ITEMS FOR LADIES.

Evening Post, Volume XL, Issue 63, 13 September 1890, Page 1 (Supplement)

ITEMS FOR LADIES.

* Ratskins are in great request for making gloves. In Paris the Bewers are periodically visited by men in order to catch the rats for this purpose. With tho return of soft fabrics paniers are introduced by the leading houses, and with the long-waisted bodices and high sleeves look extremely smart. Gold is being superseded by silver as far as embroidery is concerned, but in trimmings and galons gold holds its own. For evening, real flowers trim tho drosses. You flee entire fronts of dresses of real wallflowers, lilac, violets, &c, and at other times they edge tho hem of the skirt and the neck and sleeves of the bodices. Old-fasbionod silks are reintroduced for elderly ladies, and are very suitable for the present plain style of making tho dresses. Reversible hats aro quite the latest and most curious invention. They are so manipulated that the wearor can put them on any way she chooses. The reversible bonnet has no strings, of coui-Be, and is formed of a thick twist of velvet ending in a loop, with a plume or flower rising from a nest of lace frills. Whon this pluttie is removed and the loop of velvet Btands in front, tho bonnet ia a hat suitable for street wear. With the decoration added, the whole thing turned about, and f eathers or flowers nodding from the back, it makes a dressy little bonnet suitable for afternoon or evening wear. This is the most hopeful symptom we have yet seen of consideration in the heart of the milliner. As bonnets increase in price as they decrease in size, it. becomes almost philanthropical to devise this scheme for making one bonnet serve a double purpose. Tho hair is being worn in puffs or rolls at the back, graduated in size, and becoming larger at the crown of the heafl. • Ornaments in steel, pearl, and tortoiseahell are fastened in these puffs, according to taste. In this, as in all other matters of dress, it is not well to follow fashion blindly, but exercise the taste in modifying fashion to suit individual requirements. In this connection, the following remarks should be laid to heart : — " A woman who wißheß to look her best should wear colours which bring out the brightest hues of the hair and give a touch of softness to the colour of the skin. The instances are rare where colours -which, bring out tb.e beauty of the hair are not also most appropriate for the skin. The hair should be arranged to soften the face and show the shape of the head to the best advantage. It is a good plan, when a lady is not satisfied with her appearance and wishes to improve it, to go to a reliable hairdresser who haß had enough experience to know how to study faces, have her hair dressed once at least, and if it is more becoming than the old way, adopt it. When a lady has found a becoming way of dressing her hair, she should stick to it, no matter how often the fashion may change or how different it may become. There are few ladies whose appearance is not greatly changed oy it. Sponge Cake.— One cup of sugar, two eggs, one cup of flour, one large teaspoonful of baking powder, onethird cup of boiling water, stirred iv the last thing. Beat yolks and whites of eggs separately, mix sugar with yolks, add frothing whites, flour and baking powder, one teaspoonful of vanilla and hot water. Beat smooth and light, put in a warm buttered pan and bake in a very quick oven. Corn Bread. — Take one-half pint of buttermilk and one-half pint of Bweet so ilk; add to the buttermilk one-half teaspoonful of soda; beat two eggs together, pour the milk on the eggs and thicken with about nine tablespoonfuls of sifted maizemeal. Put the pan in which it is to be baked ou the stove with a piece of lard the size of an egg ; when melted, pour in the batter, add salt, stir well and bake. Sally Lunn. — Scatter two teaspoonf ula of cream of tartar, three tablespoonfuls of sifted sugar and a little salt into a quart of flour ; add to this two eggs well beaten, a piece of butter the size of an egg, melted, and one teacupful of milk; dissolve one teaspoonful of soda (carbonate) in another teacupful of milk and add to the mixture ; stir it steadily for a few minutes and then bake in two round cake-tins in a quick oven. Toast the calces and serve buttered. Lemon Pudding. — Heat a pint of milk to boiling and thicken with two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, made smooth with cold milk. When well boiled, remove from the fire and add, while hot, one tablespoonf ul of butter and one cup of sugar. When the pudding is nearly cool, add the yolks of four eggs well beaten, and the juice of two lemons, the grated rind of one. Beat the mixture till well blended and bake. A meringue may be made of the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth, sweetened and Bpread on top of the pudding a few minutes before removing from the oven. This is excellent and wholesome. To clean Bilk. — The garment must be first ripped and brushed. Spread on a flat board an old blanket covered with an old sheet; then sponge the silk on both sides, rubbing any dirty spots particularly with this mixture : One half-cup of gall, one half-cup of ammonia, and one half-pint of tepid soft water. Roll the silk on a stick — an old broom handle will do — being careful that no wrinkles are left on it. Let it dry without ironing. Woollen goods may be treated in the same manner.