Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-05
HOW TO BE IN STYLE.
Shirley Dare Tells Of the Beautiful
New Fashions in Dress.
SPANISH COSTUMES IN VOGUE.
Women Who Study Dramatic Artto Acquire
Grace of Figure.
HOW TO BE HANDSOME AND HEALTHY
WRITTEN FOR THE D1srArcH.l

WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPArcH.l
Let us begin with fashions to have the
serious affairs of life over and done with.
The new gowns are happy blending Of
sense and caprice, so varied in material
and trimming that almost every dress at a
good private modiste's seems unique and
sensible in short skirts. simple drapings and
forms which dispense with tight corsets and
bustles. The main difference noted as
spring wears on and reverse styles appear,
is that directoire dresses give way to the
beautifully fitted, easy princess gowns, with
embroidered or else open fronts, filled with
white vests or chemisettes, the straight
skirt showing a velvet, embroidered or
broche petticoat between the breadths. This
style suits the fine figures of American girls
better than the directoire, which looks like
the mischief, save on very piquant wearers.
Spanish styles are taking the fancy, from
the pictures of modern painters, allowing
rich color and luxurious fancy. But Span
ish styles are not to be attempted in any but
the most generous materials. A superb cos
tune for dinner dress seen yesterday in a
royale, thickest, softest and glossiest of all
silks, in warm, brilliant. Spanish red,
finer than poppy color, with short matador
jacket of gorgeous brocade in red, black,
gold and green, square and loose as seen in
pictures of bull fighters, the crimson sleeve
slashed with deep puffs of brocade, and q
narrow, straight train of brocade turned
back from the hips over the red silk petit
coat, which looked thick enough to stand
alone, but was almost too soft to rustic.
Frills of magnificent point finish throat,
bosom and wrists. Directoire dresses re-
quire fine, filmy French and Flemish laces,
the Spanish style calls for the heavy corded
Escurial point, which is rather between
passementerie and lace, or for the Spanish
point and cut work with its high relief and
spidery bars. Three yards of Escurial point
needed for dress front may be had for $33,
which is cheap for life's wear.
SUMMER MILLINERY.
One establishment shows conservative
coronet bonnets in fine straw with velvet ap-
plique on the low brim, trimmed solely
with loops and rich brocade ribbon in the
color Of the dress, little thread lace and
aigrettes. Flowers are oYerdone for the
tastes of the select, and soft, wide ribbons,
lightened with aigrettes and fine grasses or
seeds at most, come with the handsomest
costumes Flowery hats for theater, the
park drive or the races, but for the street,
for calls and picture galleries, something
Quieter and richer is desirable
The stylish shops which furnish walking
and driving hats for ladies and children as
well as gentlemen, coaching hats in satin
rough braids have the crown covered with
small plumes, from to 13 being required
togo around the crown and veil the top.
New sailor hats are of plaid straw, navy
blue, red and ecru, or green, black and q
leading color and punches of berries or seeds
in another, A blue plaid cactus braid had
loops of navy ribbon standing stiff, and
sprays of red currants on the blue with very
good effect. Derby hats of the finest vel
vety white felt for riding and driving are
shown for ladies, and white Eton caps and
Tam o. Shanters for children. Both the
new sailor shape with its chimney pot crown
and the Eton with overhanging top and
visor are as ugly and unbecoming as can be,
the latter being the hldeous cap seen in
Cruikshank's illustrations of Dickens
where the small boys seem pressed down by
their caps.
CENTENNIAL STYLES.
One thing the Centennial has left us is
revival of quaint and convenient fashions
of century ago, including the lace mittens,
rufles and dress aprons worn as a part Of
afternoon dress, and the sensible hats and
looped petticoats for out-of-doors. A pretty
little white cambric cape bonnet with mar
row ruf1es and the headpiece stiffened with
pasteboard stats, was shown in fashionable
shop window under the Fifth Avenue Hotel
the center of host of expensive foreign
novelties.
1t was demure as q snowdrop, and recalls
the shady sunbonnet which Dolly Madison's
precise mother sewed on her small head
every morning when she went to school, lest
the sun should reach her pretty face. Her
complexion won her first a rich husband
and then President but most girls would
consider these honors dear at the price of
being shut in a close bonnet every time they
went out of doors. A complexion cleared
with tsraxacum and charcoal, brown bread
and wheaton grits can defy the sun to do
more than add to its brilliance But there
must be no interruption to the careful diet,
for ladies whose faces are rose and white
clover usually, say they never omit the |
coarse fare for two days without having q
coldso re or ugly pimples follow.
THE SMALL ToURNURE,
so long talked Of, perceptibly modifes the
appearance OF dresses on the street. Not
that there are not plenty of large tournures
still worn by women who cling to pronounced
styles, and cannot believe themselves dressed
except in accented shapes and colors. But
the best dressed women no longer wear q
half-moon shelf at the back of their skirts,
nor do you see every woman who goes out of
a car mechanically smoothing down the back
of her basque over her prominent drapery.
It used to look funny on the suburban trains
to see file of women going through this bit |
of drill as they went out of the car. Now
the dress skirt is fitted as carefully as the
waist, the underskirt having straight |
breadths, gored only over the hips to fit |
without crease or fold, and the upper skirt |
of Eve straight breadths shirred over this.
The back of each skirt is left full, single |
steel spring run in the underskirt seven |
inches below the waist, giving all the relief |
allowed the draperies, and very pretty is the |
effect
The long French polonaise worn with this |
has pointed belt from the side seams, the !
skirt laid in very large fat box-plaits at |
front and sides, showing the underskirt |
nearly its full length at the seams This |
skirt is plain velvet, paisley broche, in
palms like the shawls, or the heavy ap-
pliques, passementerie panels or corded
laces for street wear, the front and back of I
the waist, top of the sleeves, belt and collar
being trimmed to correspond with the skirt
A PRETTY WRAP.
For cool days the Breton jacket is neces-
sary, in black or dark green, or the soft
French grays. with vest of applique or
heavy stitchery that looks like braiding.
The jacket must correspond with the dress
to insure good style, and the bonnet be the
darkest point in the attire. For use black
Jacket is chosen of twilled cloth, with vari-
ETY. of vests, in applique, in pleated surah,
with square neck outlined by embroidery,
and the silk drawn around the neck above
this, a white sprigged pique or silk vest
to match any dress which may be worn.
Fronts of black cord lace over silk fill such
a jacket prettily if a dressier style Is
wanted. The newest expensive Bretons