PARIS FASHIONS.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2244, 7 May 1881, Page 3

PARIS FASHIONS.

[From the “ Q,uoen.”3 Since my last letter a few new faihions have been launched, but whether they will prevail, who can tell ? The great change in our customs has without doubt affected our dress ; the brilliant balls and splendid reception of Imperial days have in a manner ceased, and official balls are few and far between. The opportunities, therefore, for displaying rich toilettes are not numerous, and yet Paris!* ennes dress in a richer fashion than of yore 5 and house or home toilettes have assumed great importance ; they are even sumptuous —a feature absent in former days. The task of a chronicler of fashions is now a difficult one —perhaps from the superabundance of modes, and perhaps because there is nothing brought out which is generally adopted; every house, and almost every customer, affects an individual style. But, however, there are a few items in the new patterns worth chronicling. The skirts of all short dresses are very narrow, but they are so trimmed that they look both full and important; they are considerably more ornate than even those of last eeason. The flat, neat killings are giving place to bonillonnes or puffs, which are plaited at the top, and swell out in a loose, baggy way ; even when fresh, the effect of this new trimming is untidy. Gatherings or gagings are everywhere, both on skirts and bodices. Bong cuirass bodices have had their day; the new bodices are short in front, sometimes with a plaited waistband, the back terminating as a coat-tail basque. There is a great suppression in the number of seams in a bodice. Steel is much seen in laces, passementerie, gauzes, and fringes, and strong contrasts of color are observable in most of the new satin costumes, of which I have already seen innumerable models. All the new satins are soft and supple—nothing like the old and brilliant Lyons satin of our grandmothers, which held itself straight, and lasted an interminable time. The satins now made at Lyons are called "Duchesse,” “Merveilleus,” and “ Burah,” and will be extensively worn daring the spring and early summer ; they are light in texture, drape well, and combine satisfactorily with cashmere and other line woollen materials. Black Spanish lace is extensively used for trimming these satins, and dresses made entirely of Spanish lace, and mounted on colored and black satin, are likely to be popular as the year advances.

As for the new colors, Lyons manufacturers appear to have studied the various tints they have seen produced on some autumn day in a large forest, as nowhere else could such hues be caught. The various shades of browns now appearing in textiles are only to be met with on forest trees. Copper-brown, goldenbrown, the brown of the Roman Oampagna, and a brown called “feuille de boolean d’automne,” are all prominent, and the last notably so. Heliotrope has passed away, and terra ootta has taken its place. Tho new cambrics and cottons are already put forth in our shops, and although it is early days to speak of them, I will describe their most prominent features, S cambric dresses are often made at home, and in such cases it is best to take time by the forelock. There are two points to foe noticed in the new cottons; first, the absence of all dress, consequently starch must be omitted by the laundress when they are washed; and, secondly, the designs on the figured cottons are particularly artistic, and a plain or self-colored cambric accompanies the one with a pattern, and is to be combined in making it up. The first washing costumes that will be worn are the cotton sateens. These have closely twilled surfaces, and are lustrous, like satin. The foundations are dark—claret, plum, brown, or blue—and these are studded with graceful and somewhat large flowers, such as fuchsias or lilies, with pale green foliage. This figured sateen will be used for the bodice and some portions of the skirt, the remainder of the costume will be plain sateen the color of ground. The batistes are vastly improved upon those of former springs. They are as soft as mull muslin, and almost as transparent, and the Japanese designs in quaint colorings show to advantage on the delicate cream, lavender, and pink grounds. The newjbatistes have a single wide border along one selvedge. This is printed with larger figures than those studded over the mass of the fabric, and this border serves as trimming when making up the dress. It oan be stitched round the skirt, basque, and sleeves, and edge the flounces, or be used generally as frills. The coloring of the batistes is most delicate, but they are studded with bright carnatioas, dwarf peonies, and chrysanthemums, and other flowers dear to Japanese designers. Scotch ginghams are popular both in Paris and New York for washing dresses, os experience has taught that they wash and wear exceptionally well. The newest have wide stripes, made of many smaller stripes, and likewise large plaids 5 but there is always a plainer self-color to combine with the patterned ginghams. Pink and blue seems a favorite combination; and blue and white ginghams have been manufactured in quantity. New contrasts of color are obserable In the stripes, such as olive, red, black, and buff, forming an inch-wide stripe alternating with a pale blue stripe, shading to white, two inches wide. The plaids are to take the plaoe of handkerchief dresses ; they are “ fancy ” and not clan tartans, whioh latter seem to have disappeared for the present. The zephyr ginghams of plain colors, such as pink or blue, are to be made up with cotton embroidery, which forms collar and cuffs. The percales are also woven with a border along the selvedge: the centre is plain and the border figured, and in dark colors, trimmed with the now Valenciennes lace, they are likely to be fashionably worn. Dark green, with pale blue arabesques for border; dark garnet, with cream border; dark brown, with grey border, are all shown. The new Valenciennes lace has a heavy edge ; and the new embroideries imitate the braiding designs that amateurs produced with the crochet hook last season. Straw bonnets are to be worn, but not the plain braided pale straws of years ago, but fancy open plaits of a deep shade. The straw trade must be looking up, for there are all varieties of straw —yellow-tinted tusoan, leghorns, cactus lace straw, Belgian split straw, Neapolitan straw, &o. Sometimes the crown is of plain straw and the brim of open lace straw ; and sometimes this arrangement is reversed. The looe straws are open-worked and require a coloring lining ; some of the patterns are like Torchon lace, and some of the black open straws are so fine that they look like thread lace. These black and yellow open straws will be the best spring bonnets, made up over dark red Sarah, and trimmed with red ostrich tips. Shaded feathers as well as wreaths of flowers of a single color, but shaded from cream to deep yellow, or from pale pink to deep damask, will be the principal trimmings on spring bonnets. There will be several shades, but one color, and there will be no leaves to these garlands. Artificial flowers will have natural tints, and look as much like the natural flowers that have been lately used almost to the exclusion of artificial ones.