Year: 1879

Among the earliest importations are some
elegant black dresses intended for visiting and
carriage costumes. The materials are plain
satin for the lower skirt, aud brocaded satin in
large effective figures for the overdress. The
front and side breadths of the skirt are
trimmed from belt to foot with three deep
pleatings of satin extending from side to side.
These pleatings are, in their turn, almost COW
cred by three rows OF chenille fringe with wide
netted heading and pendent drops The bro
caded overdress has basque with panier folds
in front and on the hips meeting the long
princesse back, which has the waist and dra-
perry cut in one piece. The panier folds are
set on the basque, edged with deep fringe and
extend to the seams that join the side forms to
the middle forms of the back; a roset.e of the
satin is set ON these two seams, giving the fav-
orite Marguerite effect. A surplce trimming
on the front of the basque is Of plain satin,
bias, and each piece is two fingers wide. Each
side is shirred at the top, and instead of pass
ing around the neck, as worn during the sum-
mer, it is sewed just below the standing collar
to cover the buttons and button-holes. 1t then
extends down tie front below the waist line,
where it is cut .diagonally, and hangs like
tab on each front Five straps of brocaded
silk each an inch wide, are then buttOned
across the surplice fullness the first of these is
at the top of the first DART and the last is just
below the waist line.


To wear with this dress is a mantle made by
Worth of black camels-ha lined with old
gold silk, and trimmed with the new fringe of
rayelled silk and Cashmere-beaded paSSemen-
terie. The Cashmere beads represent every
color shown in India Cashmere shawls, and
make very rich trimming for black wraps.
There are three Dolman seams to shape the
back of the mantle, but the front hangs long,
in mantilla style, and its ends are caught to
gether i'll two large tasSels of the beads and
the new fringe. Black satin is let in the back
of the mantle, and also forms kind Of sur
plice trimming in front. The neck is very
high, and is finished with volumnious ruche
made of the fringe and giving the appearance
of feather trimming.


Handsome black cashmere costumes are inn
ported for general wear. 1t is now preferred
that the skirt for Such suits should be of CASH
mere instead of silk, and in many French suits
the skirt is made of silk of light quality, but is
covered in all its visible parts with cashmere.
Thus black silk round skirt will have the
whole front and side cores covered with
single breadth of very wide cashmere, because
the short front of the polonaise displays all the
skirt front; but the back OF the skirt has the
silk covered with cashmere only about a fourth
of ward above the border hounce, as the long
back of the polonaise conceals it. To make
such skirts, the cashmere Dreautn Is widely
shirred down the middle fold, and this shirrng
is sewed down the middle of the front breadth
of the skirt; it has only this single row of
shirring, and is shaped to slope with the Sec
ond side seam, where it is gathered in the
whole length of the seam. The back breadths
are then partly covered at the bottom, and the
whole is finished with a border fiounce, or,
what is still more fashionable, cluster OF
three side-pleatings, each three inches deep
when finished, and made to lap on the edges.
The upper and lower of these pleatings should
be of cashmere, and the middle one of silk.
trimmed with wide black embroidery in OPEN
with the gay India Cashmere stuffs, arranged
to form a fichu, collar, belt and cuffs.


FRENCH BoNNETs.


fresh importation of choice millinery con-
tains large bonnets so picturesque in shape and
so artistic in their combinations OF oolors that
they cannot fail to be becoming, and therefore
popular. These are pokes with projecting
brims. the Marie Antoinette, with wide sides,
pointed in front, and still larger hats, with
flowing brims most caprciously indented For
those who object to the large shapes, small bon
nets are provided in the new turban style, and
in close Marie Stuarts with the new soft crowns.
The decided style, however, is to wear all bon
nets much further forward on the head, and
very close on the sides. Even the pokes with
wide empty space between the forehead and
brim, fit so snugly beside the ears that they