DANCING AND DANCING DRESSES.

Observer, Volume 6, Issue 141, 26 May 1883, Page 1

DANCING AND DANCING DRESSES.

+ — .-_ - ■ _ "j J „. Vabiety is the first; essential of dancing dresses, and the securing of it at a small expense is a sufficiently difficult problem. Still it can »be done : at the expense of a little time and thought. „If you ' have two or three dresses at a/ time> try*; tp; get them in as different stylos as possible. Hovreyer , well black may become you, i'or example,, do. npjt get several dresses of it in succession, as people will think you are always in one dress. You. should also study the room a dress is to be. worn in. In a dark room a bright dress is a great relief, while in a very richly -ornamented and ,highly- " coloured one, nothing looks well but palest pink and cream. 7 ! ■ Two or three pretty Jressei we have seen, ..at . dances are the following : — Firat } a postillion body , of dark blue velvetj worn ovef a skirt .of -creamy lace flounces, mounted on cvflim satin, worn by a ! fair girl whose beauty is set offt to the very greatest advantage. Then a dark girlMn a dress ofrpecu* liar pink, draped over a petticoat of rich brocaded. velvet of terracotta. An auburn-haired girl looked well in a pale heliotrope nun's cloth, richly trim* mcd with velvet brocade pansies with golden hearts. . -.■.:■■ All these were costly costumes, but qiiite young girls look nice in anything, and qan find many ways of varying their dresses, and at the cost of .& little trouble. A cream-coloured dreas admits of more change, because nearly anything will look well with it. A yellow Indian muslin can be very much varied by the accessories worn with it.: 'JTojf a grand dance, and when it is in its first freshneßß, one can keep it ail right, creamy satin sashi gloves, and shoes, and trim it with tea-roses with brown loaves. After that one can wear it with trimmings of Indian red one time, and sage-green another, and brown on another occasion, substituting coloured mittens for gloves. The great . thing is that all the accessories shall match perfectlyrrthat the dress, however simple in itself, shall look as if some thought had been spent upon it. ■ , •■ • ; A young girl should always carry a fan; or a muff, as it gives her something to do with her hands ; at the same time, we would recommend her not to multiply her cares by taking a number of things to carry. No cavalier really thanks her in his heart when she gives aim a fan > and a bouquet, a chatelaine and a scent-bottle, to carry for her ; although he may pretend to rejoice in the honour unto which be was not born, in hia heart of hearts he hates if. - A first ball is always rather a formidable affair" to a young girl, though it can be nothing to what it was in the days of our grandmothers, now, that the pleasant valse is substituted for the stately quadrille, and the young lady no longer makes an elaborate curtsey and set speech when asked to dance, but merely says she will be very \ pleased, . and gives her partner her dance programme!*) inscribe his name upon. How some girls treasure them afterwards — those programmes ! How they enjoy looking over some favourite partners' . illegible scrawl, or laugh at the curious hierb«- ; glyphics made by some one who is too well known to need to write his name. . : '.. A proposition was made lately in an Ame^^g^^t" magazine that girls should make an album their dance programmes, putting them in orderly^ a book, and writing the dates beneeHi, as they would be pleased to look back at th;-?*^iu years to come ; but wo doubt if our pir^ash. maidens '-,'.■ would like to adopt this plan, o^iare particularly , to paste into a book a progr^lme in which some favoured partner's name a ; :^oared rather ofteher than the orthodox three tfincs which are supposed to be the very most tliat one may dance, with-' a person in one evening. ,-■■■■■- ■

A grand ojKrity ball, given at Cairo, Trade* th© , . patronag^^PLady Dufferin^ on behalf, of the Alexand^^Haufferera, lias realised over £2,000. Thej^^^^Bive Ismail and his mother have fornof £200 . . : ; v -'. ; ... J ';\ ■.^ of Queen-street.' CTinie— Thursday • ' arrival ex Eangitikei is accosited larrikins. L'amkin : ' ( ;iay,V.v c?an you show nfe ; the short 6tit HBH Eoftd ?" Ne^r Ohum : .'[^rai^ao^fcv^ H^^^klr about Kewfc'qii'r luifc'i h^ jabferßi' 'Jxe^h! you '.tU^jshoH]'cu.ifc tOA-thei roM : ,: ?Jua^ ■^^■i;-^6u i ? ''> Y^a : ;thate>,ell^ t y^ HfflßMhe, fence pf ! th> HHB^ c got a^ick from amulejrbut'lwwo^