The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-04-01
new DESIGNS FOR GOWNS
WALKING AND HOUSE
WEAR
BEAUTIFUL SUMMER FABRICS
Lace Waists, Russian and Venetian
GuiDure LRces, FRn-Shaped
Side PRintIngs-DOubIe
Width Silks.

First and foremost, let me chronicle
the fact that Empire dresses are very
much TO the fore In the minds of the
artist and designers; not alone is this
mode being adapted for evening wear,
but walking dresses also exhibit the
straight outline from the bust, and over
this is Worn a little bolero, either machine
stitched Grand this is the latest decora-
tion-worked IN silk round a pattern of
holes like the old-fashioned Madeira
work. Sometimes these Empire gowns
set closely to the figure with very few
seams, or, again, they are to be seen set
IN large pleats, machine-stitched fatty
from the bust to knee. Invariably the
neck shows a lace cravat, and in face
cloths of pastele shades this style is I'M
doubtedly most elegant. 1 shall not re-
peat that 1t needs to be worn by the
right woman, says a writer In the Phila-
delphia Record, for 1 have so often OBJ
served that this is the great truth of all
dresses.
For evening wear the Empire dresses
are mostly made of glittering sequins on
fine net, while the broad belts at the bust
are of jewels Of contrasting colors and eff
fects, some Of these belts being worked
IN ribbons, others again, as / mentioned
last month, with plaques Of wedgwood or
canoes.
We are always vowing we will never
consent to cast aside the blouse, and yet
! find each season lately that cloth
bodices to match the skirts are slowly
gaining more favor.
Those three bodices sketched however,
are examples Of possibilities which await
the woman who has the courage of her
nd
Portable In a loose bodice than follow the
fashion rtgidly in one which matches her
skirt, for l cannot exactly explain why,
but there is no doubt about 1t, the odd
lace or silk bodice always fits more COM
fortably than the cloth, and we seem
never to get enough room for arms and
neck in our cloth clothes. Maybe we are
spoilt by having cast ourselves free from
such trammels now for long time.
Brown has been the most popular color
all the winter, and bids fair to continue
to enjoy our favor in the early spring.
That cloth dress is a cedar shade Of
brown, trimmed with brown silk spotted
with white and edged with straps of
cloth stitched. The very light cloth
dresses, the pale blue, the biscuit color
and the light gray, are all to be worn
presently, and fanciful silver buttons,
elaborate machine stitching and that Ma
deria work to which L have just alluded
will be the best of their decorations. We
shall, however, not entirely abandon our
fancy for fringes; they decorate with so
much grace the soft crepe de Chine gowns
which now for evening wear show an
elaboration III the shape Of an applique
of artificial flowers, with silk-embroidered
stalks and jeweled centers. These are eX-
tremely pretty, and flowers made of chif-
fon, too, are also attractive, but they are
not quite so new, yet they are very clev-
erly contrived, and also bear jeweled CEN
tiers.
There will not be many patterns seen on
the spring materials, the designs Of the
manufacturers being, indeed, limited to
tiny spots on tiny checks. have seen
one or two pretty red coats faced with
red and white check, and made to wear
with a red and white checked skirt and
white lace skirt.
The most popular color for evening
gowns is voted to be gray, gray satin
and soft gray chiffon being alike in favor;
but there is no doubt about the fact that
brocades are to be raised once more to
a high place in public estimation. Satin
brocades with huge flowers or conven-
tional patterns upon them, possess that
firm and solid character on which our
grandmOthers would proudly have affirm
ed their capabilitiy for standing alone.
The circumference of skirts at the bot
tom is surprisingly great, and the close
peared.
All sorts Of devices are resorted to to
obtain the desired sweep at the bottom
One of the most successful methods Of
doing this is to lay the fullness in large
box plaits. which are stitched down fat
TO about One-third of the distance from
the bottom and then allowed to flare
In nearly every instance the fullneSs at
the back is laid in large double or even
triple box plaits, which are stitched down
about the depth of the placlIet, and from
there falling in graceful, sweeping lines.
In other skirts the fullness is taken up
In plaits, which look something like the
wrong side of darts. The front Is smooth
and the plaits begin on the hips, increas-
ing IN size toward the bottom, with, of
course, the Indispensable flare.
Stlll others have clusters of plaits or
tucks extending only about one-third OF
the length from the waist and q large
Vatican plait at the back, thus giving
the skirt quite a full appearance.