SOME SUMMER GOWNS.
There is much to be said on the subject of linings, and on all sides you will probably hear it said that no silk, or, at least, no rustling silk linings are used now; and that all dresses are so soft and clinging that only very soft linings are used, such as batiste, which is either watered or plain, muslin, or any kind of unstiffened material. Alpaca is lined with the same material, and not with silk, but canvas must be silk-lined, so a new kind of foulard silk is to be found which is non-rustling and flows in straight lines in the skirt.
Instead of a braid at the edge of your skirt, you must now use velvet, which is to be obtained at all the shops for that purpose, and black velvet is most used for the purpose.
The attenuation of the quite up-to-date woman is very remarkable, and her skirts are so long and so unstiffened that they wrap round her feet, and make her look “like a mermaid,” as one of our many fashion-writers assures us; but, whatever the creature is that she may be like, the effect is startling; it is so long and so unshapely when the new style is applied to a thin figure.
TWO HARMONIES IN BLACK AND WHITE.
The group of figures which I have called “Two harmonies in black and white,” are two pretty gowns in the two hues which are the most fashionable of all. The figure on the left holding a bird wears a gown of white lace over black satin, which is trimmed with crescent-shaped pieces of silk, shading from black to grey and white. These are laid on in regular sequence of size on the skirt as well as on the bodice. The other dress is of plainer character, and is of black, with a white design. It is, in fact, one of the new satin-faced foulards, the pattern being of small leaves and dots. The vest is of pleated white satin, with revers of the same covered with lace. The bodice and skirt are also trimmed with ruches of cream-coloured lace, which are laid over the dress in pannier fashion, and go round the skirt at the back. These small ruchings, made of ribbon, narrow lace, or pinked-out silk, are quite one of the features of this season’s gowns and mantles.
MUSLIN FROCK FOR A YOUNG GIRL.
The frocks for young girls are especially pretty this season, and the use of muslin makes them always youthful-looking and light. The frock illustrated in our sketch is made of a dotted muslin, which may be of cream or écru, or even of a colour. It is lined with either a good sateen or a silk, rose, pink, or blue being pretty colours; and the bodice has a deep yoke of silk of the colour of the lining, which has a ruching of lace round it, or else one of silk gauze, which is almost equally popular. The muslin which covers the bodice is tucked, and also that on the pointed tunic, which is edged with deep muslin frills, having lines of narrow pink or blue ribbon on them. The sash is of the same colour, tied at the back, the ends of which are fringed, and trimmed with bands of a deeper shade of the same colour. This might be made in an easier manner by tucking the skirt, as shown in the drawing, in a pointed shape, and then putting the muslin flounce on as a trimming to it. This frock could, of course, be copied in any other material, such as cambric nun’s veiling or a grenadine. Pale grey grenadine over pink or blue silk is a very fashionable gown for young people this season.