THE FASHIONS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XVII, Issue 992, 14 May 1862, Page 5

THE FASHIONS.

Ffbom the pabis coebespondent of the

'nelson examiner.']

. Our sharp frost and brilliant feats of skating have come to a sudden and ignominious conclusion. A thaw has set in, with all the pleasant concomitants of gray cloud, soaking rain, and four-inch* deep mud which usually accompany such a change of temperature in this favoured region. The Imperial pair, and their courtiers, cannot accuse themselves of having disregarded the Empress's favourite motto during the late frost, for they all passed several hours each day on the icy surface of the lakes which figure so conspiftously among the municipal treasures of the French capital. Their Majesties skated in and out of the crowds assembled upon the ice, without any attempt at ceremony or seclusion ; the Emperor diversifying his amusement by causing an ice-chair to be brought to him from time to time, and inviting the ladies he happened to know, and a few particularly pretty ones whom he did not know, to seat themselves in it, and then pushing them vigorously over the ice. It is needless to add that the fair dames thus honoured are all in a flutter of gratified vanity that threatens to be some time in subsiding.

The constantly-recurring Court mournings necesitated by the late unusual mortality among royal and princely heads has somewhat interfered with the usual course of entertainments given, at this season, at the Tuileries. The first of the Court balls came off two nights ago, the mourning for the regretted Prince Consort having just expired. Yesterday began a new mourning for the brother of the King of Portugal. The dulness thus occasioned at Court exercises a depressing influence on the doings of the gay world. The commercial stagnation so general in France, and the anxiety caused by the Anglo-American difficulty, ako tend to render the present season less brilliant than usual. The costly private theatricals which have been the rage here for two years past, are quite ignored this winter. They demand too great an outlay, both of money and of time, to remain in favour just now, when " economy " is, professedly at least," the order of the day," and when the minds of the masculine portion of the community are so much occupied with more serious topics. Dinner parties are just now the form of dissipation especially in vogue; and this form of hospitality, hitherto scarcely naturalized in France, bids fair to be developed here with all the tasteful brilliance which our neighbour!? generally contrive to infuse into their amusements. But, whatever may be the current of the time in Government matters, economy can scarcely be held to be the aim of the fairer half of Parisian society, whose demands, in the serious region of the toilette, are very far from promising any abatement in the amount of the terrible ' quarterly bills' that have been so steadily on the increase for some years past.

The capricious fiat of fashion has utterly proscribed the flounces which were so generally in favor all throughout the autumn of the year just ended; has brought the fronts of bonnets quite up over the forehead; lias strengthened the admiration of all womankind for the Balmorals and other gay petticoats m convenient at this season ; and is rapidly getting up a mania for flowered silks and Irish guipures. So much for the general features of the " change " that has come over " the spirit of the dreams " of Parisian mantua-makers and their lady-vassals. Of walking dress little can be said during winter; cloaks and mantles, furs, and bonnets being more conspicuous than dresses at this unpropitious season. For bonnets the favourite material is velvet, of black, Pompadour green, dark blue, magenta, or the beautiful new shade of pinkish crimson known here as the " Alpine rose," white velvet being.reserved for morning dreeses and other more " dressy " occasions. These colours are usually accompanied by velvet flowers, or feathers of the same shade, often mixed with black; black bonnets being generally trimmed with velvet flowers of some bright, contrasting colour, and white ones, especially the more elegant ones, being trimmed on the outside with a drooping willowy white plume, and underneath with roses, violets, or other bright flowers. Black lace, with davk bonnets, and white blonde with white ones, are still very generally employed in trimming bonnets; the most elegant ones having generally a trimming of chantilly or blonde put on fall uppn the curtain?, and growing deeper at the centre, so as to project an inch or two beyond the

curtain, forming a point above the middle of the neck. This stylo of curtain, graceful and pretty for long-necked dames, is neither the one nor the other in the cuse of short-necked ones. Bonnets are now trimmed oxolusivoly on the top, both outside and inside; the tours (cap-borders) being worn extremely full. The pendant, willowy plumes alluded to above, and which :ire worn at t.ho sides, form the solo exception to the tyranny that compels your bonnet trimming to be porrhod exactly above the nose. Strings, in all cases, o!' plain broad taffetas, matching the shade of the bonnet.

