The Portland daily press., 1897-04-10
NEW YORK FASHIONS.
Some Easter Styles To Be Seen in the
Metropolis.

taken to the shops. for it is spring and
the spring allurements are in evidence
The popular fast must be even more cIiti
TO please for there is such host of pretty
things and quite economical too. For
once, the long purse will not have every
thing its own way and those or us with
moderate, very moderate, incomes. can
wear clothes that ara just as pretty and
nate sisters.
Plain cloths and covert coatinNs still
lead the van. 1t seems as If nothing
could BIS found to take their places, al
though the dear old blue serge has a
strong hold upon our affections. There
are rivals to these, however, in the form
of canvas and the rev variety of crepe.
Tue canvas bears a close resemblance in
point Of taxture to RreDadine and the
modisUe who is up to date trims skirts
made Of this material with rows of rib
bons or little frills set in groups of threes
about the hem and the knees. As for the
crepe, we'll, 1t is worn about the same
way al last year. In fnct there is not
enough difference In style, SO far as that
material Ia concerned, to be worth men
tioning.
Here ID a skirt that is going to become
a craze In fact it already has in q
msasure-the Killed variety. This skirt
Is wide at the base and narrow up at the
waist. 1t possesses very little fulness,
lust enough to achieve its pleats and very
scanty at that. 1t is all the fashion to
kilt skirts In cloth and in serge for the
street and the house, and in satin for
evening wehr. The craze has gone 40 far
that Killed skirts have really been made
out of crepe du chine and on this skirt
we're sewn little frills Of lisse at three
inch intervals from hem to knees.
These are the things that tell US to say
goodbye to the plain skirt, that is. the
perfectly plain one. 1t appears to be a
settled fact that this season even the sim-
plest of cloth gowns will show some
decoration. There will be rows Of braid.
a series of pipings, or, If nothing else,
innumernble machine stitohings will ex-
a quarter of yard. While there is a
wide latitude as to shades, the dress
makers say that for the ordinary skirt
and coat, the lightest are more popular
either in grey or in drab. The majority
of this seasons coats reach to the hips,
with decorations of blaid. The coat to
the waist is IA ored by many and really
looks we'll whea out into very bread tabs
fastening over at one side of the 'front.'
with large pointed revers, the revers
being usually covered with lace or en-
brodiery in some form.
A blnok cloth costume with little coat
of the sort mentioned, looks very charm
ing with the revers and COLLAR faced
with lace lined with satin or some other
stuff of that sort and then worn over a
waistcoat made OF some pretty light
material. The worst of the popularity
of braid Is that it is likely to make us
spend more money than we want to-.
Really, though, I fail to re call any fash
ion, any new one, thai WAS at the same
time both charming and cheap. The
braiding as rule needs expert manipu-
lation. The most attractive holeros are
now to be discovered entirely covered
with braidings and finished at the neck
with Medici collar.
have talked of founoes before but it
has become almost an established fact
that fashion is going back sixty years in
regard to these same founces. 1t looks
very much rs if we were going to have
the shoulder scarves and many frilled
skirts with which our grandmothers
managed to array themselves 40 charm
ingly. Beyond question there will be a
revival of the fully gathered and drape l
lace founoes as trimming for skirts.
In many cases. the skirts Will be covered
with three deep flounces, the top one
the others. of course, growing wider and
fuller as they near the hens.. One cos
tune which have seen, while of coui Sc
very expensive, is so pretty I cannot help
saying a word about it,
1t was made with glace silk skirt in
being most becomingly subdued, how
ever, by the three founces of fine cream
lace which covered The silk entirely from
waist to hem. Each fonnce was headed
by small ruche OF forset-me-nots, and
al the waist there was verg narrow
band of forget-me-not b lue glaze riebon,
folded SO that it came to slight point
In front, and finishing iu a big bow at
the back. The bodice was of the green
glace silk, covered with fine crsam lace,
accordion pleated, and arranged with a
very pretty bertha and shoulder stra q
made entirely Of forget-me-Dots There
was the tiniest apology for sleeve III
the shape of a frill of lace just falling
lightly on to the bare shoulder.
The Paradise plume for hats Is not SO
popular this SEASON as it has hesn, but
the long curled osprey is decidedly in
favor. Of all the feathers the ostrich is
perhaps the most patronized. Feathers
Of this sort in violet, red and green, are
often used TO decorate the chiffon hats
SometiDes the ostrich feathers are