The times., 1897-05-16
RENOVATED GOWNS.
Practical Advice Drawn From Do
mestic Experience.


New York, May 10. The radical change
Of Fashion in both sleeves and sSlrts tiis
season has set every woman to cudgeiihg
her brains TO determine how TO give hSi
last years gowns an up-to-date aspect.
With "A little ingenuity one can renoVa.e
an ,,d dress at very little expense, ana
AZ the experiment is success, the result
is a great satisfaction 10 the owner Oh
tbe gown. II is an achievement which
SATISFIES that longing to get something
ont of nothing that rests in every WORE
ans breast and manifests itself in patcf-
work quilts and all kinds of petty lot
ferries ard schemes of chance emolument
at the expense of nobody in particular
Ii is very rare, however, that one can
get a new dress, or rather, one that looks
new, without some little expense, anu
when one decides, after due deliberatlon,
that a certain bit of trimming Is the one
thing needed TO make the old dress like a
Paris creation of the latest brand, then one
should boldly buy il with all tne sang
froid that would characterize the pur.
chase OF trimming for any new gown
For, OF course, it is the trimming wilch
freshens the old gown and giVes an ei'eet
OF newnesS TO the whoie.
1t was with this principle firmly liked III
my mind that | set about To bring two
year-old silk waist into The correct style
of the present season. The silk had Violet
coiored spots scattered over dark gray
ground and had been trimmed with red
velvet and cream white lace. After the
velvet had been ripped off there remained
merely thu silk b,ouse withimmense, puffed
sleeves. These sleeves were as large as the
largest ever wora in the extreme OF that
wasteful fashion. Upon ripping them out
i found that one puff was sufricient TO
cut both sleeves il made the same size as
the silesia lining, which was itself slightly
puffed therefore ripped the whole sleeve,
pressed out lining and silk, and then cut
my silk using the lining as pattern. L
found, upon sewing IL up, that the new
sleeve was too large and took III up nearly
an inch from the elbow down. AT une wrist
the sleeve was allowed TO flare slightly ut
the outer sea n. without any trimming, tais
sleeve would have looked a little scant,
because we are SO recently out of The bar
rels III which we have beel in the habit OF
losing the identity of our arms that our
eyes have not yet grown accustomed TO the
effect OF narrowness or plaihness around
the houltlers.
Here, however, is where my principle
stood me in good stead. l went bravely to
the store and bought seven yards OF Two
inch satin ribbon to match the violet spot
in the silk. With this | made ruftles which
/ sewed on the upper sleeves in three rows
curying up toward the sseuidcr and down
at each seam. Other ruffles trimmed the
sleeve around the hand, and ribbon
stock collar and bow finished the neck.
The result was a very pretty and rather
dressy waist, and the only expense was
the price of the ribbon, which at nineteen
cents a yard AMOUNTED TO one dollar and
thirty-JHree cenus. Without the ribbon
it would have been simply an old wa;-t
fixed over TO wear for common use; with
the ribbon, it is fit To wear 20 charc. or
any other occasion that requires something
dresser than a shirt waist.
The shirt waist, by the way, is a gar
ment whose reputation for usefulness and
convenience has been greatly exaggerated.
1t has its place, to be sure, and a very
large one at that, but it should not be
made to do duty outside its own sphere
1t is a very convenient form of garment
for kncck-ahout wear in the summer, and
There is no denying that il is Irettier
shirt waist when made OF silks or fine
linens and organdies and all that. But
when it is all done a shirt waist is a
Shirt waist, and there are very few who
care TO wear such garments for dress occa-
sions 1t Is my advice, therefore, to all
those with whom economy is any object
to put no goods that can be made To do
IT, -
OF a shirt waist. There are plenty Of
dtmities and percales, to say nothing of
ordinary linens, to make all the shirt
waists one needs, and when 1T comes to
paying 80 cents a yard for material it
should be used for something which can he
worn TO places where shirt waists are not
admitted.
An Eton Jacket fastening at the side is
often a good solution Of the remodeling
problem. / met young girl on the street
the other day who Wore a black and gray
dress The gray skirt had three folds
OF black around the bottom and the bodice
had il black Eton Jacket fastening on the
left side. The Elton jacket had sleeves
that reached nearly to the elbow. These
sleeves were left loose at the edges, but
they We're sufficient TO conceal the fact
that there were long sleeve puffs in their
place last year and were long enough 10
reach the top OF the under sleeve, which
formerly only came up as far as the puff.
The folds around the bottom of the
skirt were put there partly to take the
place of the worn and shabby edge of
the last years skirt, and partly because
trimmed skirts are fashionable. This is
an excellent way to lengthen the dress of
a school girl who has added year S growth
TO her stature.
What to do with the black silk skirt
that has done such good service for the
past year or two is a problem that con
fronts a great many women, young and
old There are very few women who
have not one in some state Of preserva-
ton If the skirt is well kept and fit
10 stand on its own merits without veil
ing OF any kind il cal be turned into IA
whole dress very economically. For in
stance, a thrifty acquaintance of mine
has made herself a very elegant and
dressy costume out OF heavy black silk
skirt with "a moire polka dot figure in it.
The skirt is lined with taffeta. and the first
thing to be done was To dampen the wrong
side and give IL good pressing, a process
from which it emerged looking fresh and
new To wear with it. the girl of ideas
bought herself enough grenadine for a
waist a nd sleeves, together with black taf-
feta for a lining. The waist was made 10
fasten dia ponaily to the left shoulder, and
the fastening was bordered with two rows
OF pIeated mousseline ruching laid over g
frill OF colored ribbon. The touch of color
frightened the dress and served as a cor