, lined with old
gold satin shirring. In front of the crown
is an Alsatian bow of old gold satin, fast
ened with golden slide or ring. On one
side is bunch of yellow roses, fastening
down Mercutio plume of black and white.
The strings are of yellow and black satin
pekin ribbon, in stripes.
/ At A. T. Stewart 6 Co.'s was seen
white straw bonnet, with close-ftting brin
and somewhat high crown, draped with
brocaded Dubarry gauze, with stripes and
! flowerets of various pale tints. Among the