The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-03-16
Spring Dresses.

Spring Dresses.
The spring dresses are short suits with
narrow skirts, on which are permanently
drayed most voluminous overdresses:
The corrugated folds, in%volutions, and
curved draperies of the soft stutfs used
for oyerdresses are marvelously grace
ful, and when to these are added re-
trousse facings with new panier effects,
and the gay bayadere garnitures, the
dress becomes intricate beyond descrlp-
ton. The foundations Of the dress are,
however, unchanged, as the basque with
trimmed shirt remains the prevailing
stvle. But the basques vary from the
SIMPLEST and shortest now worn to the
long surtout-an English surtout re-
lieyed of its evere plainness by French
taste-and this surtout is worn over o
skirt as elaborately trimmed and draped
az those made for the shortest basques.
The lower skirt is more often plated
than plain, and while some very
SNOWY skirts are laid in long single
kilt plaits enriched only by a WIDE
border of trimming, many others
have from three to five founce,
visible Athat part Of the skirt where
the ess is drawn Up highest.
These Aounces may be o box plaitsorin
side plaits, but the latter are usually 10
clusters Of tripleplaits at Intervals. and
these are heaped upon each 0therss and
caught down half their length, then-al.
lowed to spread out in q fan-like fr1ll.
Sometimes the entire front OF the skirt
is disclosed, showing five plated houn'
ces, while the overskirt is draped back
It's The sides at others tie Greek Over:
skirt is draped up on n side only, and
that almost to the belt, in order to show
single plaitings that go from the belt to
the foot of the lower skirt. The founces
now used that are shirred at the top and
folded below in plaits, are also In great
favor, and most hounces are widely
bordered with the material used for
trimming, or the figured stuff that is in
combination with the plain material.
Baydere stripes are the striking nov
elites for combining with plain fabrics,
and require to be most carefully used,
and most sparingly. These come in soft
satin Surah, which is twilled silk with
satin surface, like the fabric milliners
called satin merveileux, and also In tine
WOODEN goods of the richest coloring,
ombre, or shaded, with often metallic
stripes woven in, especially lines OF gilt
or of steel. These stripes are used Tor
the entire plated skirts lat least as far
as the skirt is visible), or else tor Dor
dering plating skirts Of plain stuffs; also
for founces and for bordering founces'
The overskirt Of plain surface is not
bordered, its edges being usually turned
under out of sight, and sewed to the
lower skirt, but the curved back drapery
often has wide revers of the stripes up
each side, or else around the curve at
the bottom. The retrousse side pieces,
like flat paniers and aprons, are usually
faced with these gay stripes on the
turned-up part. Some basques have a
striped ~retrousse facing on each side, and
SOME only on one side. The basque
shows the gay stripes in q plated plas-
tron, or else in a folded narrow vest that
NAV trim it's entire front, or else stop at
the waist line. The sleeves have the
narrowest possible facings OF the stripes.
This plan of combination, noted for
crosswise stripes, prevails for various
materials; thus the basque and oversklrt
are of the solid-colored fabric. The
plastron or vest, the collar, cuffs, re-
trousses, sometimes sashes, and the skirt,
or its hounces, are of the figured mate
rails. Lengthwise stripes are used in
the same way; also checker-board pat.
terms, blocks, plaids, and plain Surahs OF
contrasting %colors; o few brocaded trim
mincs and combinations are seen, but
these are no longer displayed as the first
choice; the Egyptian brocades are, now
ever, so quaint and notwithstanding
that they are very effective, especially
for trimming the white buntings and
other soft wool dresses.
The new basques are slngle-breasted
and fit as smoothly as q Jersey all
around the hips, until they reach the
middle forms of the back, where they
are folded in two box plaits that may be
triple or quadruple, and are open up
the middle seam to show the layers OF
folds or plaits. In order tc keep the
round basque perfectly smooth over the
hips, it is loaded by weights of lead to
hold it down, and these weights are not
confined to the front and back as at
present, when only four OF six are used,
but there IRE now ten or twelve weights
nlaccd ut intervals around the basque in
the facing that completes it. Sometimes
the left side form of the basque is made
very much longer than that Oh the right
side, and is caught up by bow OF RIB
bon on the plaits of the middle form
In others, there arc four box plaits i'll
the middle, behind, that reach nearly to
the bottom of the lower skirt: these are
arranged in pairs, two above the other
two. arc lined with crinoline, and are
each rs wide as the whole breadth OF
silk used for lining them; they r then
folded in triple piaits, and are pressed
fatty into shape; they do not look stiff,
because they are usually relieved by
sashes of striped stuff, and they fall
amidst the intricate curved dmperies
that are attached to the skirt. The
fronts of basques are made often to turn
upward and back, and are faced with the
bayadcre stripes. Sometimes only the
right front is turned up, and the striped
Surah facing continues as q sash, pass
ing under the long box-plaits of the
middle form to the left side, where it
falls in q straight single sash end to the
foot of the dress. The plated plas-
tron inserted in a Pompadour square,
or else with the lower part curved
or pointed on the bust, is the
most usual trimming for the front,
though there are many folds and SHRED