Thrift in Ladies Dresses.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 28, 21 January 1875, Page 3

Thrift in Ladies Dresses.

Poplins.— A&fcfij&h J*i«ht*ipoplk, & callyi speaking, evjr«|thi^ $Sfv; butT" Jtbignsure this the poplirTsgoufd'He very soft, by reason of the wool- being- of the softest : and,finesfcdescfiptipif. , .A. pop.lm T . 'tff&q is a very^eipgant robe";' it'lmay'liV 0 -usedjfor dinner or carn^VdresS, or for promenade.. Eine^lack^pnplths resemble , dull jgros grain si|.ksr : doiofed '^pllni ' char£rby ; their 1 glossiness ( W'>#eiP itf»* tint. i :•■::-■-/ a? ■:$ r .p..\ '?.,,, r^ Vh i } ,.. s , i; ; 5 Si kg-. -^Everybody who can ? affard.af •' silk dress is ambitious of getting' one/, but jthen it should be of good (jii^lifr,? in bl'ack espedially ; "biit the "dihijjfriry* l is tofget it at any price. .Fje^j|entlj?^. ! i>' silk of six shillings" a- yardT wiU .rwear^ > better than one aEj.ton-shi lings... .<. But how| to know this?' Silk is often" es-tracted-.frpnrqld silk garments, tarer-spun and re-fabricated into asilken t^xfure, and. made heavy by a solution^of sortie drug knowffrpEin'cipally-tou.theljtrfldacT'l This can be.seen filling up the intprsficesr . of the' silk if the latter; ';l« :v held v :.h^' : ' ; : between the, eye and jthe flightry A"S<i,--further 1 to deceive, ihe'silk reVwoveV '" with a colored selvage. ; till recently supposed; jto l>e a guarantee that the silk had not been dyed rfn-th^ ' piece, bur was wovr from i black-sil-fe\--dyed in the skein: Now this ' co'ore<i selvage can be no . longerlrelied upnn. A soft, round, bright silk woof— the thread which rains from se]vage'tor^el> <f vage — and a bright 3hining' silk warp, *. the thread which runs ;< lengthways of '* the sjlk, indicates. a good wearing; ■Bilk?.it; and may wear bette r thus, . even if. of thin texture, than a thicker i'ubrie m.h^\e ; ? of poorer silk, but which cuts itself dm. . The si^s' of olden time never were guilty of baseness, f^jr the reason thut manufacturers stood by thei r reputat^oir; an^ did not then % $6 Well undev'sfantt thei Chemistry . of /deceptions) Al ways choose a .soft aUk, even if it h of substance " like u s board."' Satin. — The same rules'" iippFy to this texture as to silk; only in thisinsranfie the threads of silk are ; rovtirsed, : the- ' warp consists of :the brightest- :«nd •;, softest ot untwisted silk, ■ woven rP.Y :^- --a woof of coarse or fine threads, as t.h» case may be. The woof may' be"' of"'" cotton, or of ftpuri silk;- or ■ bf gnoct 7 genuine silk. Cotton- and- silk nevepwill agree ; the latter scorns, the cottop,.. i, and shows it by its flimsy nppear,ane». • hanging in streak/ folds. Choose V " satin by looking at the bac'k'arid draw- l *" ing out the thrtiad whiph tuns across ;> " the woof; if it be of silk: then the.gatiUvv. will wear well, provided the texture b» soft, by no means stiff, and thin or thick ; if artificially stiffened reject it — it will hot wear. ()f course all depends — upon the length of the purse, but 1 -id i-^ a Wiser investment to purchase a good material of a less pretentious appearaiu:-^.. than a poor flimsy article, which is 'riol' * credit 1 to taste, and certainly : be' none in ~" the wear. •Very : mucij. I the^spyie dnt n ■■] lady's -dress marke fthe -gen.tlew v onT[Swi *.. equally as will the rmanner*., :, A.^ppd[ (^ cotton or m usl in. dress. may ,.be.worp r l>y the first lady in the Fand,! . bpf a<. fntiiiv believe satin never." \'".!\'"' •■ Velvet!—^-This rpat^Hial' should be s >fc and thick ; the softness,' strange to s>ir, is told more by the ;i feel- of : fhe<*)i|>V against it than by the fingergr^the.:,li^vs./,j are far "more sensitive-than— the -lattet- -^~ After the softness of -the silk ia^ascCTtained, observe if the pile^be'short an! thick. Thi3 can be —told by doublingdown the velvet. on- .thft rigljt -si-de-^" the-.^^ way of the woof — thnt -Is, across from -. selvage -to sel vnge ;' if the-rows lie apart the velvetLwilLsoonr^w^ar... .Jt' th^-J-f back- of-cotton therdu^t will,settle jn it>, and jspqedily.look ishabjiy,^ ajao ;( it ...will ti crease .frightfully,. . ,'Algood silk Vyelyef^' 11-may have the pile' flatterieS/mit'lt Wilt '"' friot crease, 'i'h.e^ pile jqan always- 'W'^ raised by holding", the i>ack. t .over th.y steam of "a kettle coming'frbm'tHe^pchif. : Terre.yelvetmean9'the;g^ound work of Vel vet,- is * the si! k•' oifre)r.%if h i , Snd is Uncut. - )l;t dogai.pot^jjwWr^w^H, except ,fyp rbpnn.fits,, ,^, ,-, *