The Portland daily press., 1881-03-26
[Harper's Bazaar. j
New York F fashions.

Fine soft woolen stuffs that drape gracefully
and are precisely what they appear to be, are
now chosen for spring and summer dresses in
preference to silks that are more snowy, but
are too seldom genuine. The French buntings
and nuns yelling were the first steps toward
an Improvement in wool goods that has result
ed in producing several sheer fabrics as thin as
grenadine, and as soft and pliable as null mus
lin, yet made entirely of wool. These will be
worn throughout the summer for afternoon
dresses, and are now used for simple toilettes
ON full dress occasions; they are made up
over silk, which is nowhere allowed to appear,
but merely serves as a foundation, and their
dull surface is frightened by trimmings of the
sheeny satin merveilleux, embroidery and
lace.
In heavier wool goods the novelty is the in
PRODUCTION of gay, lengthwise stripes down
half of the fabric, while the other half is SOL
id color. This is utilized for over-skirts that
are now striped around the figure, and give
bayadere effects; the stripes are also pleated
around the lower skirt. Bayonnaise, which is
harder twisted than the wool buntings, is
shown in plain, striped and bordered patterns.
Soft shades of drab, tan-colors, and all Quaker
like hues are shown in fine wool stuffs to be
combined with other striped woollens that
have great deal of dark green, olive. and
some gilt threads introduced. The beige
and creamy shades of last season are very
much deepened in the new goods, and instead
of old gold, the phrase new gold is heard,
willie the dull yellows are frightened to jon
quill shades. TIE fancy beige checks and the
Cheviot5 with illuminations of red and yellow
have already been mentioned as the choice for
early spring suits and for travelling dresses.
While all these stuffs have the sheer fiannei
weaving, twilled goods are by no means given
up. Boxes containing each dress pattern of
twilled wool of some quiet shade, and gay,
bayadere-striped wool for combining with it,
are arranged in stylish colorings that would
not occur to the Impractical eye. Almond,
| olive, drab and green tinted blues are for the
plain parts of the dress, while the striped parts
are dark grounds with very gay illuminations;
| such patterns are $50 and upward.
How to make plain dresses of flannel and of
| Cheviot for early spring is the inquiry of many
correspondents. The newest designs for these
are very simple, in some instances consisting
of single skirt with merely tucked jacket
| waist. Six or eight tuckS, each two inches
| wide, are around the skirt, and a narrow box
! pleating is sewed to the edge like a balayeuse
| or else there is hounce six inches wide,
| folded in broad box pleats sewed in the lower
| tuck without other heading, and made to fall
to the edge of the skirt. Such skirts are from
| three yards to three and a half wide. Similar
| skirts are very widely stitched and have
| pointed apron over-skirt, with some of the new
| striped satin for bordering. The apron is real
| ly double and has two points toward the right
| while the back breadth has but one point, and
| that may be in the middle or ON one side, ac-
| cording to the wearer's fancy. Such suits are
| very pretty in coachmans drab, tan or beige
| colored hannels, trimmed with satin that has
| brown ground striped with green and red.
There are other dresses with the satin turn ed
| up in retrousse facings Oh each apron, instead
| of being merely a border. Sometimes block
| patterns of soft wool goods are used for these
retrousses, also for the gathered lining Of
the hood for collars and cuffs. The Carrick
| collars on basques of new flannel suits are very
| pretty, and give sufficient warmth to dispense
| with an outside wrap. These have usually two
| deep collars, though some basgues have three;
| they are quite straight across the back and
| front, are widely stitched near the edges, and
| the larger one is deep enough to reach to the
| elbows. These collars are sewed permanently
to the neck, with the standing English pointed
| collar above them, and are attached to basques
| of very simple plain shape, quite long all
around, and completed by two box pleats in
| the middle forms of the back. The most popu-
lar waist for such dresses is the belted and box
| pleated shooting Jacket Green-tinsed Give
and reseda Cheyiots are in greater favor than
the creamy shades worn last year, and me-
lange of colors resulting in green as the pre-
| vailing hue is especially stylish.
Imported woolen dresses are as elaborately
made as those of the Surah and grenadine, and
/ will be used for visiting, church and afternoon
toilettes. Shirring, in greater profusion than
| it has yet been seen, many lengthwise pleat-
| ings, striped wool or satin merveilleux, and
| some Egyptian brocades are the trimmings en-
| ployed. The new condor brown, drab, olive,
ashes of-roses, pale blue, and white are chosen
| in bunting; bayonnaise or twilled wool for the
| basque and draperies of these dresses, and the
4 colors of the material combined with it, are
| either very gay and dashing or else in soft fade
| effects.
1t is certain that plain short skirts trimmed
| on the bottom with pinked ruches or fiounces,
will be the prevailing style; to be in the
height of fashion, this trimming should
| not be more than two inches wide. 1
| will cite two dresses made by the first
| houses in Paris, the skirts of which were
| thus arranged: Skirt of seal brown plush,
| woven with flat gold thread, forming perpen-
dicular stripes two-tifths OF an inch apart; on
| the bottom was a tlounce of seal brown cash.
mere an inch and three-quarters wide, sur
| mounted by a ruche of seal brown satin four
fifths of an inch wide. The overskirt, of fine
soft seal brown cashmere was composed of
two very full widths, crossing each other in
front, and falling just below the knee, and
forming two rows of poufs in the back This
| overskrt had no other trimming than several
rows of stitching. The jacket waist of cash.
mere, opened over plastron OF seal brown
l
an inch wide Gold buttons. Collar and cuffs
of plush, striped with gold.
The other dress was Of Russian green satin
and cashmere. Round sAirt of plain satin,
trimmed on the bottom with two thick double
ruches of cashmere, separated by thick satin
ruche, the whole occupying not more two and
quarter inches in width. The oVerskrt was
composed of four large fichu points, crossing in
front and behind, the two latter being much
the larger, so as to be of sufficient size to form
cascades of poufs.
For Summer there is in preparation multi
tude of straw bonnets of all colors woven like
lace. OF course these bonnets will be lined
with some bright-colored silk. Those most
likely to be in vogue are of biSe straw, lined
with peacock blue, light blue, or bright red,
such as garnet, rose or cherry. Many capotes
are also seen of dark or black straw, or else of
the natural color. One of these bonnets de-
signed for bride, was of myrtle green straw,
trimmed with bunch of feathers of-the same
color, with the centre and tip OF each feather
slightly gilded. Very wide strings of Surah of
the same color, plaided with slender thread
of old gold.