GOSSIP ON THE FASHIONS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 2982, 15 January 1881, Page 5 (Supplement)

GOSSIP ON THE FASHIONS.

.Aristocratic society in France is imitating English customs in one respect—its members do nob return to the capital for the early winter months, but spend a portion of the season in the country. For the present, we hare no very brilliant receptions in Paris, and it is in chateau life that we find the best dressed women. The fetes given in honour of the Due d'Aumale's recent visit to the Abbaye dcs Yaux de Cornay, the beautiful residence of the Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, was the occasion of most magnificent toilettes. This chateau has been restored by the Baroness Nathaniel, whose artistic tastes are recognised and appreciated. Her last water-colour drawing—a scene in Venice —exhibited at Rue laffitte among the new society's productions, was bought by an amateur for thive thousand francs.

costumes now generally worn. : Another eccentric ornament is a viper made of striped plush with metallic head and brilliant eyes; it is worn round the neck and sometimes it is twisted round the crown of a bonnet. There is a new fashion of wearing bracelets above the elbow instead of round the wrist; and if a bracelet is wanting a brooch representing a lizard, made entirely of diamonds, replaces it. This is to be seen with a theatre toilette. Bodice boquetsare still in vogue. Sweet peas mixed with roses and mignonette are the rage in light materials ; but for dark dresses holly, with its brilliant green leaves and bright red berries, carries off the paltu. A bunch of this holly looks well on the left of the newseal cloth mantles, and on the fancy mtiffa that always accompany them. These seal mantles are bordered with woven feathers, which differ considerably from the feather bands formerly used. The quill of each feather is removed, and tho plume is rendered light and fluffy, and made to resemblo fur in its extreme delicacy ; and this is made up into bands, as well as cull's and collars. At the commencement of the winter season dahlia was considered to be tho " coming colour." It has not answered the expectations formed about it, for the Parisians seem now to prefer canelle rougeatae, tho shade formerly known as aventurine, and lie do yin, a rich shade of garnet. In light colors, Yin de Champagne Mousseux is the leading favourite for the time. For ball dresses, the newest trimming are pretty mixtures of feathers and flowers. Pink satin dresses are trimmed with grey feathers mixed with large velvet pansiesj and grey brocades are trimmed with scabious blossoms and blue-grey feathers. There is no doubt that in materials tho lustrous ones are preferred to dull ones ; glossy plush is more used than velvet, and satin-finished fabrics than plain gros grains. The difference of lustre in the materials used in a single dress produces eeveral tones of colour ; therefore there is no necessity to select different shades. Three fabrics, if not four go to a single drees ; for plain costumes there is tho silk foundation (which, by the way, is not visible), the brocaded velvet or plueh bodice, the cashmere drapery, and the satin balayeuse. When two materials o&ly are iised for a dross, the bodice is made of ci.her a figured or long-piled fabric, and itis single-breasted, having a basque of medium length, and cv away belor.' the waist. Fine French cashmeres aye in vogue this year, as last, for the principal parts of costumes, and aye used in combination with Lyons satin and Surah satin. Rifle-green and scabious are the two popular colonies in these cashmeres ; and Worth is again sliowing the green-and-brown combination he introduceed last year, and this combination is not confined to satin and cashmere ;-ostnmes, bntexteide to sealbrown cloth dresses with dark g-een plush collars and bordering.?, and ciive-brown j cloth dresses, trimmed with brocaled brown I and green velvet.

The Baroness lias ehown her taste in the restoration of the abbey ; she has converted the old monastery into a most comfortable dwelling-house. The entrance, with its arched roof supported by massive pillars, is fitted with divans upholstered in rich Eastern embroideries, and its niches arc filled with priceless specimens of old Dresden china. The furniture in the guests'