The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-04-26

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The park is aglow with brilliant bloom, but
the fair beauty of the flowers is rvalled If not
eclipsed by the gay masses of color in the
carriages. which look like perambulating
parterres. Down the long green vistas of the
trees. past fragrant lilac and syringa bushes
and arbors laden with purple wistera dash
the, equpages with the clash Of silver chains
| and glittering harness. and freighted with
stately dowagers and pretty young women IN
all the bravery OF their spring apparel.
DREAM IN BosNrrs.
The women Of one family who take their
airing IN company are apt to choose their COS
tunes with view 10 harmony of effect, so
that the passing pageant is artistic as well as
brilliant. Lying back upon the silken cush;
| ions of low Victoria are two sisters noted
| for their beauty and wealth. one is A blonde,
! fragile looking and with a faint flush in her
cheeks n. delicate As that upon an apple bios
som. The air If fragllity is heightened by
the costume. which Is Of the paest mauve
yelled AT foot and neck by chiffon of the same
/ lovely color the bonnet is a dream of purple
/ orchids and gold threaded lace, and the para
sol-ah. the parasol it might be frozen soap
suds OF woven mOOnbeams, only 1t isn't. IL IS
composed of gathered and embroidered chif-
/ fOn with panels painted in water colOrs with
Greuzc-like children's faces peering from be-
! hind lilac bushes and half concealed beneath
n rain of auivering purple petals. The chifre
of renowned scademician i. attached 10 this
dainty bit Of fuery, and tho chiire cost more
than the parasol.
LOVELY PARAsOLs.
| Vatican did not deem It beneath his dig
nifty 10 paint fans for fine ladies' neither do
Partisan artists consider IT derogatory 10 use
| their brushes in the decoration OF these airy
nothings which women hold over their heads.
Parasol means a screen against the sun, but
| the parasOls Of to-day mean nothing the sun
Sits through the dlaphanous meshes and
touches the pretty face with his warm fingers,
all indifferent that each touch means freckle
or an unsightly blotch of sunburn. The
floating masses Of lace or gauze that lend
himsy pretense against the sun, are. 1t must
/ be admitted, ravishlngly becoming. and form
frame rather than protection TO the head
/ beneath.
Trails Of Towering arbutus. great sprays of
! lilac. or knots of purple violets bloom ever
lastingly upon some Of these so-called sun
shades the flowers wrought by the hand OF a
cunning artihcer
Women, with q love Of nature aud extrav-
agance, make the florist shops subsidiary to
their whims, and deck their lace and silken
parasols with real and not simulated bios
SONS. Alas. the sun, whose ardent rays only
adds TO the brilliant bloom when growing in
their native soil soon Wits and destroys them
in their artificial transportation, so that one
sometimes sees a,rnauve CARRIED woman with
| parasol strewn with wilted violets which for
all the world might pass for dead flies.
SOFT KrFrcIs IN GOWNS.
Billowy soft effects in gownng are all the
rage for light fabrics: the straight lines of the
umbrella-case-skir are left 10 the tailor-made
women who prefer walking 10 driving and
airy houncins-. fufy lsbots and coquettsh
cravats are seen on carriage and reception
/ tollettes There is a veritable craze for thin
ness. not Of body but Of texture, until one
wonders whether the world is not returning TO
lineage Of the FIRST empire. when fashionable
| dame ROBBED herself in q Greek gown and neg
| lected 10 put on that now disused garment
known as the ehemi.e; perhaps we have not
vet arrived at this stage, but the fashionable
woman get. quite As near it as possible, with
ont actually doing 1t.
The woman's point Of vantge after all lies
| in her bonnet: she may wear an unObtruslve
| gown, her gloves may not come from Jouvlns
nor her jewelry from the uede Ia Park but if
she wears one of Rosamond Bassetts inimlta-
BILE creations her reputation as beauty Is
made.
Such bonnets are materialized dreams, def
| bits Of handiwork which owe their elegance
to the pretty fingers of the milliner. Imagine
q charming woman IN gown sparkling with
cabochOns. with the air Of a duchess; Bassett
is noble. 60 no one marvels ather air de grande
dame. and she shows you a bonnet as II she
were comforting favor. All, what exquisite
| things are these lovely bits of nothing.
scrap.of gold wrought net suggestion Of a
| iewelled crown, and q brim of airy tulle with
golden wires glinting through. Odd flowers
| that one sees nowhere else nod upon the big
hats and tiny bonnets with new and strange
combinations Of color and material.
poEsis IN HATS.
Behold big hat covered with tulle as pale
ms the blue of a morning sky and dotted at in
tervals with great cabochons of scinhllsnt
let. while nodding from the back are three
| SPRAYS of purple and white llacs which look
as if newly rayished from an old bush in a
village garden. Blue and purple-le gods.
what marriage. and yet arranged with such
! consuminate art that the colors do not swear
at each other, but seem 10 blend in delicious
symphony of delicate hues
FETCHING AND DELICIOUS.
! The Louis XIV hats are a delightful feature;
one in the course of being built for beau
! t>ful Girl is made 10 match a Louis AV waist
! coat OF old brocade with great pink roses
/ struggling over IL: the distinctive feature OF
the hat is that it is in keeping with the ira
! ditions of the gay reign OF the Fifteenth Louis,
/ being made of satin. The hat in question Is
| Of old rose-tinted satin, the brm turned up
! ike cooked hat and faced with black satin
/ embroidered IN bOw-knOts as rosy as the first
| illusions of love- the crown Is concealed with
a great bunch of purple and pink raspberries.
which only seem 10 need jug OF Alderney
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