Year: 1873

How to Make Black Silk Dresses.

 Black silk costumes, says 8 fashion journal, are the most important part of a amodlste's importations, as almost every customer buys at least one such suit a year. Among those examined at the best houses we find the lower skirt made usually with two side gores and one full back breadth, though there is still fancy for using only one side gore and two full back breadths. These skirts are not lined, as it makes them too heavy, but are faced with crinoliHe three-eighths of 8 yard deep, with a narrow overfacing of silk, and the edge is bound with worsted braid in the old fashioned way. The top of the skirt is sewed to the belt with scarcely any gathers in the three front breadths, but deep pleat is laid under the side seams the back breadths are fulled in French gathers or gauging. The skirt is made long enough to lie on the floor at least quarter of yard, but French dress-makers have an excellent and sim pie plan for shortening the dress for the street, as Parisian ladies have too much goud taste to wear long dresses on the sidewalk. Their plain is to sew tape casting inside the skirt, begin ming an inch below the belt on each front seam, extending it gradually low CT backward, so that it will be quarter of yard below the belt at the placket opening in the middle of the back. A drawing string is then put in each cast. ing, and when the skirt is put on these are tied tight behind the person; this draws the skirt up in 8 puff on the teurnure, and shortens it gracefully, without hopping or dipping. For skirt trimming the caprice is to arrange the front in wrapper fashion by pulling six or seven lengthwise bias bands or puffs from the belt to the foot on the three front widths, while the back is covered with founces. A band down the second side seam does away with the use of bows to conceal the ends of founces. Four straight breadths of silk are enough for founce on the three back breadths. The lower edge of founces is finished by bias facing over an inch wide, with one or two very small piping folds put in the upper part of it; these are sewed in with blind stitches. All sewing -machine-work is objected to on silk dresses, and the entire costume, not excepting the skirt seams, is sewed by hand. Over-skirts of silk, and pol onaise skirts, should not be lined, as their soft drapery is their beauty; to make them bouffant they must be worn over a tournure. The round apron over-skirt has strings low down in the second side seam to tie it backward ]; sash loop and end made of part of 8 width of silk are put in each of the sec- ond side seams, while larger loops with two ends are behind. There is an at tempt to do away with all wrinkled apron fronts, making three fiat straight breadths tied smoothly down; large square pockets are set on such aprons. Basques have less pleating behind than formerly, and are more nearly square piping edgethe basques of elegant black elsewhere with jet and lace. Instead stylish trimming for the front of basque bias, double, and side-pleated, to stand upright around the neck. It stands three inches wide just behind where the pleats turn and form a box-pleat, and is graduated narrower halfway down the front of the corsage, where 1t slopes in- to bias band that passes up the fronts in vest shape. This standing fraise is very becoming with the high cultures now in fashion. Coat sleeves are close and tight, and very simply trimmed with bias bands like straps, or else with plain silk cuff, lined with stiff found- ation. Jet trimmings on French dresses are showy and very light, being made of silk net with fine cut beads set in the meshes; jet ribbons, galloons, and laces sprinkled with jet are more stylish than the vine passementeries, so long in use. The gofered fringe-a kind of crimped silk tape-and the fringes that are tied in the edge of the garment are most fashionable. Lace is used for trimming the stately princesse dresses. $2OO is asked for black taffeta suits made of silk worth s or $4 yard if lace and jet are added, the price is $500 ar mora