LADIES' COLUMN.

Evening Post, Volume XVIII, Issue 5, 5 July 1879, Page 1 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

WALKING COSTUMES. The fact that short dresses for the promenade, travelling, and other useful purposes, will be retained may be considered fixed ; indeed, there ia an effort to shorten them considerably beyond the limits which the majority of ladies adhere to, that is a length which clears the ground, but does not conspicuously display the foot. Doubtless some young ladies with small feet and generally delic*te physique will adopt the newer and more c .quettish method of shortening the skirt three inches above the ground, but. as before remarked, the majority will prefer the medium length for ordinary walking purposes. Of course there are times when a decidedly short skirt is a decided comfort, if not a necessity ; for l>ng and rouf»h travelling, for country wear in somewhat wld and out-of-the-way localities, a short plain walking skirt of solid material, innocent of ruffle or flounce, i* of the utmost importance to health and power : but, ordinarily, walking dresses must be suited to city streets as well as country roads, or mountain paths, or the deck of a steamer ; and the ordinary walking dress, therefore, ' while it should be simple and not weighty, must look sufficiently finished to pass muster in a crowd. The short walking dress of the present season only emphasizes the features of last season The savense or fiohwife tunic ia as fashionable as ever, the vest and jacket for outdoor wear is more popularly worn. The jacket reproducing the style of the continental coat, in the three buttons which fasten it across the chest, and in the cutaway skirt, which discloses the lower part of the vest, ani the vest haviug taken to itself the length and importance of the old-fashioned waistcoat, either in reality or appearance. Woollen suits adopt the trimmed skirt with the vest and jacket aa being much lighter for wear; but overskirts are by no means discarded. They are employed for washing suits, except when it consists of a skirt and polonaise. The beige shades are the most stylish, and are made becoming to any complexion by the wide, soft, white muslin ties, which are used for the neck, or the dark coutra9t in trimming materials, such as brocade «r velvet, which is employed for collar, cuffs, 1 and vest. The pure beige shades are indeed much les9 trying to the complexion than the purple shades in navy blue, the red-wine shades, and the tan and coffee shades in brown. Black costumes, both of silk and woollen, a>-e also in the best possibleNiaste for ftreet w^ar. Black costumes are;-, however, affected more by ladies verging towards middle age than by the younger and unmarried ones, and they are not often accompanied by the piquant jacket and vest ; the style usually adopted for the*e is the trimmed skirt, short or demi-trained, the deep close-fitting basque and the Braall mantelet or visite, the trimming of which is often crimped fringe.