Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1880-03-20
Woolen Suits for Spring,

mure, creped wool, and French bunting
are the other woolen stuffs used for
spring suits. These are most often in
combination with other fabrics that are
striped or figured, though very simple
dresses for travelling have merely stitch
ing, cords and tassels, or many rows of
braid for trimming. Coat basques and
quantity shaped over-sk divide favor
with long over-dresses that are COM
promise between polonaises and sur
touts, with the skirt sewed on at the
waist line. Evidently this is not to be
a season in which one style will prevail
to the exclusion of all others, since
great variety is shown in the imported
models, and it will be in small details
more especially that novel features will
be seen. One new fancy is for what
the French call illumination, that is,
for using gay, brilliantly colored fab
ric for Frightening up very light, al
most colorless dresses, and for reliev-
ing dark, sombre shades; thus a narrow
knife pleating of dark-red satin is
around the bottom of the skirt of nearly
all the French dresses, no matter how
light or how dark the material of the
dress is; indeed, this gay finish is seen
as frequently as were white lace or
muslin balayeuses on dresses last year.
Shirring, which has been so long in
vogue, takes new lease of favor for
the approaching season, as guimpes,
collars, tabliers, founces and entire
sleeves are made of these finely drawn
gathers. A wide turned-over shirred
collar of silk rivals the Directoire collar
as a trimming for the waists of dresses.
The brocaded coat basque, with plain
skirt trimmed with brocade, remains q
popular design. Combination dresses
are almost the rule among importations
of wool and silk, and among the colors
that rival red and blue for pipings and
drapery purple now appears in its hello
trope and pinkish-mauve shades; thus
light drab satine is piped with purple
satin, or pale blue cashmere is made up
with mauve, while cream colors and
beige shades have dark scarlet plush or
satin facings. The wooden stuffs are
used for over dresses and for draperies
on silk or satin foundations. If the
over-dress is long like polonaise in
the back, it is cut away on the
sides, with seam around the
waist, and a coat-ike effect in
front to disclose the striped or figured
silk under-skirt, and this under-skirt is
often in box pleats in front, with full
deep kilt pleats behind. Panier effects
are given with the soft woolen draper
les, but these are very moderate COM
pared to the bouffant scarfs worn last
year. In using the gay figured Oriental
stutfs for Illuminating quiet-colored
wool goods, bands of figures are put
between the box pleats, a slit is made
down one side of the over-skirt, and
the bright stuff is inserted there, and q
border of the gay goods is also used.
On the waist, which is a coat basque,
there is either pointed plastron of the
gay fabric reaching to the waist line OF
below it, or else there is shirred
guimpe and collar of it, and in some
French dresses the shirred fullness is
seen on the middle back breadths OF
the coat also. A gray English home
spun dress has the over-skirt cut oper
in squares that are joined by lacine
purple cords with tassels at the end
and the lower skirt is bordered by 8
knife -pleating of purple satin. Blue
and gray striped satin and silk form E
pretty skirt for a long Directoire over
dress of violet wool. The French bunt
ings in cream and gray shades arr
elaborately trimmed with shirring il
very large masses, and are finished
with peacock scarlet or purple satir
pleating at the foot. The great Direc
toire cravat bow is often made of th'
satin used for trimmings instead o
white muslin. and is then edged will
white lace. Double-breasted effects ar
given to many basques; and if not Gu
in one, the extra front is added by
seam down the middle. Two rows o
large pearl or metal buttons are Oh
such fronts. An effort is again to b.
made to popularize trimmed sleeves b,
adding puffs around the armhole, o
else in slashes, making the puffs length
wise, and then adding armor-ike puff
at the elbow. Some thin dresses hav
the upper half of the sleeve shirre
around the armhole, and again at til
elbow.-Harper' Bazaar.