LONDON FASHIONS.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2502, 14 April 1882, Page 4

LONDON FASHIONS.

[" Queen,” February 18.]

Dark colors, for all except debutantes, are to be fashionable for the early drawing room toilettes. Prune, sapphire blue, brown, myrtle green are all popular shades. "Very pole pink, yellow, and cream are the favorite light colors. Marabout feather trimming is a great deal used, both in its soft natural brown and also in dyed colors to match the material on which it is arranged. The trains are to be worn from the shoulders in plaits, or from underneath the pointed bodice below the waist, and also from the left shoulder across the back of the bodice in a slanting position, and fixed to the right side at the waist. When the train falls from the shoulders it stands out so that the contour of the waist is seen and the figure is in no way hidden. Some of the skirts are plain in front, of satin brocade, or moire, with a full ruche round the edge and above ; the paniers of gauze or lace are arranged coming from underneath the low pointed bodice. The back of the skirt is full, not long. The train falls over, put in at the waist in plaits, beneath the point of the bodice. One or two of the Court dresses, prepared for the forthcoming drawing-rooms are aa follows :—A white brocade bodice and train trimmed with lace, gathered up at regular intervals with a tuft of white marabout, in the centre of which is a humming bird. The front of the skirt is entirely of white marabout trimming, with a few humming birds scattered over. The book of the skirt is composed of clouds of the softest tulle, one over the other, kept in place by crossed bands of brocade, gracefully looped to one side. A black Court dress has the Watteau train from the shoulders of blaok brocade, lined with pale yellow, caught back on one side with a very large spray of yellow chrysanthemums, which extends almost down one side. The bodice is profusely headed in front, and has epaulets of jet, falling over small yellow chrysanthemums. The front of the shirt is of soft black tulle, stud led all over with jet stars and crescents, falling on to a wide ruobe of pale yellow satin. The back of the skirt is flounced up to the waist, with small beads scattered over, and one large star of jet keeping the train back in its place. The plume of feathers falls over a single yellow chrysanthemum in the hair. A sapphire-blue bodice and train of satin brocade are trimmed with brown marabout feathers. The skirt is of blue tulle, powdered with blue steel beads. In front is a succession of narrow flounces, -with paniers above, and at the back a very broad ruche of tulle supports several skirts of tulle tied down the centre with three wide bows of satin. The train fastens on the left shoulder with a graceful cluster of daffodils, and again on the right hip with a larger spray. Near the end . of the train is fastened a cluster of the flowers, and a few more peep out from the extreme end of the opposite side. A cream tulle skirt, with paniers of cream brocade, edged with deep lace, has a fringe of primroses falling on the lace. The long pointed brocade bodice is fringed to match, and also the very short sleeves ; the train is of cream satin, almost covered with cream lace, and stndded all over with clusters of primroses. Tai or made dresses remain the fashion, and Messrs Bodfern, of Cowes and Conduit street, ore introducing a new material, Venetian vicuna, which they first used on a very charming costume recently made for Princess Beatrice. It has a bright face, and is diagonally woven, an exact reproduction in make of gentlemen’s banting coats, only thinner. The dress for H.R.H. was dust color, trimmed with some braid sent to her from Russia, the same shade as the drees, intermixed with blaok and gold. The buttons made to match. The bodice was of the habit form; the skirt very much puffed at the back, and intermixed with moire. The costome was completed with a short mantle reaching only to the waist, single-breasted, with deep turn-down collar. The novelty in artificial flowers is the flower fan decoration for evening dresses. A spray of violets or other flayers is arranged to look like a circular fan with a handle. The end of the handle is placed near the waist on the left side, and the simulated fan catches up the scarves or fulness lower down. Another spray is placed on the bodice, and a third in the hair. M. Qivry, of Bond street, has this floral novelty in shaded violets, perfumed or not, according to taste. Qanza veils are made with fancy silk borders. Shaded satin tulips are greatly worn just now for ball dresses, placed singly in cascades of lace, or in wreaths. Clematis, in shades of grey and violet satin, are alio very fashionable. Mrs White, of Regent street, is making epaulets to some of her day dresses with nnmerons loops of narrow satin ribbon, of the same color as the material. The habit bodice has a fringe, composed of the same width of loops all round; Tan ohevrette kid gloves of two or three shades are worn over the narrow dress sleeves for day, reaching almost to the elbow. There are two, and sometimes three, buttons at the wrist, and the rest of the glove is shaped to the arm. These gloves are worn with all colored dresses. The gouts de Suede are now rarely seen except in the evening.

