National Republican., 1883-02-22

Black organdies will be very popular madE
| up with lace trimmings,
Immense quantities of lace will be used
| dresses of plain silk or grenadine will BY
literally covered with lace aouncings Thh
| entire front aud side breadths will be entirely
concealed by the lace, except finger deep
side plating of tho dress material.
Guipure net will be the rage" for overt
dresses This is--as it should be- for there
was never garment owned by lady capable
of giving such unadulteratcd satisfaction rs \
| good guipure lace overdress over black silk
body aud skirt. The walking skirt will be Of
black silk, with three or four very narrow
gathered, bound rutlles, put on with cord,
and overlapping each other The rest Of the
skirt plain. round waist, with long, closely
! fitted sleeves, and either high corsago or
square cut as taste dictates. The preference
Is for close buttoned bodies. The lace may
| bo made in half fitting saCquo basque anti
overskirt or polonaisc. Both styles have
their friends who enthuse equally over their
| advantages The polonaise seems slightly
ahead for summer wear, but is not quito
asdurable in such material, as IL is made with
out lining and its weight Is likely TO drag H.,
! Tho drapery should bo quite full ut the back,
more so than has been usual for past seasons,
| Flounccs of black guipuro will he in demand,
| and may be resurrectcd with confidence and
! triumph. Black ribbon bows and long ends
will be used for trimming on these garments.
In bright COlors wo have silks of rainbow
hues. Lurahs, with pale yellow or oak coli
orcd grounds, have enormous roses, poppies,
tulips, and carnations In bright natural colors
! printed on them Ottoman silks in light shades
and qualities have also similar figures Terra
Gotta is doomed. In fine goods II is used
| only in flowers for shadngs, n very few
| grounds, and in gloves it is drug. Tan In
! the now incumbent and is running as wild az
terra Gotta ever did. All sorts of new goods,
cotton silk and wool are in tan shades,
many with printed figure in bright
cardinal or the now rosewood shades.
Black grOs grain silks are elbowing
their more fanciful ncighbors ont of tho way
without ceremony or even so much rs saying
"by your leave" There are many new
brands of this most useful and desirable quail
ity, each one claiming all of the elements Of
success and perfection, but they must also
| have the sellers personal guarantee before
ladies can put their trust in them. The only
gros grains yet produced that are warranted
absolutely pure dye" are the cashimercs
Zamora and Arabia and Lcvant. If these
continue to sustain their promise and the
tests already given them, then womankind
may rejoice and he exceeding glad
Nelvetoen walking skirts are the coming
garments for early spring wear The now
Anglos are finer, softer, and will pack and
iniuro by damp less than anything yet
brought out, and arc tho reliance of the
future.
Women are getting more aud moro sensible
as regard walking shOes-mcdum broad toes,
low, Hat broad heels, and thicker solcs are
the order of the day, aud the latest discovery
in dressing leather Is we'll worth the attention
of every lady in the country. A new patent
process for preparing the leather dyes IL all
through, except the mcrest film on the inside,
and as the dye pcnctratcs into the leather and
does not simply smear the outside, you sec II
stands To reason that when the shoe wears IT
gets neither gray or purple but stays black
until worn out. This process is controlled by
u Broadway retail house, and they give IL no
end Of warrant as 10 durability of color, and
being almost absolutely waterproof. If we
have gotten silks that wont drop to pieces and
crack, and shoes that don't require a constant
use of polish, then indeed are we blcst, aud IL
is proper to ask If there isn't something
dreadful going to happen; we must be nearing
the millennium.
Gloves are overwhelmingly mousquetaires.
Hooks are out. Many of the firstClass houses
have gotten rid of them entirely. Button
gloves are still in demand among people who
have pretty arms. Gauntlets are revived in
q new fashion, n Harris seamless without
opening in the hand n Bcrnhardt style, set
into an even round cuff like u gcntlCman'b
wristband, the cuff open on the under side of
the wrist not the palm, but in u line with
the little finger.
silk gloves of prodigious length rcpose in
their boxes in wholesale houses waiting for
the moving of tho fashionable spirit and the
sunny days of spring. saw u stock the other
day in which were several boxes of these
gloves so long that as | held the upper end of
the glove to my shoulder the tips of my
fingers just reached the opening left for the
three buttons at the wrist and so much
must they wrinkle, as tho longest are said
to measure over thirty eight inches.
Mitts are going out. They will havoa linz
tied popularity for a short time, but are on
the decline decidedly. The new Isle thread
and silk gloves are so desirable and so pretty
that they will be likely to supcrcedo mitts
altogether, beside no lady can have n deli
cate white hand who wears mitts habitually
The sun and wind will discolOr IL in spite of
her. The only wonder is that ladies ever
took such an interest In any article Of dress
so manifostly injurious to their good looks,
for pretty hand and arm are among the
most charming possessions ever owned by
woman.
. Efforts are being made to popularize the
Isle thread and silk gloves for travelling, but
let no lady Of taste who cares for clean hands
ever attempt their use. The dust and cinders
will sift through the cloth and discolor the
hands, and often scratch aud blacken
the nails so that they are disfgured for many
days. Only kid or leather gloves will protect
the hands properly.
In hosiery there are some deviation"
quite rs startling as the most ultra extremist
could desire Just fancy black silk stock
ing with peafOwl in all of the bright natural
colors worked in with beads on the front
of the ankle. Fancy u lizard, with its body
rs thick AZ ones finger, with claws and eyes
rs bright as though he were real live crawl
ing thing, in all of the metallic blues and
greens of his every day dress or Il flock Of
humming birds or swallows ON the wing, and
yet all of these are in the spring importations
The regulation style for summer wear will be
black hOse-silk, of course, preferred-but
haps equally so with the silk, certainly more
generally worn. Seamless Oxford ties and
black stockings will be the most approved foot
covering for the promenade. Fancy eOlOrs
in hose are in demand and will
be extensively worn, but black either
silk or Isle thread, stand at the head of the
list as candidates for public favor. | cannot
close this letter without airing my ideas ON
the conduct of people at fires. The old joke
about the man who carried the hammer and
andirons down stairs and placed them care
fully on the pavement and threw the mirrors
aud china out of the windows, had practical
application here the other night. When the
curtain at the Cosmopolitan theater took fire
there was an outcry and panic, Of course.
With ample and accessible side exits, there
was rush for the front door, and people
trampled upon each other without reason or
sense. Anybody who wasn't too frightened
to look around must have made rapid strides
in the belief in tho Darwinian theory, for
the gamey pressing toward the door was
more like herd of frightened ami