FASHIONS FOR MAY.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 288, 24 July 1860, Page 2

FASHIONS FOR MAY.

..;,,, . s „ (Front Le Follet.) . - , "'[, THE variety in material for Spring dresses iYvery great this year. We have the epingline cotelee, a mixture of silk and wool, covered with.spots, or small flowers with deep colors, almost invariably on a drab ground. The little stripes of- black and white mixed are also still in vogue: the poils do chevre, with small checks formed of silk stripes: grenadine de lame,"with small; flowers; summer ■ poplin^ grisaille, or black and white mixture, with small crossbars or stripes; down; and, above Jail, toilette neglige,; foulard, which,: notwithstanding thaVfor the last few years, it has been laid aside, is now likely to be generally re-adopted. Then, for visiting dresses, we have taffetas with narrow stripes forming'checks, and'jri the centre bfeach check a small flower,'pinky blue, mauve, &c; or that which is more generally, admired, the small flowers without the: crossbars;' then the taffetas antiques chines, with wide Btripes v or patterns which were always in favor, and, to a certain degree, take the- place of moire; the.;taffetas pekin, which is a great novelty, &c; -and, besides these, many lighter' materials'—suc^ as bareges, prgandis, grenadine de _ soil, jaconas, piques—are now shown in our fashionable houses, though at present the season.is too cold, to;say they are worn.; .. . . . . j..: :; i Negligees robes, ofthick material, such as poplin, are made in redingote form, buttoned down the middle or sideband the body a. little open in front. Down the fold? is •placed a ' row; of large buttons, or of bows with i& buckle of gpld-iwirfeel, in the centre.' Dresses are also very generally made.withk band, eitherwith a buckle, orribbon sash.•-■.•■■ '.',.;"■*• •'...' .'.' ' ' ""; .'.'""'.." lt' Verywide sleeves *are still much' wprri,. though tight sleeves are v'^ry fashionable. ; For dresses of ■light fabric the sleeves .are^ made wide and very open^or in;largebpiiiHons; v ; . ]) -j; # ; Tlie skirts of these dresses;are orpamented.with small flounces, jaot reaching'.higher.;.-.than, the knee, and'hound with a shade of deep-colored rtaffetas.; If the dress is flowered o.ver,r tha.shade mus£ b» the same as the flowers. ,;r; .. Skirtsiarejalsotriinmed with one wide flounce, headed by a-pink ruchfe, with, three^qther ruches at the.bottonv of the flounce. -Thi^ is a particularly charming style, when the rubhe is black, upon a violet, green,1 or brown dress. ■ • - - Robes,made in the form Isabeau~that is toisay, with a point—-continue to-be in rfavc* ror more dressy toilettes, especially^ in taffetas antique , which is then ornamented with elegant passementeries entabler. . . . „..: ',,'.'■.'.'. . ' Sa9hes r made of the same material,as the dress, are exceedingly. pretty. They are, made? much -i wider.-at the bottom than a^the waist, and trimmed round with a frill or plaiting, according, to the trimming of,the dress.- ~:.,„,.'>;...;. > . Monsselines de soie, and; English organdi, which resembles crepe lisse. and tulle, are' in favoi? for ball dress; flowers, labe, mi blonde are «sed to oraament them. Generally robes ofitullej silk,;o? tartalan, are trimmed With drapery^bbrdered with a small boiulbnne of 'tulle or tatriaiahy «dged with a natrpw lace; or blondej sometialifes Ja rrciw ; >' v* very thick ritclie^ : This is very bec6m^n?* Dinner-drt'SstJsai^.Usually of silk—some have been made of very^ thick sillf-~dpp.ble chain they are called. They are striped,5 Fekin or Ppinpedour, and made witli plain skirts., ; The.body ot; these must be made low, and one pfthe pretty fichus so fashionable now, worn .'with. it.. These are.sometimes half high, crossed inJVont, .and ornamented with blablc velvet or narrow'ribboiis.' v; ' (•[_ •For the trimriiing of.mantles,&c.', lace is always -.considered elegant; and it is „said .that gold.', and straw will be much usecL, t The large and loose , paletot, which has been so -ihuch worn this winter in cloth, is now^ made in^ taffeta^; ap'd.; hasi a wide flpqnce, headed with a plaiting, or with three little flounces. If required to, be a >little more dressy, this flounce can be made, of .coloured, taffetas, covered with blackJace, with, a ruche, of ribbp:n_of the same color, and narrow Iblack lace mixed as a heading. "■';.. ",':.."",;. "T~.: The Springb6hrietsat«'rath.er^larger;-than,thosß worn in the' winter. Tlieyare brought very, forward on the forehead, and the crowns are either sloping or lull.' The curtains are worn rather smaller; The trimmings^ however, are generally 'heavy. ■ ■■■'■'■■■■■'■■ ■ : ■ '■;, - - '-■■"">. For coiffures, the wreath is no longer so1 much worri. The flowers are sometimes1 placed in short wreaths, in the form of a diadem, or in small tufts, put according to fancy, and t6 suit the .style of liair. Often, two of these bouquets aye arranged with the plait of hair at the,back of the head.r The bouquets for the fronts of dresses are placed IOjW on the bofly, nearly at the point, and a little on one side, to avoid a stiff appearance. A very stylish and liandsome head-dress'may be formed of pheasant's feathers. ; A'small turfiin the middle,; and the feathers on each side. In the midst, on the forehead, an ornament of preciouß stones. ' ■■■/■..;. •■:,.-•:;

