The Portland daily press., 1880-07-15
[Harper's Bazar.l
New York Fashions.

1t is the custom this summer to wear ging-
ham dresses for travelling. For short journeys
these are the most comfortable dresses used
since buff AMI gray linen travelling dresses
were university worn. They are so easily
cleansed after the journey by washing that
they are not Surce of anxiety on the way;
they are of darkcolors that are not conspicu-
Gus; and if greatsr warmth is needed it is sup
piled by the travelling cloak of English home
spun that has Superseded the linen duster.
Anderson's Scotch ginghams that are sold for
40 cents yard rethe best choice for these
dresses, though many use the domestic ging-
hams that cost only IS or 20 cents yard.
Among the dark quiet colors chosen the pref
erenee is for stone bne, with grayish tinges,
in checks of two shsdes of blue without any
white, or else broken bars of blue on white
ground, or irregular stripes of two or three
blue shades, with peihaps some thread lines
of red or of buff. Tomake these look still
darker, they are trimmed with bias bands of
solid blue gingham seved on the pleated or
gathered founces, and as bordering for the
apron, basque, collar, cuffs and belt. The
white Hamburg used tobrighten blue ging-
ham dresses that are meart for the house and
street is too dressy for these plain travelling
suits.
For other wash dresses, whether of gingham
or lawn, embroidery is the trimming preferred
this season to lace. The Hamburg work in
open patterns, or else quite close, with dots,
diamonds. almonds, or stars, is best liked for
gingham dresses; there is also woven trim
ming called Swiss embroidery, which is effec-
tive and very inexpensive, costing only or 10
cents yard in widths suitable for edgings
For thin dotted musins real embroidery on
Swiss muslin is used, and is very different
from that just described, and far more costly
Very few embroderies are found suitable for
the soft sheer null and India muslins; hence
lace is used for these dresses and is almost
confined to them. For thin mulls Languedoc
point d'esprit, and Breton laces are most liked ;
Valenciennes is seldom employed, at least it is
not bought from choice, though ladies who
have nice qualities of this lace continue 10 use
it. For white dresses, and indeed for most of
the colored wash goods, very little starch is
employed by the laundress, and there is no
effort to give them gloss from the iron The
fancy at present is for the soft finish of Orien-
tai stuffs, such as India null or mummy
cloth or the Turkey red calicoes. Gathered
ruffles are now seldom fluted; they are made
too scant Cor fluting, and are more stylish
when ironed smooth and plain. Pleated
flounces a1e pressed perfectly flat half their
depth, while below this the pleatings are
pulled upward and apart by the lauudress's
hand to give them the appearance of great
fullness.
Creamy white null is imported in sheer
qualities, sixty-eight inches wide that cost
from 81 to SLIGO yard. This is nearly two
yards wide, and cuts to better advantage, es-
pecially in making the full skirts that are
nearly straight, than the single widths sold
for 30 or 80 cents. The prevailing fashion for
these dresses has already been described--with
the gathered belted waist and nearly straight
skirt, with full flowing back that has no
overskirt and a short round wrinkled apron
confined to the front and sides. When this is
edged with embroidery, and worn with one of
the pretty embroidered null fichus that cost
from 50 to IS, graceful simple dress is OBJ
taned-one that is inexpensive, and is easily
laundried. The deep shirring at the back Of
dress skirts is falling into distavor. For very
thin goods the skirt is now gathered to the
belt of the waist with single row of gathers,
while, if there is thickness enough to permit
pleating, two great box pleats are used instead
for holding all the fullness of the back, Some
times these pleats have heading which stands
erect, and brsting out beyond the belt and
against it. Instead of the apron front on such
dresses, another fashion is that of putting a
pyramid of gathered ruffies up the middle of
the front breadth, and having two wings that
lap at the belt to fall open over the sides of the
ruffles these wings are trimmed with embroid-
cry, and disappear at the side seams where
the full back of the skirt begins. A dotted
Swiss muslin short dress is very pretty for af-
ternoons made in this way, and triIni~ed with
Hamburg embrot 'ery done on Swiss muslin.