DRESS MATERIALS AND COLOURINGS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9253, 2 November 1895, Page 3

DRESS MATERIALS AND COLOURINGS.

This is an age when gossamer materials are a necessity in carrying out the accepted notions with regard to dress, ar.d there is a Ions; of new gauzes, chiffons, crepes and kindred novelties. Gauzes have been crepe in many ways and then printed with Oriental Cashmcrian patterns in wonderful amalgamations of colours. Many of these stuffs are goffered rather than crepe, but they have all been subjected to heat so that their surface is crimped. They are employed for sleeves, bodices, and blouses, so also are the goffered satins with wide stripes, in such mixtures as black and white, black and yellow, green or petunia, and goffered satin is also treated like crepon, and printed with sparse grass patterns, while some of the silk crepes have gold spots, and others are printed in Oriental and Dolly Varden designs. They find their way on to crepon and striped pongee, interspersed with goffered stripes in white and mauve or black and blue. The chine effect in flowers is übiquitous, and broadcoloured stripes are most effective in these thin materials. Printed grenadines on black grounds are one of the best fashions we have yet had for middle-aged matrons, and a new black striped grenadine is interwoven with coloured silk at the back, which shows through, and a watered grenadine is treated in the same way. Rarely, indeed, have colours been so pretty as this year, in crepons and in light cloths (mostly shot in two colours). The names of our new shades aro " Bengale," a red which reminds us oi " Bengal-fires,"'" Pomponne " is another new shade of red, then comes " Corinthe " (dried currant), which is a mixture of blue and violet. Cornflower blue and sapphire are also very fashionable, as also are shot green, blue, mauve, red, yellow, pink, grenat, brown, Ophelia, &c. The material in greatest favour just now is silk mohair, or alpaca. A reason for this is that it stands out stiffer than softer materials, and, as everything is made to stand out now, wiry mohair is just the material required. Tiny stripes and bunches of flowers are seen on silks intended for blouse bodices, which are as fashionable as ever, both for day and evening wear. For dinner and the theatre they are made square-cut in front and high at the back. These same bodices may also be worn by day if a high lace or chiffon chemisette be worn underneath.