Year: 1879

Opening-day at the large furnishing stores
brought to light the elaborate dresses prepared
for dinners and receptions during the approach
ing gay season. Brocaded satin with plain sat-
in, or else satin de Lyon, is the material used,
with very little gros grain, some velvet, much
fringe and lace, and very few flowers. A dress
made entirely of one material is never seen
nowadays, but the combination of two or three
fabrics in one dress is differently arranged
from the "patchy" makeup of last season.
Now, as a general rule, the waist, paniers,
and part of the train, if not all, are Of figured
goods, while plain material is used for the pet
ticoat and apron drapery, and for the very mar
row pleatings that edge trains and form their
only hounces. In some cases, however, tho
principal part of the skirt and its draperies is
plain while the bodice and the borders or TRIM
mings of the skirt are figured.


The pointed basque, short ON the hips, with
square or heart-shaped neck, and either elbow
or coat sleeves, is the high corsage used for
dinner and reception dresses. The back may
have long seams from the shoulders hut most
have short side forms beginning in the arm
hole The neck is very high behind, and
though open in front, quite low, in square,
round or surplce shape, still the throat is COW
cred in most becoming way by ruche, or
frill or necklace of the material tied with bows
or Directoire collar that is permanently
sewed above the open space. The square neck
is usually filled in with guimpe of very full
gathered lisse or net, or tulle, either plain or
beaded with pearls or jet Sometimes there
are high lace ruffs, wired to hold them in place
above the square neck, and few dresses have
the sleeves puffed at the top.


Tall, slender ladies who need fullness ON
the hips have the paniers short and drawn


back suddenly, while stout figures have long
curtain drapery, with longer curves down the
sides, falling in with the very slightly draped
flowing trained breadths, and furnished with
the rounded apron at the foot of the front.
Another good plan for stout ladies is that of
beginning the panie"s, not at the belt of the
skirt, but at the end of the basque front, at
taching it there with rows of shirring. If the
wearer prefers her basque separate, the pam
iers are then shirred across the front breadth
of the skirt low down, though not too low to
be concealed by the edge OF the basque. a
single width of satin is used Oh each side for
panier drapery. Sometimet this stops short on
the second side seam; Sometimns 1t hangs to
the foot, fastened back in precisely curtain
shape The edges of basques are not all con-
cealed by paners some are now trimmed with
fringe or lace around the bottom.


The newest fancy for trains is to 'guage"
them at the lap in great pleats, arranged in
the way old-fashioned gauging was done which
differed from shirring by being made of alter
nate long and short stitches that hold the train
in close, deep pleats. These trains are made
OF three or four straight breadths that may %


square cornered or rounded, the wearer
chooses. Sometimes the train has breadth OF
plain satin down the middle, with brocade
each side, and again the middle with brocade
and the other breadths PLAIN Inere is lar
less tying back of trained skirts than when
princesse dresses were in vogue, yet many
trains are still held in set shapes by having
their draperies set in mammoth bows, either
one or three down the middle. There are also
some princesse trains that are cut with the
bouifant just below the waist line
by draping that is massed in many
rows of shirring When the front of the
skirt has no apron at the foot it is laid in
lengthwise pleats for short figures, and in hori-
zontal puffs, or pleatings, or rows OF fringe, or
passementerie, for tall ladies' Flounces at the
foot are not fiat but very faring and full IN
shell pleats and festoonings, though they are
not deep, as they are only meant for bordering
the skirt; still, in the narrowest flounces two
fabrics-the plain and the brocade-are used.
Plain satin forms a narrow knife-pleating to
edge q bias brocaded 1ounce that is either fes-
tooned or else laid in scant plests in clusters,
or else the two combined form a shell rucne.


The marquise coat of plush, with flowing
demi-trained skirt of satin of the same shade,
is the design for rich carriage dresses for pay
ing visits, for day weddings and for afternoon
recentions. Such costume of dark garnet
ninsb and satin OF else of gendarme blue
tbronpbout is enriched by bands, cuffs, and
collars of the India embroidery already de-
scribed A band of this work extends straight
down the frents of the coat, which are not


-l.x al
down in straight line. The satin fronts of
the skirt are draped in upholstery folds, and
the back breadths are very full and scarcely
draped at all. A wide border of plush trims
the foot, and there are no flounces


An especial novelty is the opera coat CT
white cloth, with the gay Indian tambour
needle-work forming Directoire collar, revers,
cuffs, lappets for the back, and pockets on the