Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-03-10


still with us. The long, three-quarter
length Russian blouse coat is good style,
as is also the short blouse which ends
with belt at the waist line. But to
emphasize the fact that variety rules,
there are Eton jackets equally fashion,
able which are short enough to show the
waist line all the way around, except in
the front, where they are made with
long stole ends.
Sleeves continue to display their full
ness below the elbow, and are much
trimmed. Cuffs are more fancifM than
ever, and tab effects in cloth, velvet and
silk are frequently introduced not only
as trimming for jackets, but for skirts.
1t is to be a season of trimmings.
Pendant ideas are among the newest
fancies. TasselS, silk braids and passe-
menteries with little drops dangling
from them, are considered modish.
The spring dress materials, with but
few exceptions, are all sheer in texture.
Veilings, grenadines and mistralS all
continue to be in demand, and they show
many novelties in weave. Lansdowne
will be employed for street costumes, as
well as for indoor gowns, and twine-
cloth, canvas and Examines will all be
good style. The materials with crepe
weave are shown with the new fabrics.
But perhaps the material which will
be favored above all others for spring
and summer wear this year will be
mohair. And it is an entirely new sort
OF mohair which the shops and dress
makers are displaying. New weaves
are used, new designs, new colors. These
very fashionable mohairs are seen in
plain grounds, with self-colored stripes
and dashes of white; they are seen in
mixtures of charming colors; they come
with metal effect, and they come in
plaids and checks. There are lace
mohairS, zibeline mohairs, melange mo-
hairs, embroidered mohairs and fancy
corded mohairs; in fact, about every sort
of mohair that you can imagine. And
they are all to be the vogue, so the arbi-
tiers of fashion say. The mohairs of old
were always worth buying because of
their good-wearing qualities, and this
year they are to have added to this quail
ity beauty of design and coloring.
The new shirt waists for spring en-
phasize the fact that embroidery plays
an important part in their fashioning.
But the ready-made shirt-waists with
their embroidered designs, though at
tractive, do not appeal to the smart girl,
whose aim is always for novel effects.
She will have her shirt-waists embroider-
ed, to be sure, but the designs will be
far away from the conventional. There
is the embroidered tulip shirt waist,
which has decidedly distinctive air of
its own. In cut the waist is of tailor
made simplicity. Tan-color linen is the
material used, and tulips embroidered in
shades of red and yellow form the design
of this shirt-waist. 1t is the way the
embroidery is introduced that gives this
shirt-waist it's smart effect. The flowers
are arranged as if they were growing up
from the waist-line, each tulip standing
out in separate bold relief. The leaves
are embroidered, too, making the color
effect extremely attractive. This same
idea is carried out on the lower part of
the sleeves, the tulips embroidered as if
growing from the cuffs. When the
smart girl wears her tulip waist she
wears also necktie and belt to match.
These accessories are of the same tan
color linen as the shirt-waist, and are
embroidered in the tulip design in wash
able silk floss. If more elaborate neck
tie and belt are preferred, tan-color silk
or soft suede may be used. The stock,
however, and the little turnover en-
broidered collar should be of linen but
the smartly tied four-in-hand, as well as
the narrow belt, may be of the silk or
suede.
The all-white shirt-waists will be much
the vogue this spring, and not only in
the heavier, cotton fabrics, such as
madras and pique, but in the sheer lace
trimmed lawns and batiste with their
lingerie effects. The smart girl will
have among her collection of shirt-waists
at least one of heavy white mercerized
linen decorated with fashionable Mount
which she will do herself. The best
way to make shirt-waists of this sort is
to cut and fit the waist before the fronts
and back portion are stamped and en-
broidered. White mercerized cotton is
used for the embroidery, and the design
is worked in the braiding, snail-trail and
damask stitches combined with French
knots. To add to the smart effect of
this waist, an initial letter or monogram
is embroidered on the plain linen stock
and straight-baud cuff. For the all
white waist which will stand much hard
wear there is nothing more satisfactory
than one of these white linen shirt-waists
with it's decoration of Mountmellick en-
broidery. The fact that it is new ell
hances its value.
OF course, the smart girl appreciates
the importance of the accessories of her
shirt-waist, and it is in these, Oftentimes,
that she shows her special cleverness.
One of her latest discoveries is the
shoe-string belt. That a smart touch
could be evolved out of just an ordinary
shoe-string sounds almost incredible,
doesn't it? But the shoe-string belt,
nevertheless, has all the airs and graces
of an imported novelty and in addition
to this it fits the figure to perfection, and
there is no end to its wearing qualities.
Black and white linen shoe-strings are
generally used for this novel belt. The
shoe-strings are braided, and the number
chosen depends upon the width Of the
belt you desire, and incidentally on the
number of strands you know how to
braid. At the ends of the belt the shoe
strings are tied in hard little knots, then
left long enough to be fringed so that
they look like tassels. The linen shoe
strings when braided make very pliable
belt-one which fits the waist-line pref
tily. In addition to the black-and-white
belts there are others in brown and tan,
brown and white, as we'll as in black-and-
white plaid Raby ribbon in two or
more colors braided in the same way as
the shoe strings also makes an effective
shirt waist belt.
By the way, buttons will give smart
touch to many of the shirt-waists this
spring, and to be fashionable they must
be as large and as handsome as ones
purse will allow. In pearl, with raised
cameo effect, they are novel and new. A
number of the latest white shirt-waists
fasten up the front with buttons covered
with bright plaid silk, and others show
linen buttons.-Woman's
o.,s4