Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 February 1875 — Spring Hats, Bonnet-Trimmings and Flowers. [ARTICLE]

Spring Hats, Bonnet-Trimmings and Flowers.

The new hats importers are receiving as the avant-anireurs of spring styles are far larger than any that have been worn for many years, and chip is tire fashionable material of which they are composed. The felt hats now in vogue give some suggestion of the spring shapes, but the new chip hats are still larger than these, are as soft as any slouch hat, have high crowns and wide brims capriciously rolled, turned and indented, and in size they are like gentlemen’s hats very slightly modified. Importers claim for these mammoth hats that they are not only becoming but sensible: as they cover and protect the head, the latter assertion is true; and as they will soon be considered stylish the former is a matter of course. The chip of which these hats are made exceedingly fine and as soft and pliable as felt. They are shown in white chip, black, dark nut brown and pale leathercolor? The variety of shapes is even greater than is seen in the hats of this season. Some of them have high round crowns, with three-inch brims, slightly yet evenly rolled all around; others have the wide’straight brims seen on “ flats,’’ turned up only in front or perhaps slightly towardone side, and still oftener in the middle of the back; some, again, have pointed brigand crowns with brim fronts three inches wide and only an inch broad behind, while a few retain something of the English walking-hat shape and of the Rubens hats that are closely turned upward on each side. Importers predict that white chips will be the favorite, yet black bonnets are always stylish and the choice brown shades w ill be chosep to match suits. For young girls and misses straw hats are shown in an improved sailor shape, ’ known as the Leopold, The crown is round, instead o* being square and flat, as it was last year, and the wide brim is turned upward all around. The edge is bound with black, brown or blue grosgrain ribbon, and the hat-band and streamer of ribbon to match have bars and triangles of gilt or silver. White straw Leopolds are prettily trimmed with navy-blue ribbon that is almost black, and ornamented with stamped bars of gilt. The list of colors for the ribbons, damasks, figured crapes and other new materials for trimming bonnets is as follows: Soft pink, sky blue, silver gray, cerise, ponceau, nut brown, lilac (with both pink and blue tinges), drab (of dark, light and medium shades), paille or straw color, navy blue (which is now black-blue), and, lastly, beige, Manilla and cream colors, which are natural unbleached buff shades, with more brown in them than in the ecru tints so long in fashion. The preponderance of importations is in these simple, natural hues. The pink and blue shades of next season will be soft, yet positive, without any of the buff shades lately seen with them. The clear silver gray and the charming lilac tints bf a generation ago are to be revived in lieu of the mongrel greengrays and mauves of last summer. The soft drab hues, quiet enough for a Quakeress, are to be enlivened by cerise, pink and blue. The novel trimming for these new large hats will be wide scarf ribbons of soft damask serge of a single color, with damaak figures, arabesques and vines of the same color and similar shade. These <re as broad as sash ribbons, and as pliable as the plain twilled India silks used for neck-ties; the brocaded damask designs upon them make them very ricir

looking. They are shown in eky blue, roee, pink, beige and "other spring Pekin embroidered is another soft Oriental fabric similar to the serge ribbons just described. It has twilled stripes with flowered stripes between, like needle-work, also damask and vine patterns, with intricate arabesque designs. A charming new material to be cut bias for trimming, instead of turquoise and other silks, is satin d’Orient, as soft and light as China crape, yet repped like gros grain. This is admirably adapted for the chip braids that are too light to support the heavy velvetsand gros-grains with which it has been the fashion to trim them. Another novelty is figured China crape. Instead ofbeingtnerely crinkled, this fine fabric is now figured in diamond patterns, with vines, leaves, great lily bells, convolvuli and moire stripes, all of one shade, either cream, pink or light blue. The French flowers for trimming hats are mounted as large wreaths with trailing sprays behind, or else in one single compact cluster. Of the wreaths many are alternating pink and tea roses to go round about the hat, while pendent behind is tied a bunch of dark-red Agrippina roses tied to show their long stems of flexible rubber. Other wreaths are of small scarlet poppiqs with darjf-green ivy leaves, or else of wild sweet brier with green arbor vine; lemon-tinted roses form the center of wTeaths of glossy green smilax; or else there are large white roses with every petal separately curled. The clusters are pale rose geraniums with fern leaves, salmon chrysanthemums and lilacs w ith pink shading; or else large, loose-petaled pink roses with spring violets—the single blossoms that grow in shady dells; or else lilieswith roses and hawthorn berries.— Harper's Bazar. 1