The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-04-13
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BY MAY MA IN II On

quota OF Weddings liz -
lent. and 8 the 8 solemnity OF East ersW We
Ia rken for marriage bells as Certainly
as 3 we watch for bright sunshine and
gentle showers.
ms year the after Lent seasons su I'LL
Il suaily long and the number OF uptia a. Is
consequently exceptionally big. " Mic
the sun has not done his full duty, n u :
5erous girls have become wives and there
has been. and still will be. ample oppor.5
tunity for the study, both OF bridal
gowns and elegant Spring costumes. ms, In e
slormer have undergone little radical
change since Autumn, chiffon continues
to be a favorite ma terial and point ap-
fl;Iigue, the. chosen lace to accompany It;
SOFT louisine and Liberty silks are still
e,r,ch in use and lustrous. satin is still
preferred by the many. But detalls
make novelty nevertheless. The slllSsEand
satins are being much worn IN prlncesse
effect and are ideally charmln w WISE
designers never lose sight Of the tact INA
the genuine5 princesse4 demand q nearly
perfect figure while the erect oD ! ..
: l,y cleverifuse Of drapery Is becoming TO
many. AS a result nu1nberlesS April
brides have gore to- the altaTRin what,
at a glance, appeared princess. gowns
hut " ere,1in reality.:madeFwith skirt ana
waist, the. bodice dfapeIy tconceallnsg the
fact.
EuhSSts<cttt>t =
features. but .whiierlo lovely are not new
An exquisite gown fslouisine silk is made
with u narrow. front panel of aDuchesse.
and tlouncess of lace extending from It
round the skirt. while the waist is a
blouse with unlincd yoke Of lace and big
full sleeves Of silk over Transparent lace
Under portions. At thes#frcnt of the
blouse is aispanel, meeting that Of the.
skirt, and place sof a belt, is scft
bodice drapery that is crushed to almost
nothing where the Two ends meet. a
moro dainty gown Of chiffon is made
over three inner skirts of the material,
that it may be as nearly like fairly cos
tune as it is permitted mortals to wear
The skirt Is full and tucked with fine
bias gathered frills at the foot headed
with point applique.
The bodice IS a blouse and made with
bertha. of lace. above which Is tucker
chiffon yoke, unlined but enriched by
motifs of lace The sleeves make pic
turesque as we'll as a novel feature and
recall the angel style Of earlier models
while by no means replicas
At the shoulders they are snug, but are
cut to become naring and full slightly
below and to fall in deliciously soft long
lines that fall into puffs which hang well
below the narrow cuffs. In common
with the yoke they are unlined, and fas-
cinating glimpses of-=round girlish arms
are to- be caught through the filmy ma
terial A second gown has sleeves that
fall full and unconfined. taking only the
lines of the plaits In which they are laid.
and IS worn with long gloves beneath;
and still a third shows those OF elbow
length, but not one chiffon creation have
seen in which sleeves and yoke failed to
give the transparent effect The bias
frills referred to mark departure and
are charming. Heretofore chiffon has
been plated or shirred; tn csc bias ruffles
are often tucked at their lower edges and
become Of sufficient body to hang with
grace and beauty without being over 1uil
AS I think have stated In previous let
ters tucking on lohiffon serves q double
end 5 Besides rendering it more beautiful
1t gives needed weight and durability, and
these frills finished with tucks will be
found p1acticalaasi well as smart Just
what we did before chiffon was invented
I do not remember, but it seems now as
if the world of dress must have been
something Of q blank, yet, after all, 1t IS
not so many years since it first appeared,
not SO long that, we have known its soft.
tempting delicious beauty:
Not alone the brides of April but many
of the guests at large weddings are wear
ing the lovely material, however, and va
rious are the forms in which it has ap-
DearSQ. 6aUuS VI Sllh anu oeII ' =
become familiar on the filmy ground, but
the latest edict calls for cloth and COM
bines the two extremes of weight in
a single gown. Odd and almost bizarre,
as such union at first thought appears,
the result is really exquisite as well as
essentially chic. a most satisfactory
imported costume seen within a week,
is white with touches of black and Just q
hint of moss green The main material
is chiffon, the bands, yoke, etc, are of
cloth, yet so fine and soft is the latter
! and SO deity has it been handled 1t does
not Overweight the filrny foundation in
the. least The foundation skirt is of
soft finished taffeta. At it's lower edge
are two puffs Of the chiffon. The skirt
itself is closely plated at the belt and
hangs in voluminous folds. At its low
er edge are vertical straps of cloth, that
extend up some fifteen or twenty inches.
so arranged that one wider one is placed
between each group of two narrow ones
and that terminate in points and are
stitched on all their edges. The bodice
is blouse. The yoke is chiffon banded
with cloth cut in curves that fit exactly.
Below the yoke the full portion is striped
with vertical bands set about an inch
apart At the centre is an empiecement
edged with a white silk cord whose tas-
are unique. The upper portions, Of cloth,
Fit snugly and extends about half way
from the shoulders to the elbows. Below
them hang full, soft, dropping puffs of
the chiffon that are all appliqued with
! black chantilly at their lower edges and
are held by narrow cuffs of the lace viii h
in turn shows rosettes Of the green vel
vet Completing the whole is most
fascinating little wrap that. consists of
a double cape Of the cloth. severely stitch
ed but supplied with ties Of black velvet
ribbon held in place by! rosettes Of the
green AS told you last week, those
tiny capes made to ma tch the gowns are
the snartest of all smart things. and are
exceedingly becoming and charming. The
chiffon costumes tho ans. 'r-''-
formly although Monte Carlo and longer
coats of lace also are worn. As a rue
the fimy chiffon gowns are confined to
black or to white, but biscuit shades are
always fascinating in the material and
some singulary elegant toilettes are being
worn in thcsa and soft tan. tints that
are as beautiful as anything that can be
state stock slow; yeals. s8@5.75; few choice
1 T. 4