Huntsville gazette., 1889-08-10
MORNING DRESSES.
Severe Styles and Simple Designs the
tf -tt Proper Thing.

4
| q. -. Proper Thing.
| The best black sateens have a dull
| finish like that of Henrietta cloth, and
the newest black ginghams have sateen
stripes woven in them in black and in
white. Black and gray ginghams are
| stylish in wide stripes, and give excel
| lent service, as they do not show SOIL
Even stripes of black and white are ef-
fective in Scotch ginghams, and make
| cool dresses. requiring only some black
ribbon for trimming the waist. Black
French lawns are made Of better quality
than formerly, and the wiry linen
batistes, all black or striped with white,
| make most refined dresses. The straight
round skirts and gathered belted waists
may be made without lining, and worn
over black silk. surah, or lawn skirt
and under-waist that will serve for va
rious dresses. Modistes are using black
lawn for foundation skirts of their black
dresses, as it is less costly and lighter
than the low-priced gros grain silks.
and also wears better. Waist Innings
of sateen or light selesia are liked with
black only on the outside. and white or
gray inside. White null. with deep
hens hem-stitched, or with some blocks
or Greek keys Of BLACK embroidered
above hem, make pretty house dresses
for those wearing deep mourning.
Severe styles and simple designs arc
chosen for mourning attire, but there
are no models prepared especially for
mourning dresses. The fashions in fa-
vor for colored dresses-the Empire
and Directoire gowns, the princesse
dresses. the gathered, the Tapped and
belted waists, the full sleeves, and the
straight skirts-are copied in the dull
black fabrics worn as mourning, but
are made to look simpler, and are less
elaborateIy trimmed. There are, how
ever. some features and some trim
mings now in vogue that are particu-
larly well suited to mourning costumes.
such as the plated skirt with its fow-
ing lines, the bands Of ribbon falling
fiat down from belt to foot, the milli-
ners folds, the rows Of ribbon forming
border around the skirt. the accor-
dion-plaiting for parts of skirts, and
the knife plated Directoire frills for
the corsage, and some of these enter
into most OF the well-made black
gowns.
Widows dresses are extremely plain,
but are made of such rich fabrics as
Henrietta cloth or nuns yelling, with
vest and panels Of English Grape, or
else they are entirely of the Grape over
silk. The back and sides of the skirt
fall in wide natural-lOoking folds, while
the front may be slightly draped, and the
whole bordered with wide Grape fold,
or else there are fine plaits down the
front, or perhaps panels or plaits ct
Grape. The close high bodice extends
just below the waist line in dull point
in front and back, and the back of tho
skirt is hooked on the bodice. Tiie
sleeves must be high in the shoulders,
and may be either coat-shape or leg-of-
mutton shape, as the wearer chooses.
Skirts of house dresses lie ten inches OH
the floor in the back, and those for the
street are apt to be made quite long.
The collar, cuffs and cap are distinctive
features Of a widows toilette. The turn
over collar and wide cuffs worn outside
the sleeves are of white nainsook or
batiste or organdy, with inch wide hem
turned up on the outside, and some OF
these sets have hens hem-stitched with
black. The widows cap of white crimp-
ed Grape puffs, when worn by young
women, is quite small and fiat, pointed
toward the forehead, straight at the
back, and tapering down the sides to
fasten under the low-coiled back hair;
four or five of the small Grape puffs
known as widows ruches cover it en-
tirely For older ladies, tucked strings
that hang below the back hair are added
to such caps, while other caps for those
still older have large crowns to take in
the back hair. Harper Bazaar.