Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 June 1877 — Fashion Notes. [ARTICLE]

Fashion Notes.

Tirrsm, braid has suddenly become very fashionable for trimming, not hats only, but basques and overskirts of dark wool or silk. New York ladies are knitting for themselves long, old-fashioned purses of richcolored silk twist, which are closed by silver rings or slides. . [Square" lace collars —Cromwell collars —are a novelty of tbe year tor bovs and girls. In France tbe square rs placed invariably at the back; Itere, as often in front. Linen mousquetaire cuffs ha(ve straight bands of linen in the center, two inches wide when doubled, and edged on both sides and each end with wide gathered. Smyrna lace. apes’ heads of Labrador stone, with diamond eyes, are the most recent innovations for gentleman’s sleeve-buttons, and scarf-pins take the form of miniature whips, faDS and the like. Gold bonnets are* one of the last Paris extremes. They are made of straw, which is then steeped in a bath of gold. The trimming consists of a large velvet bow and a humming-bird. A favorate "material for shade hats is manila straw, ecru woven in> a slight, indistinct pattern. The crowns are high, and the broad brims indented om each aide and in front in Watteau fashion.

The diagonal scarf overskirt is merely two pleated breadths of silk, trimmed on the lower edge with fringe, lace or pleatings, and sewed on the lower skirt to form two aprons that cross the front - and sides diagonally. A late Paris novelty consists of leaf fans, some of them apparently formed of a series of fern or begonia leaves, ana closed look like a branch of shaded green or tinted autumn leaves, fastened ana held by a veined handle to match. A novelty is a very small carriage parasol, made to turn over on the sides of the stick; in very dark, heavy silks, brightened by a butterfly embroidered in gay colors on one of the gores, and by long loops of ribbons of tw-o contrasting colors tied in the center. The lace sacques imported for summer wraps are partly fitted to the figure, have flowing sleeves and are not too long for gracefulness. The neck is without a collar, but finished with scallops like those edging the front, and many turn over the neck to form revers. Wide cuffs of lace to be worn outside the sleeve are among the importations. They are six inches deep, and sqttare, or else they are closed in gauntlet shape for the hand to be slipped through. Accompanying are broad collhrettes that fasten, behind and hav.e long jabots in front. Summer silks for traveling-dresses are in tiny checks, brown and gray, or brown and white. These are made up with flounced skirt and princess polonaise, and finished with brow n or gray bows; tLe hat may be a broad “sailor,” in fine straw; if the wearer is very young, hut otherwise a capote bonnet. Large feather fans are “ tony.” Shine are white feathers-, others are black and the peculiar shade of stone which is the natural color of the ostrich. They are mounted on sticks of iris, mother -of-pearl, of burgau pearl, of ivory, of tortoise-shell and qbony, and the monogram of the wearer in either gold or silver-chused letters is added on the sticks. The broad-brimmed hats turned up high on the side, which we sent abroad last year, have returned to us emphasized, as Louis XIY. styles, and are very striking for tall beauties,, who can exhibit the long, sweeping plumes to advantage. Fbnny Davenport wore one as the “ Princesse Royal,” and has another m all l black for the street.

The newest French material isbourette, a mixture of silk and wool; the-shades are generally light stone and gray of all tints. Thin flannel and serge dresses are very much worn in greet, blue and! prune color. Jackets of same material as the dress, lined with, a different color and bordered an iimli or more outside with color of the lining—for instance, gray bourette iined and bordered weith prune silk or blue admiral with caroubier. The white-figured Swiss muslins are utilized this season for morning wrappers, and look very pretty trimmed with Smyrna lace aod pale pink or blue ribbons, but white princesse polonaises for afternoon wear must be made-of thicker material, and tie new satin-striped and damasked linens and figures are utilized for this and other purposes, and may be trimmed with flat, white braird, or Madeira embroidery, with velvet bows; if, as is often the case, at the sea-side or in the cool localities, the skirt is of velvet. The Gainsborough remains most picturesque of all summer hats. In many instances a velvet bandeau is below the brim to tit it securely to the head, and the hat then curves away most gracefully in front. 'White chip Gainsboroughs, trimmed with cream white grosgrain, black velvet bandeau and bindings, and clusters of pale pink crushed roses tilling the upturned side, are in a perfection of taste. To complete such hats, a characteristic feature is a bunch of short nodding ostrich plumes placed just in front of the brim and curled over toward the face. The present rage in writing papers is to get the most hideous tints possible. Tint of raw beet sprinkled with soot, mandarin dotted with gold dust, gray specked with Silver, and navy-blue, bottle green, brown, crimson, carmine—anything not handsome—is in demand with the ultra fashionable. White and pale gold bronze ink is used with this paper. Another “ new departure” in expensive stationery is the Japanesque paper, ornamented at intervals over the surface of the twoontside pages with tracings of figures or flowers in palegilt, indicating the state of feelings in the representations. — Springfield (Alasit.) Republican.' Th* New York life insurance companies last year issued policies to the amount of fl 19,000,000, while the policies terminated by surrender and lapse amounted to *125.000,000, and by death to about |15,. tXIO.GOO--