Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1894 — GOWNS AND GOWNING’ [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GOWNS AND GOWNING’

WOMEN GIVE MUCH ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY WEAR. Brief Glance* at Fancies Feminine, Frivolous. Mayhap, and Yet Offered in the Hope that the Beading May Prove Beetful to Wearied Womankind. Goealp from Gay Gotham. New York Correspondence:

LOWLY as the f public is in becomconvinced that the times are good, for hard times are p A chiefly caused by a Spy general fear of caBjf lamlty, there is litSy tie sign of doubt in ~ wo m e n’s gowns, ft Elegant and cost1 y a s e v e r, they A show some features that hint plainly of ' extravagance, and ; they certainly are • 'i\ eloquent of sufiiicient outlay to con-<J-*stitute ev 1 d e n c e that money is plen-

tiful. In no one particular are they Seemingly more wasteful than in the employment of furs. These are stripped in bits -or used as entire garments, but, by either method, are planned to suggest prodigality. In many cases, this is more appearance than actuality, more cry than wool—that is, than pelt; but the look of It is there to an extent that makes the fashionable promenaders a startling lot. One fashionable fur adjunct, however, hints of economy. It is a cut of short jacket that ends at the waist, and at first sight makes the observer think that its lack of tails is due to the bigness of Its sleeves. But after seeing others it becomes plain that these abbreviated garments are planned simply to attain novelty, without the least consideration of economy. They are parts of street costumes worn without cloaks, and are often made close fitting of Persian lamb, baby fur, or seal. Some of them end at the waist with a wide belt of the fur buckled richly with heavy silver. In such the upper sleeves are made full, and the lower sleeve is of rich wool to match the skirt of the dress. Of this general order is the costume of the initial illustration, but the jacket

bodice Is entirely astrakhan, tight-fit-ting and not extending beyond the waist. It fastens beneath the buttons on the right side, and is finished with gray fur collar and cuffs. The skirt below it comes from heavy gray suiting, is nine gored and garnished about the bottom with several rows of machine stitching. It is considered especially desirable in these get-ups to have the headwear in accord with the dress, but it is not decreed that the matching must be so close that the hat cannot be worn with other rigs. In this instance the hat is of black velvet trimmed with a bow of gray-mirror velvet, buckles and two black wings. Still another expression of this general idea comes in fur coats, tight fitting as a dress bodice, made with a tiny point front and back and cut short to the waist line at the sides. These are much in vogue. They button dou-ble-breasted from waist to bust line, and here deep revers of satin, velvet or moire turn aw’ay over the bust and shoulder. A yoke of the fur and a high, close collar of the same appear above. The sleeves are enormous, and It is admissible that they be of material to match the revers, but that almost always smacks of economy, and, as has been intimated, that will hardly do. When it comes to shredding pelts the fur tinkers must use some such machine as do the makers of Saratoga chips, for they slice up edgings so fine that it’s a wonder they hang together. Some of them are as scant of hair as a dude’s mustache, but they make dainty trimmings, and the inch widths, which are commonly the narrowest,

are extremely showy. This is especially true of those from less costly furs, which can be had at -Very reasonable figures. With the strips obtainable, the method of laying them on is the next point to consider. In the second illustration there is shown a handsome pattern. This costume is an expensive one in every particular, and it needs to be to carry tastefully so much fur, but a little fur trimming of the cheaper sort? is not at all out

of place on far less expensive gowns. Here taste and dollars combined and their union resulted in black embroidered velvet, bluet velvet and fur for materials. Black velvet gives the' gored skirt, which is embroidered round the bottom, and between the long tabs of the bodice with jet Bluet velvet is employed for the bodice, whose deep pleated yoke of white satin Is bordered with fur, the tabs being similarly edged. The bodice fast-, ens behind, its sleeves have bluet cuffs and large puffs of plain black velvet, and the standing collar is made of white satin to match the yoke. Muff and dress trimmings must match. Since the truthful chronicle of styles must admit that sleeves are no smaller there’s not much to be said as to them, for how can they become much larger? The next sketch portrays an attempted change in them that is current As is indicated with startling plainness in the picture and in all the models of this departure, the puff is to be concentrated at the elbow, leaving lower arms and shoulders bare. Whether it is to be generally adapted is as yet en-

tirely uncertain. In this costume it gives the last touch of quaintness to an exceedingly demure get-up. Its materials are heliotrope woolen suiting, mauve velvet and mauve galloon; and its distinct features are the stiffened skirt, the yoke outlined with galloon and continuing in shoulder caps, and the long velvet tabs starting from the, shoulders. Such a rig will attract many a glance on the promenade, and the contrast of advanced novelty and general air of sobriety will set folk a-won-dering. And who could desire to create, more of a sensation than that? The only other noticeably new sleeve is difficult of description, for, in a way, it has no armhole. There is a square cap-like epaulette that extends out from the shoulder. The sleeve is fulled into the armhole at the sides and beneath, and the upper part starts from the edges of the cap. This gives an effect of extreme slope from the shoulder, and may or may not indicate that the sleeve of the last gown is to become the correct shape. Even If it does point that way, the shoulder fixings of the fourth pictured gown are evidence of the opposite sort. Here the bluet broadcloth sleeves have fancy pleated velvet epaulettes edged with silk embroidery in various bluet shades. A band of this forms the belt. The full round waist has fitted lining, is pleated at the waist in front, the back being plain, and is garnished with a fancy yoke of a like shade of velvet, which is bordered with the same embroidery. Haircloth stiffens the skirt, which is gored, laid in organ pipe folds at the back and lined with pale primrose yellow taffeta. The muff carried is of vel-. vet, its matching the dress trimming being an effective feature of the whole,

and it is garnished with lace and violets. Dressmakers are confined in narrow limits when employed in costumes for deep mourning. The question of hues is, of course, settled in advance, and that is a tremendous item in woman’s dress, but there is still field for the exercise of good taste, which becomes all the more apparent in the garb of grieving because its limitations are so generally known. The final sketch depicts one of the best recent examples of fashionable mourning attire, made from crepe cloth with English crepe for trimming. The skirt has double boxpleats on either side of the front breadth, which is ornamented with a deep V of crepe. A plain crepe cloth belt is decorated with two dull jet buckles and fastens under the left boxpleat. The bodice front has a deep > crepe corselet and a pointed yoke with crepe collar fastening in back. Two frills finish the sleeves; one of crepe, the other of cloth, and the Mary Stuart bonnet is entirely of crepe, with a band of white inside for widows, and is completed by a crepe veil reaching to the skirt’s hem. The toilet is lined with lusterless black silk. Physicians deplore the use of crepe and plead for the substitution of lusterless silks, claiming that the former is a constant menace to the wearer’s health, but it is still used a great deal because its texture makes it more effective as trimming than anything else of a like hue. The only way to abolish it is to supplant it with something that will fully take its place, and that seems difficult. Copyright. 1894. A PEt flea has been known to live six years.

FUR STYLISHLY ZIGZAGGED.

AS FROM OUT AN OLD PICTURE FRAME

ANOTHER SORT OF SHOULDER TREATMENT.

FASHIONABLE DEEP MOURNING.