The times., 1899-04-23
Sht Positively Refuses to
Wear Street Trains.
Furthermore. She Flouts the Con-
spicu0us Pocket Adornment.
sparrow Brown Is the Latest DeveI-
orment I'm Coler-Lacc Neck
ties-The Chiffon Cont.

question of skirts. Women who do care
ful shop gazing" are coming 10 the con-
clusion that there is no faith 10 be put in
the present cut of skirt, with its lanky
tail and close hip fit and the fortune tell
ers of fashion advise very modified imi-
tations of the wondrous petticoats worn By
the wax ladies in the show windows. They
don't believe ii is exactly safe TO run with
ones expensive silk or satin TO the pres
ent extreme, and as a matter of fact il is
not Cling with cheerful conviction 10
your modified skirt if you would be wise,
and if you wish TO wear or make it over
next season.
Let the rear width merely brush the
floor, cut the front to easy stepping
length, not as If you were. making an
old style riding habit, and don t, as
your reputation for taste and elegance de-
pends upon il. close your pocket hole with
ornamental pins or buttons. Lst your
frivolous friends waste their pin money
and deface their gowns with such eccsn-
trieities, which no more than arrived in
the arena of fashion before they became
hopelessly vulgarized.
1t is only right and generous also for
one who assumes to give news of the mode
10 inform her readers that among we'll
dressed women a skirt fitting without
pleat or gather over the back is regarded
as an excessively poor choice. II is all
very well to quote that in Paris women
wear their dresses SO tight they dare not
sit down in them. but such an accuEation
is not to be brought against the Partisan
ladies. Felix, Paquin and the rest of their
fellow artists make such abnormal cos
tunes for actresses to wear on and off the
stage, but for the members of good society
another cut is followed.
With all soft, thin goods, such as voile,
crepe, silk mohair, etc, the back of The
orerdress is cut on the bias so artfuily that
from the belt slight fullness commences,
and you are left in doubt as 10 whether
there is pocket-hole in that fullness or
not. Its whereabouts is never proclaimed
by buttons and pins and such
Again, let II be known once and for all
that no woman should cut her street dress
with a flowing tail. There is nothing re-
pulsiTe in the use Of trains, but in their
abuse, and she who drags a length of good
material through the street mire is a s.rag-
gler in the modish procession. The smart
woman has all but her house and evening
gowns so cut that by catching handful of
goods just four inches below her belt in
the rear and lifting and pressing her hand
against her belt, she holds the tails Of her
skirt absolutely clear of dust, displays a
clean pair of heels a CLINT of bright silk
petticoat, and occasionally a trife of pret-
tily stockinaed ankle
Perhaps the only genuinely novel article
that the makers of fashions have evolved
this spring is the coat OF chiffon. Since
last autumn lovely lace jackets have been
10 the fore, but they have always served as
a fixed and essential part of any toilet TO
which they were attached. while the new
chiffon wraps are put OF and go on as
though they were worn for warmth and
comfort
In the tronsseaux of Miss Virginia Fair
and Miss Emily Sloan. chiffon wraps OF
various shapes and sizes we're provided
Some OF them were circular capes that
dropped TO the heels behind yelling but
not concealing the lovely gowns over which
they might be thrown. Others were short
jackets and long blousy coats of summer
green or cyclamen red chiffon. with iucb ed
reyers and yokes. and worn over gray or
black frocks, thus bringing out each others
color Occasionally these diaphanous wraps
are seen with belts of woven Russian gilt
that gather in all the ilmy fullnes6 at the
waist line. and again the pinafore-like full
ness is allowed 10 hang quite free, rippling
back prettily at every movement of the
wesrer.
Sparrow gray and sparrow brown are the
two most recent developments in color for
spring walking and travelling suits. wheth-
er of tweed or covert cloth. Ii is impos-
sible not 10 remark the predominance of
stitching used by way OF decoration on the
plain walking suit. and also the unchecked
sway OF the tailless coatee 10 the utter dis
comfiture Of the little old-style Jacket cut.
Most of the coates, as women love to call
them, have double breasted tongue fronts
that are more interesting than strictly or
namental.
As TO the stitching you can't have TOO
much OF II: and some Of the most attrac-
i've suits finished by the tailors this month
show horizontal or perpendicular lines of
machine stitching from hem TO collar Of
coat and skirt. II the lines run round and
round. they are spaced rather widely up
10 the knees, from there on TO the belt
they grow closer and closer together, and
revers, back. fronts and sleeves OF the coat
are stitched 10 harmonic with the skirt.
When the lines run perpendicularly they
ray out from the skirts belt to hem and
zig gag or meet in fanciful points on the
coat. Sewing silk of a color slightly con-
trasting with the goods is used for this
purpose That is light brown or cream
steel blue or white on a gray dress, and
black on green sur. but sharp contrasts,
as gold on black are TO be avoided.
Around the towering collars of their new
silk waists and their linen shirt collars the
women who are first in at the goal OF the
mode are triumphantly wearing the love-
liest lace four-inhands. From the rich
est hsnd-wroGght Duchess point 20 the
serviceable and simple iierre, these new
scarfs will have long lease OF favor. OF
course such neckties are sold already
drawn into the approved knot. for lace will
not bear much pulling and hauling. Their
long ends are wedge-shaped. and display
lovely patterns and occasionally their
handsome tabs fall eight inches below a
wearer's waist line.
In the evening the same women who pat
ronize these new neclcties have set the
mark OF their approval on that long :g-
nored ornament the ieweled cross. IL Is
usual to wear not the shape of cross popu-
lar twenty-five years ago, but a Maltese,
Celtic, or a Jerusalem cross, and made
Of diamonds, or pearls. or semi precious
stones. The Jerusalem cross is the least
commonplace form. consisting Of our jew
eled bars arranged almost in diamond
shape.
Whatever shape OF cross you may have,
don't hang IL about your neck by anything
but narrow black ribbon. The Jewels
II the ornament and the neck about which
IL is worn gain, by means OF the simple
velvet. double brilliancy and witeness.
A perfectly kind but perfectly firm stand
has been taken by the milliners on the
question of bonnet strings. By coaxing
their fashionable customers. using little
sternness with their country patrons and
by fibbing indus,riously, these artful mil
liners hope 10 inoculate women with the
notiop that strings are really the mode.
A really sweet rose and bow bonnet, that
can't be worn save with the aid of strings.
has dong Iunre To helm the fnilliners in