Year: 1878

In the general concert of fashion at each new
season there is a keynote on which the whole
harmony is based. If am not mistaken, this
note for the summer of 1873 will be the use OF
white goods for tolettes worn in the daytime
Hitherto white, whether in linen, cotton, wool
or silk, has been worn in summer only at home,
Ia the drawing room, or in country houses
large or small, but never in the street, unless
for carriage wear. This year. however. white
will be worn even for walking dresses, like
ecru and other light shades. Frequently white
wool is combined with fsille of dark color,
such as prune or bronze, but chiefly the latter
The f10uuces are crossed at regular intervals by
pleatings or shells of faile. The revers and
vest, or plastrons, of white wooden dresses are
made of bronze faille, as are also the pipings
and buttons which trim the dress. In white
wool preference is shown for cachemire des
hides or for 1lousseline de PInde-.a light and
transparent material of wool-whle in silk the
striped gauzss and plain grenadines are most
in favor. In thread the batistes and linens
and In cotton the plain or striped muslins,
more or less heavy, are ths choice. All these
are trimmed with ribbons of dark shade Of
whatever color may be preferred.


Bonnets are worn in all shapes simultane.
ously. Besides all the varieties which are in
vogue, there is the cabriolet, with raised brim
projecting high above the forehead, and
trimmed inside with large clusters Of flowers.
Coiffures of silk, and even bonnets for morning
wear are trimmed with round punches of feath-
ers, which are partially encircled by metallic
threads of gold, silver or steel.


Half-long dresses and costumes which ara
veritably short have made their appearance
Both one and the other of these will cause the
overthrow OF narrow and clinging dresses


Already the overskirt, the polonaise, or the
drapery which takes the place Of these Is
caught up below the hips and is eighty bouf-
FAINT The style of this fashion recalls in
measure the appearance of the paniers which
are seen on the portraits Of the tims of Louis
XIV, that IS to say, the dress swells not imme-
dlately below the waist, but below the hips,
making the coEssge extremely long wasted.
In short time trained dresses will not dare
show themselves in the daytime, and will be
specially reserved for dinner and evening tol-
lettes. The corsage is sometimes made of
different color from that OF the rest of the dress
Thus have seen dress of black faills with an
oyerskirt of the ssms material, and a corsage of
rather dark blue India cashmere The corsage
was long and buttoDed on the side Manteet
like the corsags. The short costume ia made
of one kind OF plain material, or else of plain
silk for the skirt which is round and escapes
the ground, With wool or some fancy goods for
the upper part of the toilette. This part is
composed OF drapery, or else an oversklrt aud
avery long corsage, with large square vest aud
sleeves of the same material as the skirt. The
upper part OF the toilette is cut 10 such fash
ion as to be smooth and clingiug 10 front, and
bouHant on the sides and in the back.


In the use of embroidered goods, which are
combined with the same material, plain (nos
embroidered), and which have recently indi-
Gated, IL is usnal TO have the back of the dress
embroidered Thus the back OF the corsago
from the neck to the bottom of the waist, aud
the back breadth of the skirt from the waist
down to the bottom, are made of embroidered
goods. This reminds us of the trimmed aprons
Of former days, which, instead of being placed
in froat, ara worn in the back. If one desires
to be in the fashion without expending the
large sum which embroidery always represents
when used for the whole toilette, there Is chos-
en- for the latter pretty plain material, while
of striped silk in two coloTs are made the parts
which should be embr0idered-the plasCron,
vest, revers, and trimmings in the back. The
upper part of toiletts should no longer be
made entirely different from the under part IL
is not now the fashion TO wear a polonaise of
one kind of goods simply over skirt of anoth-
er kind, bat it is necessary that the poionaise
should by its arrangement and trimmings show
decidedly that it forms an intrinsic part of thu
general toilette, that 1t has a skirt of its owD,
and not one borrowed from another polonaise-
in word, that it differs from the skirt because