The Portland daily press., 1880-03-12
lHarper's Bazar.l
New York Fashions.


SPRING DRESSES.
The first importations of French dresses for
Spring show Directoire styles. especially in the
cloth-inished wool fabrics to be worn while
the cool days remain. The wide notched Di-
rectoire collar all cut in one piece, with point
ed front and broad back, marks the genuine
Directoire coat which forms the corsage of
these new suits. Above this wide revers collar
is broad standing collar of the dress material:
the turned-down collar is usually of the satin,
brocade, or velvet used as trimming. The
front of the coat is quite short, though it has a
skirt sewed on in seam at the waist line.
This skirt is heightened to form sloping coat
back. and the new fancy is to fold it in length
wise pleats beginning on the sides, or else con-
fined to three or four position pleats each side
of the middle seam of the back. Cloths that
look like English homespuhs. and are
as sleazily woven as hannels, are used for
these suits in pheasant brown shades, blue
gray, gendarme blue and black. The surface
of this fabric is smooth, but the color is not
quite solid, being usually made up of three or
four shades that produce very good effect.
A Directoire coat like the one just described
is made of pheasant brown cloth trimmed with
bias band of brown satin set on as border,
and ornamented with five rows of machine
stitching. The round, short skirt is nearly
straight, and has first a foundation of brown
silk, which Is entirely concealed by the cloth;
indeed this is merely meant for q lining, and
is faced plainly around the bottom with the
cloth depth of ten inches The wool goods is
then put on in two plain pieces, each half the
length Of the whole skirt, and thus giving the
effect of two skirts. Each of these has tee satin
stitched border. The fronts and sides of these
two skirts hang straight without wrinkle,
entire length. The lingerie which accompa-
nies the Directoire coat is a part of it that
must be in keeping, and consists of very
large cravat bow of white muslin and lace
worn very high at the throat, with high lin
lace are around the neck and wrists.
Cashmere, camels-hair, de bege, armure
creped wool, and French bunting are the 9TH
er woolen stuffs used for spring suits. These
RIGS that are striped or figured, though very
simple dresses for travelling have merely
stitching, cords and tassels, or many rows Of
braid for trimming. Coat basques and quaint
ly shaped over-skirts divide favor with long
over-dresses that are a compromise between
polonaises and surtouts, with the skirt sewed
on at the waist line. Evidently this is not to
be 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
features will be seen. One new fancy is what
the French call illumination, that is for using
a gay, brilliantly solored fabric for Frightening
up very light, almost colorless dresses, and for
relieving 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, tab
liers, fiounces and entire sleeves are made of
these finely drawn gathers. A wide turned
over shirred collar of silk rivals the Drectoire
collar as a trimming for the waists of dresses.
The brocaded coat basque, with a plain skirt
trimmed with brocade, remains popular de-
sign. Combination dresses are almost the rule
among importations of wool and silk, and
among the colors that rival red and blue for
heliotrope 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 WOOL
stuffs are used for overdresses and for drape-
ries on silk or satin foundations. If the over
dress is long like polonaise in the back, it is
cut away on the sides, with a seam around the
waist, and coat-like effect in front to disclose
the striped or figured silk under skirt, and this
with full deep kilt pleats behind. Panier
effects are given with the soft woolen drape-
ries, but these are very moderate compared to
the bouffant scarfs worn last year. An effort
is again to be made to popularize trimmed
sleeves by adding puffs around the armhole, or
else in slashes making the puffs lengthwise,
and then adding armor-like puffs at the elbow.
Some thin dresses have the upper half of the
sleeve shirred around the armhole, and again
at the elbow.
the place of the thin summer silks formerly
used in striped and barred patterns. The satin
finished foulards in Illuminated designs, twilled
foulards of light quality with pale-tinted
grounds covered with gay flowers, Turkish and
Persian patterns with cashmere borders, hand
kerchief patterns, and those with polka dots
are all seen among the imported French
dresses. Ecru grounds are most seen in the
Indian pongees, and some of these are COM
bined with Oriental figured pongees, or else
with borders that have polka dots Of claret or
blue velvet. The trimmings for foulard dresses
are dark rich satins-red, blue, or purple-in
fne pleatings or in masses of shirring, and
yards upon yards of white lace, either Breton
or the heavier point Lapguedoc; in many cases
this lace is gathered over rich satin pleatings
used for illuminating the fade tints Of the fou-
lard. Polka dots made up of cashmere colors
are on ecru foulards, and the cashmere border
is then used to edge the box-pleated skirt, the
paniers, or curtain drapery, and TO finish the
pleated waist of the Directoire coat. For sim
pie foulard dresses are dark navy and peacock
blue grounds, or else purple-violet shades
thickly dotted with white, gray, or gold dots
the size OF pea, while for trimming is bor-
der made of larger dots.