The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-10-07
Taa,or-Made Cosfume~.

The following from The Boston Globe
hits the nail on the head exactly: The
material for a perfect tailor-made suit
should be some fine soft cloth Of firm
texture, and with nearly smooth finish.
Some bomespuns are lovely for this pur-
pose The real homespuns are manufac-
tured by hand, you know, the spinning and
weaving being done in the homes of the
jewellers upon the Shetland and Orkney
islands They cost a pretty figure,
too. being made so slowly and i'm
ported from such a distance, but
most of the homespuns, SO called.
which are now in the market
are mill-made and much cheaper They
have, however, the same general effect, the
coIors being mixed in an indefinite sort of
way which is the nearest approach to the
absolute absence of any pattern which is
the characteristic of the trus bomespun.
Look at these goods very closely and you
can see black, brown, white, grays, wood
colors, ecrus, reds and greens, but these are
combined so skillfully that without the
closest examination one sees only soft rich
mixtures, in one of which golden brown
may predominant, in another green, and so
on Indefinitely. The handsomest goods,
however for this purpose are the Scotch and
English cheviots, tweeds. serges and mohairs.
The latter looks as if woven of large, heavy
threads in a sort of basket-like pattern,
with fine knotted or boucle lines, forming a
small check The most of them are smooth
in finish, however, and the patterns are
small checks, fine lines and mixtures of all
sorts, producing rich, soft effects. 1t is
wonderful what an almost endless variety
of effects can be produced by merely vary
ing the weaving Here, for instance, are
three English serges side by side. They are
all combinations of the red and black that
is to be so popular this season, and yet they
are utterly different. One has the two
colors in alternate diagonal lines; the second
has mottlei effect, as if they were all
mixed up together, only there are bars OF
black which mark off large check as one
discovers after time; while the third has a
distinctly marked pattern, the red threads
forming checks about five OF six lines wide
over the darker ground work.
Having selected the material for your
tailor made suit, have it tailor made in
fact as well as in name, If possible. You
NAV have a very nice dressmaker, and she
NAV be able to give you perfect fit,n but
unless she is tailor she cannot give you
that perfection of finish which tail ors alone
seem to understand. The skirt should be
round, full, and mounted on a foundation
skirt of silk or alpaca. so as to hang freely
overskirt front, which may be long, straight
and plain, with few folds across it, made
by plaits at the side; or short and round,
| caught up high at the sides. The bach
drapery will be long and plain, the
| tendency this fall being to have
them simply very full and plated intc
| the belt. They may be caught up if pre-
| ferred. The bodice or basque must b.
nodded to the figure with absolute accuracy
| Not fold, not the shadow of a crease mus
| be found, and the edges are to be finished
either with pl ain stitching or a scarcely ap
nearing silk braid which matches the mate
rial. This absolute fairness and smoothnes
of effect is obtained principally in the press
| ing, and nothing but tailor's goose seem:
equal to it. The basque is fastened straigh
| up and down the front, with small silk but
| tons, or those made from the material; or
| if no coat is to be worn, it may open some
what over waistcoat of white pique, or
| plated chemisette. Do not, however, ALLOW
| an unnecessary button or bit of braid o.
| any thing else of a merely decorative mature
| to find place on this dress. Let its charm
| lie in its fit, its simple vet artistic draping
its perfection of finish and correct air.
Ruffies and laces are, of course, perfect,
| out of place with such costume. Nothin;
| but polished white linen cuffs and collar
will do, the latter made with chemisett
and fastened simply with tiny plain gol'
| button or two. Your slangy small brothe
| NAV say that he thought he had monopol,
, of the ssthree cuff business, for even so d
| they sometimes designate the high line
| collars now affected by both sexes, but un
less you go to an absurd extreme you ma,
be sure you are elegant, and what more
to be dssiredl