The morning times., 1896-03-08
40 Is DANCING LOSING IN PHuOR2 o.
Cream and White Confections
Seen at Paris Functions.

Paris, Feb. est appears that dancing
as polite pastlme is going out of fashion.
| don't know anything about the truth OF
this, but l hear that IL Is said. | know
only that some one has just published
book in London on the decline Of dancing,
and that someone else has explained the
sole trouble to lie with the men, vino come
to the ballroom doors unwilling to exert
themselves, which pervcrsity one might
suspect to be a symptom, but hardly an
excuse. Men are not more indolent than
they were. 1 know also that Sir Augustus
Harris has lately remarked with some con-
tempt that the barn dance of the modern
ballroom is a true gauge of contemporary
taste, and that in Paris the cotillion has
degenerated into childish romp, in which
the gentlemen trot in on paper mGChe hobby
horses and break a pasteboard lance for
the lady. 1t would seem that the amateurs
of poetry OF motion have some reason to
complain.
But this does not mean that there are no
more balls and no more ball gowns. Quite
otherwise. There will be the fiction of balls
till long after society has forgotten the
little it knew about dancing, till the women
have all Joined the men in the doorways
and yielded the floor to some hired Car
mencita. And this presents the high sea-
son and the apothotic moment OF the ball
gown.
And some OF the latest gowns show a
combination of tints that for refinement
and subtlety could do credit to master
inf nf ha IL nf
pure white and cream white. This con-
trast deepcns the pure white to silvery
gray, and the cream to flaxen yellow.
The effect is exquisite, sort OF corot.
/ have seen a bodice made of white chif-
fon with wide box-plaited friil round
the low neck made OF cream brussels net
bordered with cream carnations set on
the edge like ruche. The cream deep
ems at the heart OF the flowers and so
gives to this tint its accent, while sill
yer set rhinestone buckle fastened in the
belt gives focus to the gray. Very
pretty, is it not? The skirt is silk OF,
white ground, flowered with roses. An
other design is a square -nccked blouse Of
white chiffon with a garniture OF flax
colored guipure and sable. The lace
forms sort of slashcd blouse laid on
over, with vertical openings through
which the chiffon falls out in puffs. over
the shoulders the neck is edged with fur.
Wide belt of the lace laid over white,
fitted To the figure and fastened behind
with two loops OF the same that stand
out from the waist. Sable edges the top
of the belt and the top OF the loops. The
skirt is of pink satin. Another is a
blouse OF white mousseline de sole over
white. with a skirt of the same mousse
line over pink. The decoIIete is bordered
with wide plated ruffle of pink chif-
fon edged with ruche OF pink roses.
and there is a wide pink satin belt fas-
tened behind with two broad standing
loops having a row of pink roses be
tween them. The mousseline skirt is side
plated and loose from the lining, and
the bottom is finished with a narrow
band of white ribbon folded inside the
hem.
The sleeves of these gowns contain plent Y
of material, but are no longer stuffed out
with horse hair, the tendency of all sleeves
being to decrease in size. Though some
Journals show models OF ball dress whore
the sleeve falls off the shoulder and the
bodice is held up by a strap, these ridiculous
designs are not worn by women OF taste,
and ire not made in the best dressmaking
houses.
AS seen in the models above, IL is very
much the fashion To make The skirt only OF
the silk and The bodice OF ningling OF