Omaha daily bee., 1897-12-19

A FURRY IN FASHIONS.
II liz brought About by the Geperous
Spirit OF the Holiday Season

II is brought About by the Generou.
Spirit OF the Holiday Season
NEW YORK, Dec. 16.-Christm holiday,
bring invariably pleasug furry in fashion,
and to ladies of high degree and long purses
the chief matter OF moment Is the gentle but
absurdly luxurious fancy for fur gowns.
From an economical standpoint these novel
ties In costume represent about the most
daringly extravagant outlay that can be made
In dress.
a fur toilet Is thing OF beauty and in
the klondike regions no doubt ii would be
Joy forever, but it is a princely indulgence
TO the woman Of our temperate zone. Never
Heless, those exhibited so far have foun
purchasers at once, for in place of Jewels or
new furniture or a pair of carriage horses. a
fur gown is the sort of gift many woman
wishes to find in her Christmas stocking
whether the spoiled beauty desired one Of
mink Persian lamb or moire broadtail is of
no importance
1t sufiioes to say that all the fur gowns
are rich and sumptuously splendid in appear
ance beyond any costumes yet from the
dressmakers hands, and that they are likely
10 consist only of skirt and coat basque
The skirt is usually quite plain rather widely
gored; in mink the stripes all converge
prettily to the waist and lend any figure in
finite grace and slenderuess. Some Of the
proadtail petticoats have deep vandykes of
rudy red or pansy purple velvet let in about
the bottom, but all the fur basques are coat
shaped. That is, they posses a wastcoat of
velvet most often, over which revers of fur
roll and buttons or turn back as the wearer
goes in and out doors.
But where are these astonishing frocks
worn, Is tho natural query Of the unsophis-
ticated woman. who does not yet aspire to go
clouhe1 like the wild cnes of the woods. Well
they are used on the very cold days for shop
ping, for driving and short calls, and it is no
exaggeration, but a plain, untarnished fact
mat a good fur gown costs its owner, or
heri indulgent husband the very best part of
$1,000 check.
FURRY TRoUssEAUX
Apropcs OF fur and to complete discussion
or tho subject with bit of news, 1t may be
told that all this winters bridal corteges
nave very furry expression indeed. That
- the @feminine half of sthe" immediate EAR
ticipators in the procession to the altar.
= IL is a@pTetty whim of those young women
who marry in the, month of snow to have
their attendant maids dressed oil in white
and then to trim the lily gowns with white
fur. Daughters of rich Carents adorn their
bridesmaids dresses with ermne and white
fox, and wear white felt hats with fur edged
brims. beside carrying big white muffs. Eveu
the bride herself now frequently has her train
edged with fur, and If she and her maids
cannot afford fur they do almost as well by
themselves in adopting the ever decorative
and lovely bordering of comparatively mex
pensive swans down..
Sometimes, even in fashions, commCn sense
has her own way, and every woman is
chuokllng with glee over the defeat of the
great Partisan dressmakers who wish to do
away utterly with crinolines. Two months
ago these great and gifted men, Worth,
Douert Pingot and their ilk cut new skirt
with just four straight seams. actually slcped
1t in at the foot. and left the bottom as limp
as wet molding leaf. Right royalty they
ordered this to be wora, and the secret leaked
out that Greek draperes were to be our
models for the coming half-dozen years. With
one accord the women have fouted scorned
and rejected the new skirt, and until further
notice crnoine, hair cloth, or what you
please to use as stiffenng, will be worn to a
depth OF six inches at every skirts foot
There is no denying, though, that French
ruling as to the length OF evening costumes
Is followed everywhere. Great is the JOY
among small women over the arrival of the
train, and their stout sisters rejoice with
them, for train makes long lines, and
eqrally feryld self-congratulaticn should
stout women express at the marked advance
In favor of the black and white gown
All manner OF striking and pretty schemes
or mixing black and white are now carried
ont. Black lace in drapery is rarely laid
over white, but If any one happens to have
an old black lace shawl or fonnce let her
carefully cut out the patterns in. the net and
group them effectively on a white silk or
even white cashmere ground. "A dress very
gorgeous In appearance and yet not a bit
costly. In make, is often thus resurrected
from apparently hopeless materials, and IL
there Is little jet added here or there the
result will be astonishing.
THE CHRISTMAS TREE GROUP.
BY way Of an exemplihcation let the reader
refer to the woman's figure in the group
about the Christmas tree Here Is a skirt of
whatever you will-poplin, moiro velours.
cashmere or liberty silk. 1t Is white with
lace patterns tackled on 1t. The waist Is
white chiffon, accordion plated and the little
boleFo made of two frills of black lace The
long sleeves reflect the skirt, and there by
way OF variety, the black satin belt fastens
on one side and lets fall far down the
drapery, double wreath OF mistletoo. There
Is knot OF mistletoe and holly on one
shoulder; these last touches were nut in by
the sown's designer in honor of it's first ap-
pearance en- Christmas eve, and because
shoulder knots and sash trails of flowers are
worn on all the pretty evening dresses.
A word to the wise Is always enough and
II you wish to turn your last years Eton
coat OF fur. that OF course fits tight, and is
therefore hopelessly out of style, lop out
your sleeves, down to within two inches and
haif OF the wrist. then go to furrier and
tell him to turn the bulge of those sleeve
tops Into pcuohed front, and to cover your
arms with velvet or silk. II silk lay on
plenty of braid. mohair OF good quality use
the wrist ends of your fur sleeves for cuffs
ana there you are as smart as possible in a
Poland Jacket
II the Jacket needs new lining plaid silk
or satin Is the correct thing for refurbishlng
because. everything now that can be decently
SO cclored and striped even TO silk stockings
and house slippers is plaid. Perhaps the
pretfiest tartan oddity yet seen is liberty
silk and silk muslin in the gay Royal Stuart
stripes and bars, and these dancing goods, as
they may be quite correctly called, make up
Into lovely evening suits for young ladies.
THE PRorEAN BLOUSE.
Every week the silk blouse proves itself
. true garment OF Proteus. 1t Is literally
never the same thing whole fortnight
through. Now We have II all of soft silk,
preferably satin surah. or even heavy
quality OF china silk. accordion plated
throughout. Let none but thin women,
though, aspire to this phase. as shown in
the Illustration.
The model from which the sketch is made
was pretty ehrysanthemum red china silk |
and the frill below the waist. about the
wrists and at the neck, edged with narrow
rream-colored imitation meehlin lace. En-
eirciing the neck ran tie OF HAS white J