Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-01-03
THE FASHIONS FOR 1881.
A WHITE SEASON FOR BALLS
AND BALL DRESSES.
Absence oE Color An a Ball Room
Cosy street DFesses-BOliday gifts
and Fancies for Personal and
Household Use.

ing which exis smoug all intelligent women
to simplify the dress question finds s pr nci
pal obstacles ia the hotel and this stage. who
buys and who wears the gorgeous dresses with
their bewi deriDg trimm ings ard overlaY-
ings?" asked lady of shop keeper recently.
They are not worn in society nor in high
society, The middle class, that ID professional
people and those who live on salaries, cannot
afford to buy then"
Who. then, wears thems"
"well," returned the proprietor of the very
fashionable ladies' furnishing establishment.
we do not expect TO sell such dresses as those
| you have just seen to real ladies; they are
usually sold for the stage at reduced price.
or to the wives of rich men who spend the win
ter in New York. stop at hotels. and get them
selves in stunning costumes for dinner and the
| opera"
| "But it is those dresses which are described
and even exaggerated, and stand as the repre-
/ seztatives of the actual fashions worn by all
womeny''
"Certs iniy. That cannot be helped The ,
are the only styles thai afford any opportunity
/ for 1lllng up the regular column of fashion
/ matter; and the wife of a speculator living at
| distance waGts just 1ch a splendid show for
her money. and when she comes to New York
/ she gets 1t. #s
| 1t seems, therefore, that the fine dressing,
l while it occupies very much the eyes of the
| public, from be ng seen In the most oonspicu-
Gus places. does not r-prese1 1t the intelligenc
/ on the one hand or the taste on the other of a
1 majority of women. while not a little of the
1 craze" for dress and for certain costly occa-
sions Ia stimulated if not whollz created by
/ newspaper iteration, for which there Is only
| the slightest foundation in fact.
| What the general permanent tendency
| may be, it Is impossible TO say.
for one constantly sees the most
singular transformations in form and
| style; but for sometime past the effort has
certainly been toward simpler, truer, more
| artistic designs, and we have the basis to-day
! OF an almost perfect foim Of dress and one
capable of infinite variation If it could only be
/ repre- sented and carried out. The effort on the
| continent that is in Germany. to revive the
''tournure." or hustle, has not as YET
| been seconded here; nor does it find
much favor in London or Paris. The
/ German ladies are apt to have rather
| broad backs, and are heavily built: for this
| reason the straight costume falls fiat upon
| them, and an 'improver'' Of some kind is con-
| sidered requisite to equalize the proportions.
But it is very different with the slim and grace
| ful young American. A Princesse robe is to
her at once the simplest and most stylish of
dresses for it displays her natural graces, and
presents no obstacle to the lightness OF her
| movements A modified Jersey is to her the
most becoming and conve1ient of short
dresses, and therefore 1t is growing into favor,
| while to broad and thick set races Of women it
/ is impossible
| BALL DRESSES.
| Dressing for balls is easier and simpler this
| winter than ever remember to have seen IT,.
| Open skirts and back drapery have disap-
peared. Trains are plain with the exception
| of the edge, which has a thick ruching or
| plating, and the front above is trimmed.
| Moreover, many of the ball dresses are made
1 short and this, together with their simple cut,
| gives them an air of extreme quiet and refine
| ment. 1t might be supposed that all women
would welcome styles which relieved them
from weight and care but this Is far from the
| case. Dressmakers are the foes of plain and
quiet dress partly because of its want of variety,
4 partly because of their want of real elegance
and genuine refinement Of style, and finish is
| best hidden under profusion of bows and
/ folds, and puffS and drapery. This OVERLAPPING,
| too, affords the only chance for the making
| over process so far as evening dresses are
concerned, for how else can the spots and
| stains and wear of light silks and frayed satins
| be hidden by overdress of gauze or muslin,
| or crossed and twisted scarfs Of something
| or other?
