The Portland daily press., 1879-03-27
[Harper's Bazar1
New York Fashions.
SPRING SUITS

Fresh importations OF French dresses arrive
daily, and panier draperies upon them become
more and more bouffant The panier proper
which is very full scarf passing around the
hips and back in clusters of drspery-is espec-
tally used on evening dresses with long flow
ing trains. In Paris these scarfs are stiffsned
with crinoliDe lining, and in many instances
an artificial panier support of wicker or whale
bone Is introduced beneath them. But the
skirts OF short walking dresses retain their mar
row dimensions--measuringa about two and a
half yards in breadth-hence bustles cannot be
used with them, and their bouffant appearance
is given by the elaborate drsping OF the over
skirt. In some suits jdst received from Paris
this Graping Is really volumipous; tor in
stance, on q short suit of the new gepdarme
blue cameps-hair, after the front aud sides OF
the lower skirt have been smoothly covered by
two fiat straight curtain breadths of olive aD0
olne striped satin, there are two full breadths
of double-width cSmeps-bair, cut very long
and draped in their entire length and breadth
upon the back of the short lower skirt. These
widths are nearly twice as long as the s,ls
skrt beneath them they have very large eilded
pearl butt0Hs down each side near the top that
appear TO fast-n them there, and they are
draped by three rows of thicBly clustered
pleats, one OF which is on each side. md the
other 10 the middle WHh the very fat fronts
OF ,he oversight the bouffant back is very ef-
estive
a4o1her feature in these drape ries is that
they arc gradually being made higher, with
the fnllnsss added Just below the belt instead
OF gate low down on The skirt, as has been the
fashion for several seasons. As an example of
this cashmere 0ver-sklrt will be made to part
slightly down the middle in curtain fashion,
aud at the sides of this will be turned up rev.
ers like that of the Trisnon pOlOuaise. Al
though this ,revers, which s quite full, would
serve to enlarge the hips sufficiently, there is
yet another drspery above il, passing like
scarf around the entire front and sides, and
bordered behind to form two large shawl like
drsneries that reach to the bottom of the lower
skirt.
oull another stylish model of the new over
skirt is so simple that it may be easily carried
out from description, 1t consists of four
long straight breadths OF wool goods each
Beary yard wide. These are henmed scross
the bottom ana up each side within half yard
OF the top, where they are sioped slightly,
sewed together, aud the seam concealed b.
broad shrrng. This sbirred part rs sewed TO
the middle of the front breadth of the lower
skirt, beginning at the belt; the upper part Of
the middle seam in the back is held in full
pleats just below the belt, aud the two side
seams are taken up from the bottom and made
10 meet in the back just below these foil
plests; this exposes the under side OF the back
bresdths which hang down straight, and by
way of garniture these are widely faced with
plaid satin, or with striped satin, or brocaded
SILK. 1t will be seen that macy of the lew ov-
er-skirts retain the curtain fronts that have
baen 10 vogue during the winter, and a special
object with French modistes seems to be some
quaint arrangement of the space shown be-
tween the pared fonts Of this curtain. In
some skirts of plain wool there il simply a
Tapped seam down the middle ofltbe front, on
which are set very large buttons Of the new
gilded pearl that is speckled with all the colors
used in the gay brocsde or satin employed for
the trimming of the dress. la other dresses
the entire front is sbirTed in lenethwise clus
ters, and in some cases there is horizontal sbiI-
ring, though this Bay yadere effect is not very
popular. LeDgthwise pleats of silk may also
cover the space between the curtain breadths,
and sometimes it is entirely covered by regular
rows of loops of satin ribbon
A border from four to six inches wide is the
trimming most used in these punched up over
skirts, amd this is sometimes edged with knife
pleatipg OF the silk or wool goods. When made
of plaid satin, this border is invariably straight
and the same is true of the very marked saiio
stripes of bright cOlors; only narrow stripes,
that are not effective when straight, are cut
bias. There are quaint Oriental brocades thai
are also best used straight, as for instance,
those with tiny palm leaves of old gold between
bars of cardinal red on blue or green ground
These gay trimmings serve to tighten the dark
the same contrasts of light aud dark eolors
already noted as q feature of ths season 10
millinery. Thus Panama tweed dress Of
ecru shades has plaid satin border with the
ecru ground barred with cardinal red, olive, old
yold and gendsrme blue. The gay palm leaf
brocaded silk just mentioned trims dress of
olive green cashmere. Gendarme bluescamels-
hair has vest, panels and border Of satin of
the same shade with stripes OF old gold ard
pale olive green. Watsred silks are also USED
for tbese trimmings both 10 solid colOIs and in
stripes alternating with stripes of satin.
To make black silK dresses look more spring.
lik t0eTe are vests, revers collars, and borders
of white and black striped silk and satin, the
stripes being about three -fourths of an lncb
wide. Others have whits MORE stripes op
black, or else old gold satin stripes for garni-
ture. Back camePs-hair and the finest French
bunting dresses have facings, " SITS and borders
Of PLAID foulard i'll white with black. There
are also very gay plaid fouard silks in which
the new blue, red, old COLO aud olive colors are
combined fJr trinming the plain woolen Cos
TUNES.
The waists for the bouffant skirts described
above are very simply shaped basSues and coats
With vests like those so frequently described
during the winter, hut modified in each Case
with reference to the ov-rskIrt and IFS drapins
When the paner drapery IS very high around
the hips the basque Is short on the hips to pre-
vent crushing the dfspery, though the back is
longer habit square, aud the front slightly
pointed Tue lappgo double-Dressted FROM
may be gwen to any siDsle.breasted basque
left over from last season by adding piec- to
lap on the left breast (sewiAg a seam down the
miodle), aud fastening il By from three
to SIX buttons. In msUy new basques
the Jevers collar rolls almost TO the waist
line disclosing the vest that far; the basque
is then buttoned across by one, TWO, or three
buttons in q space about as wide as belt be-
low which it slopes away sharply, again show
lug the vest. The revers collar may De either
of tie figured fs rio used for borders or OF the
plaiu SILK of " bicb the lower skirts of wooden
dresses are now Invariably made; but il loops
and cravst bows are used with the pretty Bre-
ton lace jsbots, they should De made OF the
trimming silk. The most stylish sleeves are
those that are most simply finished ut the
wrists; an elaborate cuff detracts from style.
| Thus the wrists will be turned back two or
! three inches aud covered with bias piaij,
| striped, brocaded, or watered trimming. aud
| perhaps below this may fall pleating OF the
plain silk or else shlrred satin or silk 10 very
| fine gathers will form the entire cuff Two
| sizes OF blttons are used in most OF the im-
ported snils, viz, those an inch 10 diameter foI
the basque or coat, aud twice this size fcI the
| oyer-skift The fiat. round-tinted pearl but
! tons, with good deal of gilt on them, are
| seen on most new French dresses. IL Is also
I tue that elaborate flouuces as well as large
1 cuffs d,min,sh the stylishness of the dress, Io
/ tbe lately imported suits narrow pleated
| fioupce is most often seeD, as the long over
| skirt drapery conceas the greater psrt OF the
| lower skirt, A little shsll-pieating is Occa-
| siooally used for heading knife -DlestiDg OF
box -plestiug, but SO far this Is the exceptior
10 the rule.