Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-26
FROM A STAGE ROOF.
Dare Reviews the Fashions
as Seen on Fifth Avenue.
LACE GOWNS, HATS AND PARASOLS.
White Bonnets All the Rage for FeteS,
Visits and Theater.
SOME ANSWERS TO ANXIOUS INQUIRERS
WRITTEN ron THE D1srArcH.1

Line May Weabner Is at ltS DrISutcSSJ bho
streets lined with flower sellers offering
heaps of mignonette and many-eol"red
roses, and the charm of the Spring City be-
tween its rivers is at its best New YORK
might be, and will yet be, veritable
pleasure city as much as Paris or Nice.
when its artistic element gains ascendency
and politics allow it to become the cleanest
city on the continent, as it ought to be.
A feature which strikes one from other
cities is the Fifth avenue stages. with seats
on the roof, filed with ladies and children,
riding up to Central Park and taking all
and sunlight possible on the way. A mar
row winding stair starts from the wide steps
at the back of the stage, so that it is per-
fectly easy to ascend to the roof, where seats
very like school forms are ranged in rows,
taken by women who know the value of air
and sunshine. 1t is very good place to
see the dress parade up the avenue, for two
miles and more, the wedding turnouts at the
churches, the fresh toilets just from the Gus
tom house. and the picturesque houses near
the park which give lovely halfforeign air
to the brown stone region. In the park
bright carriages are flashing down the
drives, the white collars and silver chains
adding to their brilliance, and the wide
lawns reach in fragrant greenness when
THE GAY THRoNG
passes the bust of Mazzini, the sad, forcible,
far-seeing face dreaming over against the
promenade and the peaceful meadows. The
fashions of the fair time are artistic and
captivating, study Of historic eoquetries,
refined and toned down, from the jaunty
chapeaus and cooked hats in white straw
and moire ribbons to the vapory lace hats,
piled with white lilacs and the pale, sum-
merry toilets which make women appear
beautiful because their gowns are so. The
lace dress, the lace hat and parasol are the
toilet of the season, which makes any
woman attractive.
The straight gathered drapery of lace falls
over a close silk skirt, the fan waist or sur
plice waist, with its high ruff about the
neck, is only relieved by the narrow white
pearl edged ribbon tied round the throat,
with little bow in front, in place of collar
or ruche, the same ribbon at the wrist with
little bow and ends falling out of the open
cuff. The dress is hardly complete without
moire ribbon; the transparent hat is not
over large, the vapory plain black net being
preferred for its ightness of effect, shirred
on satin wires, and trimmed with flowers
veiled by cascades of lace.
TIE FINEST MILLINERY
artists aim at this effect of color toned
down by lace, which falls half over them,
and it is particularly softening to the COM
plexion. The parasol is OF the same lace as
the dress, and its long slender handle is
dressed with ribbons like shepherds crook.
A bow at the top with rather long ends, one
half way up the handle, and one on the
large ring at the lower end are seen on
French sunshades of gathered silk-striped
net The fragrant cherry wood handles are
choice, but twisted silver seems to be the
rule.
Graceful little shoulder capes and mantles
from the private modiste's are combinations
of silk crochet, the finest seed jet and lace,
airy enough to be no perceptible addition to
attire, while adding the needed lines of
drapery about the shoulders. Many eyes are
and artistic enough to feel that
q woman who goes out in the street in a
dress without the semblance of
a wrap, looks as if she had forgotten part of
her costume. The newest and best mantles
are a deep, pointed collar or fchu of crochet
and fine beading, with fall of pleated lace
for a sleeve, and lace fr1lled deeply under
the border of rose-c-ochet. Fine mantles fol-
low the color of the costume, in bronze, gray
pearl, silver, bright steel and blue steel,
pale garnet to go with shades of old rose,
aud all crochet of fine tricot stitch to suit
the gobelin blues which do not take beading
we'll.
DRESS OF CROCHET.
Long jersey-ftting bodices of crochet in
purse silk, with just enough beading to be
in fine taste, imported at $50 each, very
useful in adding richness to any black silk
dress, are among the standard pieces of the
toilet which never lose value or seem out of
date, Different parts of the dress are made
in crochet, to give the fashionable puffs and
straps without cutting up the fabric of the
gown. Rich, plain black silks have Medici
collars and shoulder pieces in black crochet,
the wide, faring collar which lends becom-
ingness to any sort of throat or age, stifened
with fine satin wire inside. The shoulder
puff to the coat sleeve is of crochet, reach
ing nearly to the elbows: sometimes the
lower tight part of the sleeve is crochet, a
fashion which skilled needlewomen may
adopt for themselves. The wide girdle or
stomacher is crochet, and rich fronts and
panels for the skirt are among the most dis
tingue ornaments.
The white bonnet will be high dress for
summer at fetes, visits and theaters. White
straw and crinoline together form the pref
tiest, most useful bonnets in fancy pokes
which shade the eyes little. White striped
silk net and the malines net, which dates its
revived favor from the Princess Beatrice's
wedding, make pretty hats, drawn on satin
wire, with the ever-present
WILD CLEMATIS
or white lilac for trimming. Elegant capotes
have the crown covered with a piece of
point lace, either point de gene or round
point laid in easy folds with brim of fancy
straw braid and knot of rich ribbon and |
aigrette, or a bandeau of fine flowers. The |
flower capote in shaded violets, fresh as if |
from the woods an hour before, has curve |
or two of point lace, and tuft of flowers to |
break its outline, but the high front trim |
ming and the crowns loaded with a dozen |
large rosebuds, are decidedly past style. |
The newest monteurs copy the modest brill |
liant Alpine blossoms from the flower |
haunts of the Pyrenees. An exquisite wreath |
of blue gentian with fine seeding grasses,
veronicas and speedwell, pink and white |
yellow hawkweeds and their |
downy seed tufts with the grayish powdered |
herbage of mountain sides are repealed ac-
curately enough to delight botanist. Tufts |
of golden green oats and grass with silvery |
plumes half ripe, sprays of tender birch |
leaves, newly unfolded, or mountain laurel |
offer the cool, delightful contrast desired |
for snowy tulle, with Grape embroidered |
golden CLEANS.
POETIC CREATIONS.
These milliners' creations are fairly ether |
aal, and would poetize any pleasing woman
ifshe knew how to wear them. But the |
wong woman, somehow. almost always gets |
there, and her pudgy hand crushes tine Grape
and tarnishes the tulle which surmounts her
face, and she wears it with a