/ The rule is almost infallable In evening
dresses, ard particularly ball DIRE sss this win
| ter that the new ones are plain q of rich
| materially, while the old ones pre- ent the fussy
| AMI overladen appearance to a less degree of
| preceding years
The ia hionab ball dress is white satin or
| br. cade, the front and corsage trimmed with
beaded lace, and fringe, In pearls or white jet,
| the train plain except thick r1ching and
| under-plaiting of white satin, viii h is only
| part visible and is supplemented by another Of
| stiff net. The sleeves are sometimes of beaded
| lace, sometimes of the fabric Of the dress, and
| indeed, most evening dresses have too pair of
| sleeves, as the lace over quickly wear out and
| are not suitable for any but the most dressy
| occasions This sty'e in esseI tials is almost
uniform. The variations are matters of In
| divldual taste and means All sat and figured
when they figure in the list Of a news
paper, but in reality some OF them
are silk or satin only on the surface, and are
| cheaper than fine WOOL Even in pure tissues
/ there is an enormous difference in cost the
price OF satin and satin brocaae ranging from
| two to twenty-five and thirty dollars per yard
But the most extrayagant woman only buys
a limited quantity of such royal stl # as this
| last and will not have it cut up into fragments
il she can help it, but the barberous instinct is
/ strong in the modern maker OF clothes, and
have seen the scissors ruthlessly cut into three
pieces an exquisite lace barbe that cost fifteen
dollars and would have been a joy forever, be-
cause loop Of it was wanted in one place and
an end in another
Two years ago the Closely shaped effect was
| so strict that designs were called sheath like,
and though drapery was used it was laid in
| folds and woven in,and out or curtaned back
so exactly that ii rather assisted to outline the
| form than added bulk to its shapeliness. The
present distribution of fullness is different The
train is plated or full even of Princesse dress
But the wasit is perfectly moulded by the
basque or corsage. and the trimming is usu-
| ally massed upon the 'front.' or front AMI sides
Of the skirt.
An exception to this rule, however, was ex-
| hibited at the Seventh Regiment ball in New
York by q lady who accompanied Major Gen
eTal. Her trained dress of white satin was
/ mass of steel embroidery in front, and pearl
and chenille embroidery at the back and the
effect at the back was enhanced by superb
| 1ounce of genuine point arranged as iabot
| down the centre lengths of the dress. This
/ suggests a novel and striking way of
utilizing founces which are no longer
put on in the old way, and are, therefore, laid
/ orA aa JJSaIacc " MAJ 1ad who
very rare old specimens. The irregular waves
| Of the lace are much more graceful than the
| old Vatican pleat, and give exceeding grace.
| dignity and stateliness to naturally dignifed
carriage of the body.
Another elegant dress worn on the same oc-
caS1on was or thick ivory white satin, cut
square and trimmed entirely with eefdons end
spikes, with an edging of swans down. he
| train was plain but fall and was spread out
into fullness on each side SO as to give a sort
| of Queen Anne effect.
Another effective dress, worn in q balconT
box, was OF water-green satin finished silk
trimmed WITH elk muslin and plsated lace,
under fringes and bands of opal beads. With
| this dress was worn larSe satin hat, painted
| In wild roses and decorated with 9 band of
white feathers and two ostrich plumes-one
touching the shoulder
A striking short dress was of brown en-
bossed velvet made up with yellow satin and
there was an example also I'm short dress Of
| the very latest idea-a Chinese tea gown
OF lace over old gold satin with striped ribbon
ITOut III UlcHueuCelOES-Olu SOlQg garnet ana
blue. These Chinese tea gowns are the newest
things for kettle drums. They are loose and
almost shapeless. They fold over and when
made Of silk are finished with revers and tied
about the waist with sash of doubled silk
gathered at the ends.
The cost of the present style of evening
dress is not seen so much in its amount of
trimming (unless that be fine hand Embroidery
as In the quality OF the fabric and in the adop-
ton Of new and quaint forms The women Of
moderate income cannot afford to take risks
or venture on new and untTodden ground
That is the reason why she is conventional, 1t
is necessary to be safe. You will see three
white evening dresses In any ball room Of pre-
tension. One Is q magnificent brocade into
which gold enters, and it has & tablier and
trimming Of gold embroidered or beaded lace
and high ffaise OF the lace which is set on q
wire and stands cut from the throat Great
diamonds and sapphires perhaps fash from
neck and arms, and wealth Is written all over
the toilette.
Another win be Of thick, white sctin. the
train falling in soft heavy folds, the front
plain; the straight surpHce waist beited in and
fastened with a wrought silver buckle and che
small 'gigot" or leg-of-mutton sleeves. sug-
gesting the quaint fashions OF fifty years ago
The effect or the dress is simplicity itself But
it Is very rich and costly simplicity and you
can see at once that tie wearer is a woman Of
ideas and able to indulge fancies.
The third dress has sadness in it because
one knows what 1t has cost, besides the modest
forty or fifty dollars that was spent upon it
The material is damassee at perhaps two dollars
per yard, and it is trimmed upon lining that
means that ft is cut up into small pieces and
patched upon the foundation either at home or
by an unframed dressmaker. and the result il
the worrying OF the silk, which was originalIv
pretty e not very solid, out Of all its beauty,