The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-01-20
In FASHIONS WORLD
What Sort of Fabrics Will
Be Worn This Spring
Many : Colored Dots
and Dashes.
SLEEVES FULL AT THE ELBOW.
0yerskirts Slowly But Surely Com
ing Into Style Once More
A White Satin Gown.

There is one place at least in New York
where the 'hard times" do not show, and
that is in the shop windows. Never before
within the memory of the present genera
ton at least, have the fabrics even for street
wear displayed more sumptuous effects, OF
required richer and more elaborate trim
ming. Yet the modes are far from fussy
they may even be called plain, with a sort of
solid richness about them. The changeable
fabrics are still in vogue, and we are not yet
half through whit hem, although this is their
second season. Even the spring cloths give
the effect of being rather heavy, and it is a
surprise to feel how light they really are. ]
l saw one in tones of grayish green shading
to brown, that was to be made for spring,
yet looked as heavy as winter materials, and
fell In the same rich looking folds,
yet it was SO loosely woven that
It was as light as serge. This
velvet, and a coat, with revers of the velvet
and a yellowish lace fichu. Green seems as
popular. as ever in all its shades, especially
''serpent green and the grayisn shade just
mentioned. And they are actually making
up dark blue gowns with revers or some such
trimming of a shade Of dyspeptic green.
SPRING FABRICS.
The bourette fabrics, heavy and rough
faced, and loosely woven with irregular
little dots and knots will be just about the
only dress materials in fashion for spring.
The groundwork may be any dull shade, but
but there are woven in with the woollen
many threads of bright silks that come to
the surface in the little dots and give q beau
tiful changeable. effect. Velvet and lace,
either or together, are the prevailing garni-
lures. / was told at Christmas time by an
eminent authority that furs as trimming
were decidedly going out, and not anywhere
near so much had been sold as last
year. l know that the fur
riers are selling at much lower
prices, which is a pretty good sign. But on
evening gowns it is still good form. The
ermine craze seems to be subsiding, but
mink and sable, softened with point lace, is
still the ideal decoration for the ceremOniOus
evening dress of the matron, who has out
lived her tulles as well as her Illusions.
O-vERSKIRTs JOINING.
Skirts are fuller, and yet more full. The
scare about hoopskirts having suoslded, the
French folks are beginning to brighten us
with the vision of overskirts. Yes, these are
surely coming, and coming soon, and if they
look ANYTHING like some models that l saw
this week, they will be simply hideous. One
had made an attempt at an overskirt by
sewing ON a circular ruffie SO as to come to a
point in front and back about half way
down the skirt and reach the waist at the
sides. Another had the circular skirt looped
up on one side like those coaching skirts"
we used to have, and the worst of all had a
real pointed overskirt extending from the
belt to the middle of the skirt hem in front.
THE WAIST RUFFLE.
Another freak in d~ressmaking whose de-
cline it is pleasing to record is the ruffie
z.e...J +l,a ,x.aic+ aud tic variofipnc nf oil
inventions of the enemy this was the worst,
for the average woman's form. A very tall.
very thin woman, with very narrow hips,
occasionally could look well, in them, but the
thousand and one others who were neither
tall nor thin, nor possessed of a Partisan
d-ress-rnaker, had the whole effect OF their
toilets completely ruined. b newest models
show comparatively few examples Of this
trying mode.
A CHARMING TOILETTE.
A very pretty variation of the overskirt
idea, which, while not strikingly new, is
very becoming, / noticed in en- imported
gown. of white satin. 1t Yves trimmed with
fiounces of satin edged with wide white lace
wrought with silver although this last touch
could of course be- omitted. The f~lounces,
which were in all about five inches wide,
were put on in rounded points around the
skirt, each point headed with a silver star
shaped ornament, from whose centre the
fiounce came. The corsage was cut in a
similar rounded point, and the sleeves were
simply two circular hounce of the same kind.
A similar founce finished the corsage. T
waist was a simple round one, the fullness
gathered in at a belt of satin folds.
THE GREAT BIG SLEEVE.
The Russian blouse is still in active exist
ence, the best models being made up in vel
the sleeves having three circular ruff1es
to cap the shoulder. And speaking of sleeves,
the best dressmakers say that they will be
just as large all this year, if not larger. This
is comforting for people who want to make