LIVERPOOL SAILORS' HOME. / This magnificent building, one of the most, beautiful specimeiiß of architecture which graced our town,- has been completely destroyed by-a fire which broke out on Sunday morning, May 13, and in the course of a few hours left little ,moro standing than the outside walls. ' ' , Shortly before one o'clock a police-officer, on duty at the Post-office, observed flames issuing from a window in the top story, and 'immediately ran across to give the alarm to the. superintendent. He had, however, been anticipated, by the night porter, who had informed Mr. Williams of th* fire, and a hose within the building; was, at once got into play. The alarm was promptly conveyed to the various fire stations, and in a, comparatively short space of time the constable, Hardacre (j384), arrived with the reel -from the Salthouse Dock, ; followed soon afterwards iby-Mr. Hewitt, with the ; engines and brigadefrom i\\e i central station^y the West of, England fire brigade, and the reels'-from Seel-street and Essex-street, But .before j even this short time had elapsed the flames had spread so rapidly that it was evident jio human exertions could save the building from total destruction. ,^"T .".."."™ 7. ""'.,..'''.".".'.. ';'■'■ "■' The principal efforts were theff directed .to the' saving of life. Lrali there were, in the institution >vh6n the fire broke out upwards of 120 iirWtep, most of whom had> retired to the dormitories, and were in- imminent danger.-- They appeared'at the windows of the upper stories, ahdi: so far as can at ;present be ascertained,: were .all . rescued. By :means-.of about twelve engines, and between twenty and thirty hose, an immense volume of water was poured upon the burning pile, but, notwithstanding this, the ; flames extended with great)rapidity, until at length the whole of the immense building was inflames. ;■'.•'•..■■'■,, <;, .-...-: ;.-::.v' Constable, Hardacre, the.man,who ; \vas first upon the scene, had ascended a tall ladder'for the- purpose of passing a hose into the building, when the lkdder-upon which.he; ri?ste"d s broke,.arid\he fell with great violence to the ground.^ He was at once conveyed to the' Southern Hospital, where he died soon after his arrival. ]],- : "_', ', •:'. '•..' The exertions of the fire brigade were continued without intermission, but with very little success. About two o'clock. Mr;.>Hanmer, the secretary, determined to' make an attempt to;sate T the^ books and money inr this bank, arid 1 employed several men for this purpose. ""_, One,oi them entered the building in spite of the 'warning of Mr. Superintendent Hewitt:^nd'' several others, and while he was inside the;upj>er ; roof fell, bringing with it all the other floors, and;burfed the poor fellow beneath. . : ...• .<>(. ■■■:,{ •; ;v,if '*■; A number of men volunteered their assistance to extricate the man, and a jack-screw, which the men of her Majesty's shipr Hastings,' had brought with them, was employed to raise;the debris; but this, after several hours had elapsed, not being Bucce9sful;;Mr. Pivisiohal Supetihteiident Quick sent, for four more jack-aerewsi' by means of which the poor fellow was extricated, after being undtr the ruins for four hours; - - " --<.-»-. ■^ The ultimate success of "the • praiswof thy exertions to rescue the sufferer from his dreadful posi- < tion was received with a cheer so general and that its effect was most thrilling. jbtfowthktl»fir«bM«aMM»t«4U»tlf v^

about four o'clock had as it were gone out for the" want of fuel. Mr» Hewitt was heard to say that in his experience of thirty year's he had never " beheld such a scene as that which he witnessed at this fire, and'that he had never known a cbpflagration to spread so rapidly as it did on this occasion. There is one circumstance which should nbt be omitted on this occasion-—the presence of Captain Mends, with a body of fifteen men belonging to H.M.S. Hastings, whose assistance was , most, valuable. ; ; V ; ''"' ; The origin of the fire is, as usnal,' involved in mystery, but there is no way of accounting for the rapid spread of the flames but by supposing that there was an explosion of, gas.: , . A circumstance adding much to the feeling of1 regret at the destruction of this magnificent building is that it was only insured to about a third of its value. The coat of its erection, was £30,000, and the amount for which it is insured,; £10,000. The interior fittings.were insured for £3000. The foundation stone of the Sailors' Home was laid in July, 1846, by Prince Albert, who contributed a handsome sum towards its erection. ' Hardacre, the man who lost his life in the discharge of his duty, has been in the force, many. ' years, and bore an excellent character.; •\ All the boarders on the books of the institution at the time of the recent fire have now come forward and answered to their names. Any fears to a further sacrifice of life beyond what we have already recorded are therefore removed. ~