The Portland daily press., 1883-03-13
[Harper's Bazaar.
New York Fashions.

Polonaises made of the light weight wool
len stuffs used for spring suits are more
bouffantly draped than the pelisse-like gar
ments of heavy cloths or velvets worn dur
ing the winter. In some cases this fullness
is made entirely by additional breadth below
the waist, laid in hollow pleats in the three
seams of the back, but in others there is the
cross seam, called the Newmarket seam,
curved across the hips in way that gives
fuller drapery The fronts of the polonaises
are quite plain, single-breasted, and usually
slope away toward the sides to disclose a
pleated skirt beneath. The waist is fitted
as smoothly as a cuirass, and extends low
and smooth over the hips in Jersey style,
giving the becoming effect so popular in the
Marguerite polonaise. A youthful looking
overdress called the revers polonaise has
each front turned back below the hip seam,
and this revers extends all around the sides
quite plainly to meet the seams next the
middle forms of the back, where there is
additional fullness held in two great double
box-pleats. The revers slope narrower as
they pass backward and extend upward to
meet the back drapery A lining of thin
crinoline muslin supports the revers, and
the trimming is placed along both edges, top
and bottom, but not down the fronts, where
it must appear to be turned back from the
skirt beneath. This graceful polonaise COM
pletes young lady's suit of plain blue beige
over aplaid wool skirt of three or four shades
of the new corn-fower blue in broken bars
on white Three rows of darker blue velvet
ribbon trim the polonaise: they outline a
square yoke on the shoulders, and two rows
trim the sleeves, passing around the wrists
and extending up the slightly opened part
of the outer seam; three rows also pass
across the top and bottom of the revers.
The standing high military collar with
slightly santing fronts-not rounded
fronts--is of velvet the shade of
the ribbon velvet, and the very small fiat
buttons are of blue enamelled steel. The
plaid skirt beneath is an excellent model for
carefully. There is first foundation skirt
of blue wool made of four narrow breadths
faced deeply with crinoline lawn, and with
two steel springs in castings across the back
breadth in the way worn during the winter
this skirt is entirely concealed by the pleated
plaid skirt and the polonaise drapery, the
latter serving to hide the upper part of the
back breadth. The blue plaid wool then
forms twelve lengthwise triple box pleats
that are shown nearly their whole length in
the front, but only half their length is seen
below the drapery OF the back. The box
pleat which is the middle of each of the
triple pleats is four and a half inches wide,
and the two pleats folded under this on each
Tapped under the box pleat that they are
scarcely visible, indeed they are meant
merely to make fullness. The space left
plain between these triple pleats is trifle
more than an inch. These pleats are
pressed fatty, and are held in place by be-
ing tackled to four rows of tapes that pass
around underneath them; they are sewed
to the foundation skirt at the top only, and
thence fall loosely to the foot. The lowest
edge of the pleats is turned up in hem two
inches wide, and further trimming is ad-
ded OF three strips of the velvet ribbon
placed across the box pleats that are ip the
middle of each cluster.
Another polonaise, giving much greater
fullness, has the Newmarket seam across
the hips, and its fronts slope away from this,
not by being drawn upward and back in a
full cluster of pleats on the tournure in the
seams that join the side forms to the middle
back; the middle seam of the back has SINH
lar fullness, and this gives very bouffant
oveIdress. The waist is left perfectly plain
over the hips, and is the objective point for
trimming, as the skirt is merely hemmed or
deeply faced with silk This trimming on
I'm afcf Ian - q
soutache braid, in leaves, palms, wheels, or
Gothic points that extend down each side of
the fronts and across the hips to the seams
next the middle back forms where there NAV
be rosettes or tassels of braid, or else mere
ly the plain box pleating is left there with
out being crossed by trimming. An English
standing collar of the wool material is made
to these polonaises; this is high band with
the corners slightly turned over in points,
and there may be lining of gay satin inside,
either orange color or strawberry pink, and
fine wire is placed inside this little collar
to hold 1t erect. The skirt may have only
five sets of box pleats its entire length, look
ing, in their unusual breadth, like panels
with side pleats between.
Correspondents ask how to make the
black cashmere suits that are SO useful for
the demi-season. There can be no prettier
simple model than that of the basque with
box-pleated back, trimmed on the bust with
plastron of six palm leaves of passemen-
terie or OF braid, a wrinkled over skirt, and
b0x-pleated skirt of ottoman silk with sat-
in blocks upon it, or else with one of the
deep gathered flounces of this silk, Tor of
plain gros-grain) with two erect headings.
This design is being made up in colors for
young ladies' first spring suits, for brides
travelling dresses, and for church and visit
ing costumes.
The fancy for the new yellow shades is
seen in the sudden appearance of clusters
of three or six silk pompons of bright pepita
yellow on the left side of the dark blue,
green, brown or black velvet turbans worn
by young ladies'; or of yellow panache of
ostrich feathers, with an aigrette of heron
feathers erect in its centre, as trimming
for small velvet capotes; the dark nastur-
tium and mandarin orange shades are used
in the same way. Gold cord and gold braid
are laid in straps amid the puffs of velvet on
the front of these small bonnets, or else
there are loops of mandarin velvet ribbon in
the box pleated fullness of the brim. A ro-
settle of gold braid with gold-colored heron
aigrette is ON the left side of black lace ca
potes that have flowers and scallops wrought
in golden threads. Yellow silk squares of
the soft tussere silk, or of twilled Surah,
are also worn folded around the neck inside
of dark velvet or seal-skin cloaks, and only
the merest fold is visible above the wrap.
Another caprice is for tiny neck ribbon,
scarcely half an inch wide, of yellow otto
man ribbed ribbon tied high about the
throat, with many long loops hanging on the
left side. A touch of yellow is added to the
corsage bow of many-colored ribbons that
now brightens dark dresses; and there are
two or three yellow blossoms added to the
clusters of artificial flowers used for trim
ming the spring bonnets Sashes of yellow
ribbon with white muslin dresses are in true
aesthetic taste, and these are worn not alone