New-York tribune., 1879-04-12
SPRING FASHIONS IN PARIS
NEW FABRICS AND NEW STYLES.


-BRoCADrs IN FRENCH HISTORY
lrRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF TIE TRIBuNt'J
PARIS, March 2s.-I see nothing more delightfully."-
redoen of Spring than the new stus for dresses ex
hibted in the windows of the great dry goods stores
which we here call mdgdsiRS de nOreGW6S. Brocades
will be all the fashion for the rest of this year Lyons
has surpassed herself turning ont garden-dreSses
term which does not mean dresses suitable to garden
wear but of a style that reminds the spectator OF
partcrrc of flowers. The French name for them Is
robes jardipi6rcs. They ecOgues in silk ana
satin: sull-lfe studies. gay. dainty and delicate
as RedoutGs PICTURES and brought - winch
is virtue the mOre-withln the reach
of very slender purses. Lyons has sur
passed herself in creating these stufs which are not
so much revival as an adaptation of the Pompa-
dour brocadcs Used as trimmings for soft English
cashmeres they are charming. aud they also sult
the richest satins when made into waiscoats scaris
and panicrs. Those bright flowers were sown III
an inclemcnt Winter of manufacturing distress
Supple English wOollCn and cotton cloths were
found 10 drape the human figure better than the
silks which are staple manufacture OF france
The work people raised loud cry of distress. MIL
fires went ont. Charity balls were given at which
attempts were made 10 stimulate Lyons trade.
Madame MacMahon and her lady friends wore silk
morning, noon and night. The ComteSSe de Paris
went TO hunt in silken rdlng-haDH,
and the DuchpSSe dc Chartres in one OF
dark green satin turned mp with velvet SUI
fashion perscvcred in favoring Oxfords and meri-
nos 1t had been found that the silk manuiac-
turers loaded their suGs with pigments which gave
them weight and gloss but deprived them Of those
lasting qualities which the thrifty French bour-
.eois naturally value. They cut they became
greasy, the dust sank into them, causing STAINS
which could not he brushed of, and there was Ittlo
satisfaction and no wear TO speak of III gown the
price Of which would have suficcd TO buy q patch
of ground IN the enyirons of Paris large enough for
villa TO stand on. Stimulated by brisk compe-
tItion and feeling that great market was passing
away a new leaf was turned over at Lyons. Fresh
sources of supply for raw material have been
sought IN the East and found, and the manner OF
treating silk greatly modified. The Oriental stutis
exhibited al the Champs de Mars were a revela-
fiou 70 the manufacturers who now turn out at the
low retail price of So cents yard, rich ustrous
and supple stuff which can be twisted into any
shape without becoming creased or broken, and
drdpes the lady wearing it. 1t is called Bensalne.
Some japanese workmen have taught Lyonnese
artisans how to prepare IT, Another light, elegant
stuff is called la Louisine after the daughter of its
inventor. 1t initiates the finest kind of Oxford
cloth, is very tough, very flexible and has the
double advantage afforded by the legendary rough
and-ready garments of Brien O'Lynn in being
"warm and cOOl.'
have a brocade before me purchased by friend
M La Vile de Paris at the cost of 81 4S per yard
1t belong. to the jardiniere class of goods. Taking
into consideration its extreme novelty. the beauty
of the pattern and though there is little wool con-
cealcd under the tiny bouquets of field flowers and
in the black ground on which they are woven, its
cheapncss is remarkable.
Another class Of goods for trimming, of remark
able cheapness, is machine embroidery in colored
silks in the Indian style on plain aeta or de dHe
ground. At the anStOcratIc Petit st. Thomas, III
the Faubourg St. German, eight yards of this trim
ming, having depth of about eight inches, and
enough to form wastcoat and Louis Qulnze cuffs
and pockets are offered at So %. They are destined
TO brighten up costumes made of limitations
of Indian cashmere which the Leeds and
Glasgow houses are pouring into France.
Under a PrOtectiOnist regime these results
would not have been attained Fashion, whether
she liked ii or not must have been cOntented to
drape herself in the stiff silks that gong out.
II distress among the artisan population of Lyons
had been STAYED off by the exclusion of foreign
goods from the French market, the consuming class
might have found IL compensation. But we
should remember that since free trade was adopted
here commercial CTlsleS have been attended with
evils less intense than before. Great houses may
have failed for larger sums than were ever known
Of previously 10 the bankruptcy tribunals, but the
poor have not suffered the most keenly. Distress
has never reached the pitch Of general famine IN
the manufacturing centres. j believe that owing
20 the new departure Lyons is taking IN her mode
of treating silks she will more thu recover the
ground she lost through the dishonest use of chem
icas.
Eastern influence as ] already told yOu, has had
q great effect in producing this renovation Lyon
nc.c visitors 20 the Exhibition noticed the address
and freedom with which the japanese turned to ac-
count in manufacturing textiles the ideas they had
picked up in the garden the field, the forest the
mountain There was life in their designs which
vas not to be found in the industrial arts of Europe.
A manufacturer who had talked over. last May with
some fellow townsmcn this interesting peculiarly
went TO visit the Museum in the Hotel Carnavalet.
He there saw an authentic dress of Madame de Sc
yiCu6. 1t was of Lyons brOcade. and had been pur-
chased AT that city by the accOmp shed Mar
uuiSe on her journey 10 Provence to visit her
daughter Eureka! cried the manufacturer We
want Oriental feXibility Of texture, a closer knowl
edge of nature and TO be delivered from the enpta-
tion of charging our raw material with oxide of
lead. This can DO attained by the importation of
Chinese japanese and Indian silk textiles, and less
tmidity in adapting what we see in the gardens.
With telegraphic and steam communication,
activity. capital and skill great enterprises
now bc achieved. 1t appears a very short time
since Marshal MacMahOn inaugurated the Worlds
Fair on May day, which began in storm and
ended IN serene sunset which followed by
the lighting up Of the capital. Yet In that brief
space revolution has been accomplished in the
manufacture Of a staple article of French trade.
NJ. G. de GOncourt, the survivor Of the SIameso
twins Of French literature, yesterday listening TO
chit-chat about the fashions, observed to some
ladies near him, that Ia Jardmitre dress has ever
been the precursor of war and political turmoil in
France "An instanccf" exclaimed fair dame.
Madame de SGyigu6, the HTateW observed puT-
chased the brocade a short time previous TO the
invasion of Holland by Louis Quatorze. She was
IN, nj tLnnrl a rnnl rnlIr1nna