The Portland daily press., 1890-03-01
DRESSES MADE FROM PICTURES
Sometimes make Plain Girls Look
Pretty.
Correspondence of the Press

NEW YORK, Feb. 27.-Picture dresses
for young ladies are certainly very
fetching" and they are peculiarly
adapted to such as are not particularly
pretty, as the beholder's eye is apt to
fall upon the costume rather than the
face. Those who wear them should take
pains to see that their hair is dressed in
accordance with the style, otherwise it
would destroy the whole effect. Many
young girls who look positively plain in
the ordinary costume of the day appear
very attractive in picturesque gown,
copied from portrait or a picture Of
some grande dame of century or SO
ago. The gown can be exactly copied,
or it can be modified in slight degrees.
Velvet or velutina makes the most effec-
tive of these gowns, and next to that
material is heavy brocaded silk.
l give a picture of one of these cos.
tunes in black velvet, with plain skirt
very slightly draped in front, with
band of feather trimming around the
bottom. Up the right side is a panel of
brocade in pearl gray. with black and
cardinal raised pattern. Three Jet but
tons and jet buckle trim the waist.
The vest front is in cream colored jap
anese crepe, and around the neck is
band of the feather trimmings. The
jaunty velvet hat, with a ruby buckle and
cardinal feather, adds just the touch of
youthful brightness necessary. Perhaps
the dress would be more elegant all in
velvet, without admixture of any other
material or color. Dark blue, green,
brown or prune velutina would make up
very rich and handsome gown after
this model, and it would only require at
the most ten yards of this goods to make
it. The feather trimming is 'bout 81. 30
per yard, and it would need four yards
of that. Velvet costs anything you are
willing to pay for it, according to quail
ity. The velutina is 81 per } ard, and is
more used than silk velvets for cos
tunes.
Oriental embroidering is getting quite
a rage just now. Wooden and velvet
house and street dresses have braiding
mingled with applique embroidery Mrs
Grover Cleveland wears such costume
made of black camels' hair with a band
around the bottom done in scarlet and
gold. A pointed girdle gives grace and
slenderness to the waist, and there is a
simulated Spanish jacket in the same
kind of braiding which entirely covers
the back. The sleeves are trimmed en-
suite
1t is curious that no one has noticed
how large Mrs. Cleveland is. She is taller
than the most of women and is far
stouter than she looks, owing to the per-
feet symmetry of her figure, which her
dressmaker takes pride in outlining and
accentuating by her arts. Whatever
gown Mrs. Cleveland has on, there is the
same faultless fit and apparent simplicity
in trimming. 1t is only when the figure
is poor or undeveloped that a dress re-
quires a profusion of trimming.
In the three toilets for young ladies
are shown some Of the latest styles for
waists. One has deep pointed peasant
waist in black velvet over a dress of
Havana brown, which is favorite color
this season. Velvet panels are placed at
the sides. The shoulders and top of the
front breadth are shirred. The middle
dress has the front of japanese crepe in
pale blue, and the rest is of challies In
pale blue and prune flowers, with prune
velvet girdle, jacket cuffs and collar.
The third costume is of gray and green
striped surah, with four narrow tucks
around the bottom. This model is ex-
ceedingly pretty for an ordinary home
dress for young lady.
The new spring goods look like whole
flower gardens seen under a microscope.
Some of the flowers are magnified ten
thousand diameters, and then again there
are others with the tiniest little fairy
flowers ever seen. The sateens are cash.
mere finished, with very heavy face in
comparison with those heretofore shown,
and wonderful dove colored and change
able effects are produced.
q TT