Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-08
ATTRACTIVE HOMES.
improvements in Shopping Facilities
in Washington.
LOCAL STORES AND STOCKS
Fancy Articles for the Holiday Season
May Now be Obtained Cheap-sOSa
Pillows and Their New ssyles-varie.
ties Of Chair Cushions.
Written for THE EVENING star.

written Tor The EVENING STAR
| ANY ONE who has lived in Washington
| afS for the past ten or fifteen years the
cbange for the better in shopping facili-
- ties is one Of the most noticeable and one
OF the most appreciated Whenever anything
at all out OF the most ordinary line Of pur-
chases was wanted some years ago it must be
| ordered from Baltimore, Philadelphia or New
York, and all the consequent inconvenience in
Cured. Spring and autumn what a trouble
some thing the sending for samples was when
| new gowns were in order and selecting and
buying In that way; still it was what most peo-
pie here did, unless they paid visit to other
| cities In order to make their own selections.
ms KIND OF shopping would answer in dry
| goods, but when the case was house furnishing
| IL was not 80 easy to get it by sample and the
nousekeeper suffered accordingly by having a
very united choice as to purchases made here
| In the city
| A SHOPPING TOUR THIS AUTUMN,
| unless our list is too long to leave any time
| Tor reflection to note contrasts impresses
one with the improvement and growth of
Washington and the skill with which public
| taste Is catered to. In every line of goods
| there are variety and quantity, and anybody who
! cannot be suited with what is offered on all
sides must be over fastidious and hard to please
II she cannot supply her wants in her own city.
| Setting aside the substantals of living will
| notice some OF the pretty things OF the lesser
sort which may be found in our Washington
| shops and call to mind well the swift APP
| preaching holidays, SO that by paraphrasing
the proverb IA stitch in time" to purchase
In time one may be accommodating o store of
| goodies" early in the day.
Never were sofa pillows prettier or more in
demand Judging by the supply offered in so
many OF our stores. While there are many in
hand-embroidered covers, the majority are
covered with silk, both plain and figured. A
silk square Of the right size for pillow comes
| this year with border and center design, all in
| soft cashmere cOloring that is very good. For
the front of the pillow to have one OF these
| squares with the back of plain silk makes
| variety and Is quite new. Fawn and ecru are
the tones of most of the grounds, so they will
suit and harmonic with almost any style of
/ furnishing
| Never were the China silks so attractive in
| design and coloring this year, and their
| uses arc almost endless. In dark and light
| shades the choice is equally varied. Browns
| IN different shading and patterns more seen
than ever before. and some of the prettlest
silks are in these tones.
| JAPANESE COTTON CREPE.
Another material which is newer than silk is
used on many pillows with the loveliest re-
suits. This is the Japanese cotton crepe with
| gold stamped designs White and gold make
the most delicate-looking pillows, but it does
| not soil rs easily might be expected Pale
pink and soft gray-blue are most attractive.
| while darker and more serviceable coloring is
| In tho same material. This gold-stamped
crepe is $l.25 yard, while much the same
shades in the plain crepe can be bought for
30 cents yard 1t is a charming material for
| many purposes, and in Christmas work will
doubtless be suitable for many things The
| excellent cotton crepe with white ground and
dark blue design we'll covering it is very good
tor How rhn~ he rl,,l1 Ii.
room. The pillows are large for the most
part. with plain seams on the edges unorna-
mented by cord or trimming of any kind with
the corners generally turned in, and either
the FUCKERS showing or rosetto
| of the same material as the cover added as a
finish. Some beautiful embroidered pillows
are shown in oriental work, both in elaborate
and slight designs, but always artistic and
pleasing in coloring. hand-embroidered pill
| low-not of eastern workmanship however
was tone Of old pink crepe for the front, with
gold thread put up and down in three stripes,
| one in the middle and one each side, each
stripe made Of three threads put on a single
thread at a time and crossing and recrossing
| each other in ZigZag fashion. The stripes are
very narrow, and this is all the ornamentation
| except the corner rosettes The back is COW
cred with plain silk and the pillow is quite
pleasing as a whole though quiet in tone
Some one suggested it ought to be used in a
| colonial room. as the fine gilt lines would
suit with the delicate decoration of that STYLE
| Some pillows have puffs of silk set IN in fancy
| designs with much-worked panels adjoining
| but a palmer covering Is more effective than
this elaboration and preferred by most people,
STYLES OF CHAIR CUSHIONS.
Chair cushions are numerous as the sofa
pillows, and some little change of shape and
style is noticeable. Three-cornered double
pillows are covered with China silk in very
dainty colors and fastened together by ribbons
in pretty effect. These double pillows are SO
| convenient to throw over the back Of any chair
that they have justly earned their popularity
| Round pillows tor chairs are bound about with
| braid of sweet grass, which can be bought
by the yard if one wishes for using in similar
| ways. Fifty cents ID the price per yard, which
Is enough to ornament several articles
| PRETTY SHAPED BASKETS.
Baskets are on all sides, Of the prettiest imag-
Unable shapes and decorated in all sorts of
fascinating ways. Gold thread is made to do
service in trucking ont the array of fancy
baskets, and it adds much to their pretty looks
One or two threads are taken at once and lace
| in and out or twined around in q way to be held
securely, when it glitters and makes its pres
ence known, as even q little bit can do China
silk OF plain color is sometimes covered with
gold thread i'll lines an inch apart and il then
made up into the shirred bag top to the
| baskets for bonDons work or half q dozen
other uses The exquisite ribbons put on the
larger baskets are in large bows or run in, or
arranged in several fanciful ways, all pretty
and taking and likely to make favorite Christ
mas gifts.
| oDDMENrs IN SILVER.
The array Of what the English call "odd-
ments" in silver is fairly bewildering Pho
tograph frames are in every shape and size,
square, oval and heart-shaped, and are very
pretty in the many designs All kinds Of toilet
articles are in silver discourse, and most at
tractive, while the unbreakableness is an ad-
vantage over fragile china. All kinds Of
brushes are silver handled, and nothing looks
more luxurious than to see in addition to hair
brushes that the clothes, tooth and nail brushes
are also with silver handles, SO that the toilet
outfit is complete in that line. A look at the
jewellers is sufficient to make every one long
Tor some Of the beauties displayed to the best
advantage to enhance their charms. Each
year it seems easier to carry out ones own
ideas in house furnishing, for it is not SO Diff
cult to find now what one needs in the we'll
stocked establishments in town.
Blankets are now to be found in such lovely
coloring and delightful qualities that they may
be looked upon as a pleasure to both the sense
OF seeing and Of feeling. All colors to corre-
spond with bed room furnishings can be got
| ten, and thus they contribute to the general
ntness OF things in pretty apartment
THE BRASS SASH CURTAIN Rod
For the benefit Of new readers Of The STAR
and to refresh the memory of old ones at this