PARIS FASHIONS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1787, 28 April 1874, Page 2

PARIS FASHIONS.

A costume nroperly so called is-a v whole dress of one and the satne color, but comprising 'two nearly similar hues], such as olive green and pale green, .heartsease and man ve :• color jj,. or; of .completely^opposite and, distinct rJraes^racbr/W and turquoise, bright yellow andjvioiet ; or of two different colors Jwii&og'^ any strong opposition, such as pearl) color and China . rose.; ', These two principal, abides flf, color naake.up the harmony of 'the feminine costumes, either by repetition or : bo*nf&st, or weili-sorted huies, or by all these means at* one and' the /same time«!;,,L.et us,suppose, for instance, a costume; of one color, the dress being of iron-grey, silk. ( tt the tunic is of the same hues and the hat to match, ;the harmony will here arise from unity ; . but not to allow this unity to become monotony, it-will suffice to change the stuff of the t'uhic^and to make it of China crape- (or cas^ihere ; the color, although still the 'saiS', will not be completely similar in the cashmere r anji)the silk. If , the pverskirfc is of r acolbVdiffereht to that of the untterskirl;, but of a somewhat similar, hue, the harmony will arise from the colors 'beiagweil matched, but 'on ''condition that' brie- oFth'e^two colors" shall be iepeatfed somewhere in the other portion of the dress. For instance, if thieyuhdeirskirt is violet and the bverskirt : inauve 30lor,jthe'-la^r' J litohld be drawn up on the 1 Wde by a violet bow ; with: trimmings, matohing jth'e underskirt ; but the bow must be separated from its trimmings by a ; mauvpuyante or frUling; the bodice with^iheotoverskirt will form the; tunic, and, mast be/accompanied with basqueswtritnmed to jnatch; .lOn^lhese basques- ; will be placed alfriHednirikuve color rosace^ and on the rdsace a violet bow fringed 1 down- to the iwaist. Now, if the two colora'df : the' costume are completely, opposed to*, one another, light blue and straw 'colbri'ihd 1 if the blue skirt is ornamented with a high plaited ruche, ;the .sleeves .of _ ; the,,tunio v sh.Quld have on the cuffs a, smali blue pluse." A fichu of black lace,' trimmed with blue silk ribbon fixed to the sash by ;aiarge bow to match, will serve at the same time to soften, the contrast ancl please the, eye. If the hat is of, sbaw or Kaifj it will be necessary to add to it' a feather or a scarf; of gauze to match, or a bonquet of myosotis. .. ' " " ! "* '

The following is^aishort description of a few ball dresses worn at the recent balls of the Ulysee and\the Prefecture ! q| the Seine :— Toilet of MadameMarshal -MaoMahon. — A dress of black tulle bouillonne in front, perpendicularly- between each bouillon, a trimming of jet jounces of lape, a train of diverse ;! c6lored roses; headrdress, roses, ,and. black lace. r ,, ' Toilet of Madatne l [Efiiyal, wife of ; the Prefect of the^ Seine, aged 28. i i— Dress of fay.c of a palestra VJcolor,' the breadths of j .the : dress behind trimmed with three flounces curving inwards ; the turiiete match, trimmed with high white J blonde ;' the bodice cut-' low ; a' : fay"e sash jand scarf of straw color ; heSd l! dres3 of "niyosStis. "*" "* ~[ "■ ■ ' — r~-™»«»...» Toilet of '^MademoWeUe MacMahon, aged 17,— The .skirt and bodice bTpale pink l f aye ; tlfe tunib white f g§ uze, * edged with^whjte Jejb pearls. held'opSriti white' and pink geraniums ; geraniums in ,the^hair. : ., , : . ... „,..,.,;;.,. „t „.. . qf ihe ladies-rtiose Vho are looked upon ! a£ tlie ! leadeW J '6f i^^irotQ a bodice mbst 'admirably calculated to set off the selegance.and. elasticity of the shape r-the fpnns of.whicji it, s.q jtp.,,jjay, casts in a mould and advantages in the highest degree. . ' It ri therefore 1 Suits' bnly yoting, tall, and well?made women.' It i£( cajled the "armor" or "cnirass ",bodiQe,:and does, indeed, carry us back to l the~age of chivalry. |t consists qf, a! f cor-sjet 1 " cut low down, laced before and behind, flxe4 olose to the hips, and held a little below the'waiafc by strong, wire 'io make it sit quite close to the body. ..; of your fair readers as have in '■■• iheucmemory the portrait of Agnes Sorel, tKfe beautiful dame d'amour .ofuCharles , YH-i or who will take upon themselves, to seek it out in some book- of history,r.will4iave-before them the exact image of, this < ,fcorsagearmure," which the elegant' ladies bL the ninete§pth;ce i nj!prx v i li|-1 i|-. i^ra,ncei have borrowed from the noble dames of the fifteenth...;; iA^most -sensible-! and witty woman said to me, at one of the late balls :—^Our age is accused b'f ihiving noecharacter of its own, and of copying all its fashions tronv-bygone times. Look

however ; you will not see two women dressed in the same way, not two dresses of the same pattern. They have shaken off the yoke of all-conquering fashion, and dress just as their kind of beauty bids them, or according to the requirements of the society in which they wish to make a a figure, and after deeply pondering on the, various beauties they possess,: and which they are most desirous to show off to advantage. A woman never dresses for herself, seldom for the man she loves, but always for a rival. Thence it results that nothing is. more charming than this diversity of shapes and dyes, and that at no other epoch of the fair sex has the pencil of the artist stich dazzling variations or such originality of detail,"