Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-02-11
CHAT ON FASHION.

In order that dress may become an art it
is requisite to study nature. So long as
women persist in studying fashion books to
the exclusion of the study of nature, so long
will Joseph's coat in colors and costume
showing many periods of styles continue to
offend good taste.
Whenever women learn to study form,
color and material from an artists stand
point then, and not before, will fashion in
dress assume q place among the fine arts.
The possibilities of beauty in material are
far from being appreciated, but the grow
ing tendency to arrange it in soft lying
folds, to Danish starch, wiring and whatever
tends to stiffness, is an indication that the
artist is gradually supplanting the dress
maker, whose sole aim has seemed to be to
reduce woman to lay figure on which to
pile goods and trimmings in most indis-
criminate fashion.
At this season good purch ases can be
made, and a woman of original ideas can
buy and have made an early spring suit at
less cost than later when the rush is on.
One is always safe in buying soft wool
goods, and the indispensable black dress is
always in season.
In spite of some attempt on the part of
fashion writers to introduce draped skirts,
they do not exist outside of thin evening
gowns. One reason for this has been the
great popularity of heavy wooden fabrics,
which defeat all attempts to copy Partisan
fourreau skirts. To just give practical
resume of the winter styles Of dress skirt,
they are the sheath, fan or bell and UNI
brella. The first has four or more cores;
the second has bias seam up the center of
the back with very few plaits. The UNI
breila is quite round and is often buttoned
up the left side or has a pocket hole on
either side over the hips. Double-width
material cuts to best advantage when these
latter are chosen. The bell skirt, with its
single sloped seam down the back is quite
the most popular just now Even simple
wooden gowns are lined throughout with
silk, the foundation skirt being no longer
used. Lightweight woolens, like crepons,
are among the most desirable for dressy
occasions. The almost universal rule is to
trim these with bias rufles, headed with
passemeuterie or gimp, with chiffon on
waist, which still continues to be the pref
test and daintiest neck and wrist trim
ming.
Waists of exaggerated length are losing
popularity. Aside from the inartistic eff
feet, they are uncomfortable, and injurious
to health as well, and even the giddiest but
terfies of fashion have learned to appre-
ciate that the preservation of their good
looks depends TO q great extent upon atten-
ton to hygiene. Notifications of the en-
pire waist are much liked for home wear,
and probably some portion of their popu-
larity may be traced to the fact that this
style affords relief after wearing the long,
corset necessary with the ultra
perfectly fitting tailor-made
costumes.
The "mitten" sleeve is the latest arm
The lower part of the sleeve is
long, in Tudor style, close fitting, and ex-
tends some distance above the elbow, and
is finished at the top with scallops or points
or passementerie, and is apparently drawn
up over fun lego mutton sleeve or full