The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-12-26

Philadelphia Press
The tailor-made dress little resembles
the simple creation which was known an
der that name when the tailor made
gown first came in vogue. The tailor
gown of that day was SO severe as to
be un5ecoming to any but the ideal fig
IRE. and SC close fitting as to require the
hand of an artist modiste TO fl it. None
but men could fit The tailor-maGe gowns,
for they required that squareness Of
shoulder and absolute fairness of back
which only the man filter had learned.
But that day has changed The tailor
made gown has lost its simplicity. It is
Just as well fitted, but women have learn
ed the art of doing it: and there are be-
coming lines of trimming and many folds
to relieve the fearfully hard outlines.
The tailor-made, as you know. was un-
til very recently all of one color. Now
it has bright bits introduced in the shape
of folds. vests, beltings and stocks.
But the tailor-made gown is still char
acteristic and unmistakable. You can
tel it at a glance by its sit, its finish,
its trim look, the peculiar quality which
the English call fit and which the
French style chic"
A wooden poplin with fiat ribs illus
trates this. It is Of rich royal brown,
not lustrous, but very beautiful and sub
stantial looking for winter. It is one of
those delightful new fabrics which are
suitable for street wear. This one was
made up in a skating suit. The skirt
was habit backed, opening in some in
visible way, presumably under the side
seam where the stitching looked heaviest.
Stitching. by the way, is one Of the
distinctive features of a tailor-made
gown. 1t is not at all expensive, bur re
quires the most exquisite exactness- Your
silk must be of the sort that positively
Will not break or knot. The tension Of.
your machine must be set with a rather
long stitch: and when you once begin
you must carry YOU stitching straight
along, without a break or flaw English
tailors mark the goods viii chalk, in a
mathematieally straight line, never bast-
ing it for fear of catching the basting
stitches. They use very iustrons silk
thread exactly matching the goods, and
they employ never less than three rows
of stitching to mark a hem or seam
Stitching is almost the only trimming
they use upon the most severe of their
spring and fail gowns. but they use it
so ~plentifuIly that it looks a band OF
goods.
Stitched band are very popular and
very easy to do. You cut your goods
in strips and stitch them in many ows,
until you nave a stiffly stitched band.
anywhere from half an inch TO an inch
and a half wide. This you use to strap
your seanas and to trim your vests and
cuffs and collars. It makes a eaati
full trimming for the seams of your
bodice and is an excellent finish wher-
ever you choose to place it. Yards and
yards OF these stitched bands are used
upon the skirts and waists Of the new
tailor-made dresses.
The wooden poplin was trimmed
around the foot in skaters style. This
skaters skirt has usually a heavy band
to give it weight and swing. It is al
most. essential that it should be fin
ished in this way or it will ill like a
balloon and prove ungraceful.
There come fur cloths for this pur-
pose which are light and almost as
serviceabie as fur; they are much less
expensive and hold their color very
well. The astrachan cloth is an ex-
ample; then there Is the dark coney
and the Black oouele, which comes as
fne and curly as astrachan. This ma
terial makes a very pretty border and
can be used in all widths. for skirt trim
mings, for cuff trimming and for the
bands upon the long skatirg coat.
For a jacket the wooden poplin may
have a Scotch mixed whipcord, which
is decidedly new. It looks. like a mans
suiting. 1t is heavy ard crossed many
times with whipcords Of different col
ors. This makes a very good winter
coat to wear with the plain skirt. Tailor
made Jackets, by the way, do not al
ways match the skirt; they sometimes
merely harmonize.
Th belt Is an essential part of the
tailor-nade suit. Take any half long
jacket and belt IT with a wide band of
velvet and you have almost the same
results as though you had bought an
expensive new, belted jacket from Paris.
A clever trick was practiced by a
New York girl who had more taste and
skill than money. She lives near Cen
trail Park and she is getting ready for
the skating season. In her wardrobe
was a bodice Of last years make with
out basques. She took this bodice and
fitted to the front Of it a broad pointed
plastron, Of the shape known as
cuirass. 1t was broad at the neck and
pointed at the belt line. 1t was made
Of velvet. The bodice was hooked I'M
> derneath the cuirass front and the plas-
iron was fastened over it. OF course.
there was a soft belt of velvet at the
waist.
The most eccentric bodices are worn
with tailor-made gowns. Bodice pieces
are very fashionable. A set Of them
consists Of plastron. lapeis, cuffs and
collar; ard they may be of the same
material as the dress or Of a contrasting
kind.
You see bodice pieces Of velvet, Of fur,
and Of silk. Yariously lined, ard of the
plain black materials, sueh as cashmere
and poplin. as well as ~broadcloth and la
dies cloth.
Ialor-made dresses have another char
actersstie. Their 1ur trimmings are put
on scientifically. Instead of the regula-
ton bands there are bodice pieces OF fur
also, one Of the dresssest OF these being a
sort Of bolero arrangement. The front is
brought around the front seams under the
arms in such a way as 10 look like a
belero- Il may be arranged upon a little
bolero which is put on separately, or the
fur may be simply a way of decorating
the tailoT-made bodice.
While We are admiring the long coats
s,ch as ths~ automobile, which touches the
-xz1.7 o--3 &{a fo0-o uF~o7ieL 49, ~nusot