Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1884-06-27
Early Summer Dress.

1t is not an easy matter for the
woman who cannot afford many
changes to decide upon her dress
this season, there are so many
fabrics and such an array of colors
from which to choose. Black and
white are safest, if they are to be
worn turn and turn about, since
only these may be disguised by
means of different accessories of
ribbon and laces, so as to give a
semblance of variety on one and
the same foundation.
But a black silk, even, is in these
days an elastic quantity, and may
cost anything one chooses to pay
for it, from $50 up to $4,000, the
first figure representing an Ameri-
can silk or SuIah at 81 a yard, the
second a rich French silk trimmed
with wide founces Of thread lace.
There are failles and attOmans,
gross grains, gross de Naples, gross
dc Lyons, &C., according to the
size of the cords; brocades, large
and small, in designs Of flowers,
fruits, nuts, berries, leaves arabes-
Ques, geometrical figures, designs
astronomical, such as Saturan with
her rings. crescents and full moons,
stars, etc; designs scientific, like
the figures which the microscope
shows. us in the melting snow
flakes; grotesques, animal designs
shells, fishes, everything in fact,
that could be appropriated for the
purpose would appear to have beer
so appropriated.
FLIMsY AND CHEAP OR HEAVY AMI
RICH.
The degrees Of richness vary
with the price of the material; some
are flimsy and cheap, others heavy
enough to stand alone if only they
were not too soft in texture. Blacb
grenadines are as varied, the scale
rising from unpretending armureS
to the gorgeous velvet brocaded
grenadines, which, with the excep
ton of lace dresses, form the most
elegant black toilets of the season.
Nor is it easy to give any but a
general idea Of the manner in which
they are made.
Fashion this season is impera
tive on but two points-a perfect
fit and originality; given these,
anything else is allowable. II
sometime takes an hour or two tc
i
drape a dress, and the work should
be done between two full length
mirrors, where the subject cal
study the effect of every plant and
fold, while the patient draper pins
and unpins and pins again, unit
the lines of the garment fall IL
artistic curves. Most Of the dra
peries are either plain and straight
or else they are held in many up
turned pleats. The new styles call
for more material than former
lly, because tits absolutely essenha
to graceful draperies that they
should be long and full. Pleat'
are very popular in all their varl
cites of knife, box, side, kilt, ac'
cording, shell and organ, or futed
pleating. People who pride them
selves on being well dressed object
to many narrow pleatings anc
pufs, as being scrappy and sug-
gesting made over garments, but
this prejudice does not prevent
them from being very much worn
wAIsTCOATs OF SILK.
Waistcoats of white corded silk,
fastened with tiny pearl buttons
and with wide pOcket-faps at each
side, are a new feature on costumes
of black and navy blue ottoman
silk combined with striped otto
man in white and black, or blue
and white. White serge waistcoats
are to be worn with dark woolen
dresses of satin. Worth's latest
fancy for slender wearers in a dress
with deep-pointed waist, with skirts
very slightly gored and laid in fiat
plaits from front to back, the plaits
over the full tournure increasing in
width as they reach the back.
A very pretty design for a black
cashmere has the skirt arranged in
box pleats, each separated by a
cluster of four kilt pleats, while
the apron front is laid in full folds,