Morning journal and courier., 1891-01-15

gowns, as so many of the draperies in fl-
 my fabrics are long and straight and cling
 ing.
 In taking retrospect of the past year
 our attention halts at nothing salient in
 the way of extreme novelty, and designers
 have been prone to 'fhark back" into the
 past for ideas. The consequence has been
 a sort of melange of modes of different
 epochs and reigns and worn at the same
 time, a sort of patchwork affair, such as
 Valois sleeves and Henri IT. ruffs on Louis XIV. coats. An effort has also been made to revive Henri III. jackets. They are
 rich and elegant, but require a very slim figure to be becoming. They are generally
 cut as cuirass, pointed back and front
 alike, and made of cloth, richly embroi-
 dered with gold and black tracings in fine
 braid. It fastens down the center invisi-
 ply with hooks and eyes The sleeves are
 of faille or ottoman silk, and doubled ssbs
 of silk form the basque, bringing the jack
 ct to. uniform length over the hips. These tabs are formed into loops, turned under and apparently held in place bp pas
 sementerie buttons.
 Braided and embroidered jackets are very much worn, and mantles have heavy fringes or embroidered yokes and collars. Medici collars continue to be adapted to all kinds of outdoor garments, such as
 jackets, half-long capes and even long cloaks. They are generally lined with silk
 or velvet and are richly embroidered or
 braided on the outside. The pointed
 Swiss belt seems likely to replace the vel vet corselet, and there are many dresses trimmed in Hungarian and Swiss style, with broad velvet bands round the hem of the skirt, round the waist and across the chest. Bolero jackets and hats trimmed with pompons are still very much in vogue, and the jackets of velvet, trimmed with gold or the jeweled passementeries, are very popular over belted bodices of colored silks. These bodices are displayed in great varieties in all the shops, and are in all the colors and tints of color imagin- able. The newest have the body of plain silk, with sleeves, collar and belt of Scotch plaid surah. Some have smocked yokes,
 but in general they are finely tucked or plaited. They are very dressy worn with black lace or satin skirts, and with two or | three of these colored bodices one may ap- parently have a frequent change of cos | tune. One novel idea presented in bod | ice of silk was a yoke rounded back and | front and sleeves full at the top, but | formed in a succession of the tiniest plaits arranged lengthwise in the yoke but crosswise or horizontal in the sleeves. These knife-plaits are stitched across the width of silk before the sleeves are cut | out. The under part of the sleeve is mar ! row and plain. while the upper part is \ gathered in at the shoulders, where the ! folds cause the tiny plaits to stand up iu | little frills. The immense change in dress | since this time laet year really lies in the | question of the tournure. One is distinct | ly annoyed at the mass of excrescences we | can recall on the gowns of a year ago while of late they have absolutely van, | ished. Yet in the newest creations oi l Worth side -paniers are prominent features; 1 whether they will gradually extend to the I tournure time alone will tell Princesse I gowns are much favored at present, all cut | in one, but the back of the skirt is mount | ed in fan-shape instead of hanging straight l The fourreau skirt, as now worn, should \ be very much gored. It is perfectly plain in front, but at the back fans right out al the edge and spreads some inches on the ground. The added length to the day dress. which necessitates holding it up in | the street, has almost become an accepted though lamentable fact, and old fashioned
 "dress suspenders" are being revived, as \ it is impossible in bad weather always tc
 lift ones skirt elegantly so as to escape the mud and wet. The changes in the hats
 and bonnets lie chiefly in their being much lower and worn much more forward or
 the head. The jetted or steel-embroidered
 bandeaux fitted to the back of the head | beneath the hat are so peculiar looking a:
 to be likely to be only a fieeting fashion, Theater bodices are extremely elaborate | and fanciful, but the dainty head gear | which accompanies them in Paris are en- | tirely tabooed in London