The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-10-14

1t will require a purse with a goody
lining of currency and very elastic
strings, indeed. In order to be gowned In
the first flight of fashion for the social
season just opening.
All the small economies OF dress seem
to be swept to one side. and an era of ex-
travagance and elaboration has opened up
In their stead
1t seems as though the makers of the
mode had exerted their ingenuity to the
end of seeing just how much material
they could artistically employ to the
fashioning of a gown, and then set their
wits to work to devise ways and means
whereby this excess of material could be
most extravagantly trimmed. But-and
here Is where the unskilled or inexperi-
enced dressmaker will meet her Water
loo-the goal of all this elaboration and
extravaganza is an appearance Of SIM
plicity. Under circumstances must
the gown so fashioned and trimmed ap-
pear to be overloaded with decoration.
Rather must 1T appear as though the
trimming scheme were quite an accident,
and that the happy result was merely a
clever thought upon the part OF the de-
signer.
The velvet gown Is really the acme of
sumptuous elegance, when fashioned after
the accepted mode. Even the less ex-
pensive velveteens and those are de-
lightfully soft and artistic in coloring
this season, with the additional charm
of proving absolutely fast in tint and
guaranteed not to rub of on delicate
gloves or laces-will serve beautifully as
a background for the elaborate trimming
devices that are really the making of the
frock.
The same sheer and almost limp weaves
that the manufacturers presented us with
last season are still quite the accepted
thing, In spite of the fact that most Of
the new silks are all of them much less
slimsy than heretofore. While stiffness
Is hardly the word TO apply to those
Rilken fabrics, there Is, nevertheless more
body and more stability to the weave
than last seasons goods presented. Lin
Ing silks, such as the taffetas, archeda
silks and the silk and linen mixtures
that appear so often In imported gowns.
are all OF them of such quality as to at
ford a goodly support to the sheer ma
terial that still rules for the outer Dress
While the woman OF fashion will ac-
cept the dictum anent the new skirt
length. with its many inches sweeping
the floor, her sister of more moderate
means Will doubtless rebel against
vogue that lessons the service of a gown
and makes for increased cleansing bills.
None the less, the best dressmakerJ are
insisting upon quite a marked traine to
frocks OF a formal or semiformal intent,
and 1t Is only In the plain tailor
made that goes to mill and to meeting"
that the short skirt is even tolerated. As
though to emphasize the difference, there
Is quite tendency on the part of the
tailor TO cut this skirt even a trifle shorter
than heretofore, although doubtless the
very smart styles In footwear have more
than little influence upon this Ques-
ton. A dainty cut to shoe and smart
siken hosiery are necessary where the
new walking skirt Is concerned since the
ankle rather than the instep Is the focus
that guides the tailor when deciding upon
the length.
Irish crochet and the padded e1nbroider-
les that the Irish peasantry make to such
perfection are charmingly appropriate
upon the colleen poplins that fnd such
favor abroad For dinner gowns those
are in high esteem, and the slightly
ribbed surface, with its lustrous sheen,
throws up both lace and embroidery to
the utmost advantage.
The elaboration of the Directoire period
the time when the first Napoleon was
working to make France the artistic CEN
ter OF the world-time has shown the won-
derful prescience of the Little Corporal in
this respecf-makes itself much felt In the
present fashions Then richness the rich
EesS of deliberate eIfrav.esnce. was the
foundation 9-oIn which the ,igeSSTca ke-
worked, and no amount OF toll and treu-
bie--to sslg nothing OF uoney-was spared
Il MAKE tha toilette OF sns e!eyeuts OF
Lat period marvel % artistic dressing.
Those same effects prevai, today II the
gowns that the best makers Of Paris are
turning cut FOR favored clients- Just at
the present writing there are few ..piays
OF n period" as they term dramas of his
toric rat-ef than contemporary scenes, On