Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-03-17
Fashion Notes.

Dark shades of all sorts are to be
fashionable this spring, and great deal
of black and black and white is to be
worn. Blues have been much in favor
throughout the winter, both in dress
goods and accessories, and, having won
success as high-style feature, they are
expected to be generally favored this
spring. The brown series includes a
good range of colorings, from tobacco to
champagne. Green is expected to make
a gain, with the reseda tone as feature.
Coral pink, crimson and violet shades are
| used to some extent.
Combinations of two dull tones are
quite feature, and gray united with al
most any shade will be popular combi-
nation in designs and will also be feat
ured in trimmings.
There having been no radical changes
in the waist styles during the past year,
spring fashions resemble, with slight
variations, the modes of the winter.
Waist sleeves are half and three-quarter
long, except in the regular shirt-waist
effect, which has the long sleeve and
starched cuff.
Some very beautiful things in allover
embroideries are being shown. Many of
these are in insertion patterns with fine
tuckings between. Machine embroider-
les, Stimulating the fine French hand en-
broideries, are also much seen. Some use
is being made of the eyelet patterns in
embroideries, and combinations of lace
and embroidery are among the high.class
novelties in allovers.
| The newest feature in lingerie trim
ming is the use of fine soutache braiding.
These soutache embroideries appeared
as the extreme novelty trimming for
sheer cottons and linens year ago.
More use will be made of braiding this
year.
The feature in dressy waists of lace or
lingerie is the continued use of the jap
anese effect, though in somewhat more
modified form than during the fall. The
very nigh boned collars, shaped into
points back of the ears, are noted on the
Paris models. The spring will doubtless
show continuance of favor to the dressy
net and net lace waist. Some very
beautiful models of this character have
been prepared.
Many of the new spring gowns are in
the jumper style, and are designed to be
worn over shirt waists. Others are COM
pleted with guimpe or chemisette and
undersleeves, or frills in lingerie effect.
These dresses when worn convey the
same impression.
The feature TO recommend the jumper
dress is that by changing the waist or
uuderbodice the costume is freshened.
On the other hand, the costume that is
complete in itself has an advantage from
the standpoint of economy, in that no
extra waist is required. But these
dresses are shown very largely in both
styles, and each will probably fiud good
measure of favor.
The one great variation from the tail
ored styles in suits for spring is the
Japanese effect, or, as it is more COM
monty known, the butterfly jacket. The
success of the butterfly styles through
the winter in Paris has led fashion de-
signers to believe that they will become
more generally favored in the spring, as
the style is much more adaptable for
spring use than winter.
A great many of the new spring dress
goods are made with attractive borders.
Fashionable dressmakers are recommend
ing the use of them, not only in the fine
woi sted materials, but in silks, mousse.
lines and cotton materials, the latter in
woven as well as in fine printed effects.
Stripes will comprise the leading fancy
design for the spring and summer season
of 1908, and will be in many forms. The
most popular will undoubtedly be the
shadow stripes, made by reversing the
twist of the warp threads and thus form
ing a self-colored stripe in the material.
The ultra novelty stripes that have
been endorsed by dress goods authorities
in New York and Paris are two tones of
a given color, such as pale blue and a
darker blue, biscuit and brown, light
green and dark green, etc. Among the
sheer series of dress fabrics this spring
is new square mesh net. This will be
chiefly utilized by the makers of high
class costumes. -McCall's.