The Portland daily press., 1880-02-19
[Harper's Bazar.l
New York Fashions.


STRING MILLINERY.
Further importations of spring millinery con-
firm the earliest advices. There will be very
little change in the shapes [ 4 bonnets; and
those Of medium sizes. neither very large nor
very small, are most seen at present. Poke
shapes of the moderate sizes are very largely
imported in all the various braids, such as
Tuscan, chip, laco straw, English split straw,
satin braids and Leghorns. The creamy yell
low Tuscan braids and the lustrous satin straws
are very handsome and promise to be the lead
ing fabrics. The lace straws are open braids
in beautiful lace-like designs, and appear to
be much stronger than the frail straw laces
formerly used. Sometimes the brim only is
striped with this lace, while the crown is of
more solid braid, such as chip or Tuscan. A
special novelty is the cashmere effects given to
these new straws by introducing colored
threads in the lace-like design: pale blue, hell
otrope, and red threads are very effective
when combined with the natural hue of the
straw. There are also mottled effects of color
given to chip hats to match the costume with
which they are to be worn, and sometimes two
shades of colored chip form alternate stripes
all round the bonnet; these are excellent for
morning wear or for travelling bonnets in two
shades of brown, beige, lavender, gray or
green. Black chip bonnets have merely the
crown of chip, while the scoop brim and the
curtain are formed of straw lace, which is
heavily beaded with fine jet beads; sometimes
old gold straw is arranged in stripes in the
black chip bonnets.
The Marie Christine is the name given to
dressy affair which is neither bonnet nor
hat, but something between, and is to be worn
by young ladies on dressy occasions, at New
port or Saratoga 1t has prominent crown,
with wide brim rolled back from the front,
and split in two from the edge to the crown;
this split is to come directly on top of the head
and the crown is to be placed qnite far back on
the head The fiaring brim will be faced with
becoming color, and the crown is to be
trimmed down one side with long Mercutio
plume, and down the other with flowers. The
yellow Tuscan braid is most used for this Span
ish head-dress, with Spanish lace strings, and
the new Spanish yellow called Isabelle will
appear in the trimmings, combined with red
in the flowers, to complete the national colors
of Spain. There are other wide-brimmed
round hats in various shapes, recalling the
Deyonshire and Pinaforc styles Of last season.
and young ladies' who have valuable Leghorn
and chip hats left from last summer will find
them useful this year. as they will readily lend
themselves to all that is new in the late i'm
portations. Gypsy hats are very largely inn
ported IN the most coqnettish shapes, to be
worn we'll back on the head, with the sides
tied down, and the front projecting In poke
shape. Then there are hats with halo brims
that frame the face and show off handsome
hair, as they are to be merely perched on the
various shapes, to be worn low down in front
or far back on the head, according to the taste
of the wearer.
Ribbons will be much used for trimming
bonnets, and for this purpose are shown in
three widths known to dealers as Nos. 7, IL,
and % and varying from one and half to
three inches in breadth Satin ribbons are
shown in great variety, and are especially
handsome when double-faced in the new way
that makes the wrong side exactly like the
right, or rather does away with wrong side
altogether, so that the ribbon may be twisted
and turned in any fashion, which is a desira-
BILE thing, and withal economical, in making
bows, loops and rosettes These double-faced
satin ribbons are strewn with irregular dots of
cashmere colors on a contrasting ground; thus
the grounds are Japanese blue, or turquoise,
heliotrope, red, brown or black, dotted with
creamy Isabelle pink or maize. Striped rib
bons are also shown in two shades Of satin, or
else in contrasting colors in most capricious ar
rangements, such as bronze with gold, or else
sapphire blue with gold, pink with blue, gar
net with cardinal or red with old gold. Tho
new colors that are developed in these impor-
tations are Isabelle yellow-the historic Span
ish color-pheasant brown, and the new shades
that have purple for their base and recall the
lilac, lavender, mauve, violet and heliotrope
lutestring ribbous are revived; these are of the
smooth silks which the French call taffetas,
and are now shown with tape-like borders, OF
with feathery edges, in many of the styles
used twenty years ago. They are very pretty
in coachman's drab, argent and pheasant
brown shades. Very soft satin duchesse or
merreiAeuse ribbons have changeable colors
through the centre, with a border stripe of full
satin on the edges. Again, there are armure-
striped ribbons that are double faced, satin
and gross grain with the stripe like broken
cord. The Oriental figured ribbons come in
new quaint colors that are more nearly
modelled after the Japanese than the CASH
mere colors of the Winter. Very rich Gobelin
ribbons are shown that appear to be literal
copies of stripes Of old tapestries and there are
polka-dotted and damasse ribbons that have
but one thing in common, viz, the soft pliable-
ness that makes them easily twisted and turned
into knots and bows. Experienced milliners
write from Paris of the decided preference
among designers for the pheasant brown shades
that combine well with shades Of buff, such as
Tuscan and Isabelle, and of the light purple
tints. The soft silks for trimming the crowns
of bonnets come in the twilled lustrous fabrics
known as satin duchessse or as satin sublime,
and are represented in light cashmere combi-
nations as we'll as in the new plain colors.
Fichus and barbes Of black or Of white Span
ish lace are to be used to drape summer bon
nets, Just as they have been seen during the
Winter on opera bonnets. Those richly beaded
with pearls or with jet will be preferred, bnt
a great deal of Spanish lace will be used with
out beads There are also beaded crowns on
tulle prepared in rainbow beads as well as in
black and white. The beaded lace garnitures
sold in trimming widths are probably the hand.
soonest ever brought to this country. The net
is fine tulle and there is no pattern Of the lace
wrought in the tule to be merely outlined
with beads but on the contrary, the fine beads
form the design, and instead of merely outlin-
ing the pattern, the whole figure OF the flower,
palm leaf or arabesque is incrusted with beads
Some of these are So or IS yard in the whole
sale houses. Insertions are beaded to match
the designs Of the lace edges. For creomy
laces the Languedoc point is shown in the dark