The manufacturers of woollen goods for spring wear have provided plenty of choice, and at very low prices, for cotton and wool, cotton and silk are freely blended, producing pretty stuffs, but in no way durable ones. In the present dav durability is not really essential, for the fashions change quickly, and dresses of necessity cannot be worn from one year to another; still, while they are in wear, they require to look well, which they will not do if the fabric is too common. Checks and stripes are both to be worn, but in woollen goods, mostly checks. Messrs Debenham and Freebody have a cheap stuff, “ecarte cloth ” a small check on one side, and a speckled surface on the other, which makes up well, and another of their check stuffs, but of a better kind, is the “ beige carreaux,”’ which is all wool. Small shepherd plaid checks find favor in England, but in France plaids are more popular. Over many of these small and broken checks a large line check is woven of most decided tone, as in the heather mixture tweeds, when a snowflake square appears each side different in color, red, green, blue or yellow. Bright colors are woven on neutral tints. “ Serpolette cloth” has this larger check in tinsel, for tinsel is introduced into woollen dress goods* into skirtings, and even into cotton.

Bege in plain colorings is being made up into many pretty dresses; so is the Vicuna bege, to be distinguished by the hairs which appear on the surface. Casimir is appropriate for spring costumes, it has a fine twill and a good deal of resistance, and is to bo had in fashionable reds and greens of plain coloring, as well as n neutral tones, and it can be bought double width as well as single. “ Prunelle ” is a new stuff, like cashmere - ; “Prunella fonle” being particularly soft, without the finish of cashmere. All the tribe of foule cloths are to be recommended. They are to be had in some slight variation of color from those of last year, but no decidedly new color baa come out as yet. Many costumes are being made for the demi-aaison of a very fine make of habit cloth, called “ Petit drap.” It is sold in every color, like the Umritza, which never seems to lose its hold on the public fancy, Huns’ veiling, or toile religeuso, is universally worn for evening dresses by young girls, and is brought out in a larger choice of color. It will be extensively adopted at confirmations, as will armure, another soft wool stuff.

Silk and cotton combined have produced a new, cheap, most silky-looking fabric, easily mistaken for spun silk, and at half its price, made in small checks of blue and brown, red and white, and so on.

But quite the newest notion in spring woollen dresses, are the borderings. Cashmeres are sold with bands of the same worked in silk, in open English embroidery, which the French call 11 a jour,” the silk matching the color of the cashmere, and many other stuffs have interwoven borderings of silk, which look like lace or embroidery along the selvedge. The cotton dresses, especially the sateens, are so admirable in design that they represent a succession of beautiful pictures, borrowed from Japan, from the Louis lIY., IY., and XYI. periods. As a rule, the patterns cover the ground ; but in one class the ground is of a decided color, say pink, with largo scattered blooms of the same tone, relieved by a very dark one, such as brown and pink. In other instances tiny blooms, as well aa conventionalised blossoms, cover the fabric. Many of the bunches of roses look as if they had been just gathered. Some of the newest of these sateens have printed borderings for trimmings, and others have lace printed borders with plain grounds. The plain sateens are very beautiful in color, and zephyr cloths are to bo worn plain, and in checks and stripes ; in Paris in very large plaid checks. Satin Lumineux, which is

printed on a white warp, and shot off in colon, threatens to replace Satin do Lyon. Cheviot, an English silk, quite of a novo: appearance, and produced by four colored threads being twisted before weaving is worth a thought, as something not before seen. There are several new mantle stuffs. Sultane, which has a corded ground with a brocade, and is very handsome, and the velvet gauzes, which require lining, but are about as rich and effective a fabric as can well bo. Sultane being made up into visites, viz., capes with long ends, the shoulder pieces set in high and full, and upstanding lace ruffs at the throat. They are trimmed with Spanish lace, jet, and rat’s tail chenille. Another novelty in mantles is a short silk jacket, covered all over with drop buttons, and heavily trimmed with lace and fringe. For the demi-eaiion mantles will be made either of black satin or camel’s hair, and trimmed with frills of the same material — gathered, not plaited—and with frills of Spanish or Grenada blonde headed with chenille ruches. For morning wear such mantles are made of Cheviot cloth; they have loose mantilla fronts, square sides producing the effect of square sleeves, the back lying smoothly over the tournnre and of even length, with the front falling just below the hips all round. With a velvet or _ moirefigured plush costume, a mantle of this form is worn to match. Embroidery and beading are both largely used on all the richest spring dresses. In Paris it is no unu-ual occurrence for a design to be made for a single dress and then destroyed, the design being arranged for each separate piece, and worked after the dress is out out, and the same with beading. It is not unusual to see several kinds of beads used in a single trimming, not only as regards color but form—bugles, pearls, round, oval, and pear shaped, seed beads of all shades of color, gold and silver beads going to make up a single pattern. When these are worked on net it is difficult to believe how such a frail foundation can support such weighty embroidery 5 some of these beaded flounces cost £4 and £5 the metre.