Cloaks are worn large, full, mid round, either with large open sleeves, or without, at the fancy of the weaver. Velvet clonks are now almost covered with the rich raised silk embroidery which has been growing more and more popular for a few seasons past; and is gradually supplanting the rich trimmings of lace and guipure so much worn of late. A cloak of black velvet, thus embroidered, and trimmed with sable, and worn with a flat victorine and muff of the same, is the height of the ton. at this present writing. The cloak would cost from £20 to £50 according to the amount of embroidery upon it; and would, in all cases, be lined with quilted silk or satin of the same colour as the cloak. As for the furs, they would range from say £40 to several thousands. Black, or very dark ruby, or brown, are the only colours seen in cloaks of this quality. For plainer dress, various thick, soft cloths, generally of one dark colour, but sometimes of black and white, or white and gray, are universally worn; the latter are seen more often as carriage wear. The rage for the burnous form of cloak is on the decline ; the shapes most worn being straight in front, and somewhat rounded at the sides, making a slight point behind. Large buttons in front, and a plain binding all round, put on a cheval, i.e., hemmed down, outside and in, about half an inch from the edge. While so many shops are showing the action of the new commercial treaty, one great " cloak emporium " on the Boulevard has filled its windows with enormous placards, bearing these amiable words, in great letters: —" Nothing English sold here ! All our tissues are warranted pure wool!"

For common walking dresses, a variety of worsted reps, dark, with minute specks of colour, and French poplins are much worn, made quite plain, the corsage buttoned in front, with plain linen collars and cuffs. A narrow belt of ribband, fastened with a buckle or clasps, and a narrow silk neck-tie, embroidered at the ends, complete this useful but unpretending costume.

For morning dress, black silks, crossed with narrow lines of colour, are much worn; they are made quite plain, and buttoned to the throat. A morning dress, of black gros de Naples, just made by Mademoiselle Ceriot, is fastened with a double row of plain silk buttons, put on in a novel way, of her inventing. Oa the edge of the right side of the corsage is laid a fold of silk, an inch and a-quarter wide, put on straight (like the corsage); on the inner edge of this flat strip, or fold, is placed a row of buttons with a button-hole outside each. On the edge of the other half of the corsage is placed a row of buttons exactly corresponding to the row on the opposite side, and buttoning into the button holes aforesaid. The effect of this simple innovation, the straight fold with its double row of buttons, being the only trimming, of the corsage, is remarkably pretty. The sleeves have a revers, with one row of buttons at the wrist; the skirt full, put on in small box-plaits and gathered behind.

Evening-dresses are much trimmed with bands, rounds, triangles, &c, of black velvet, edged with narrow lace j the skilful imitation of chantilly, so much improved of late, being greatly in vogue for this purpose, as being scarcely more than half-an-inch in width, the general effect of these edgings is much, the same as it would be were real lace employed. For dresses of plain taffetas a good deal of this sort of trimming is used; with dresses of moire antique, deep flowers of lace or guipure, with a berthe of the same ; in dresses of the new style of silk (taffetas of very rich quality, white, or of very delicate colours, sprigged over with bunches of large and small chine flowers, of very vivid hues), the trimming is composed exclusively of of ruches of ribbon, of the colours of the sprays put on in Greek scrolls and other geometrical patterns round the bottom of the skirt; the corsage is generally worn low, and the sleeves either short or very open, so as to display the lace of the. under sleeves. There is nothing new to chronicle in the way of ball dresses, for which tulle, crape, light silks, organdine, all the old materials, in fact, are still in favour. Some very elegant ones, just completed by Ceriot, are of white tulle over satin ; the skirt very full is cut at the knee, one full flounce making up the length. This flounce is covered with rows of narrow satin riband, run on full, the thread being a few lines from the top of the riband, which thus forms a tiny heading. The rows of riband are set on straight about an inch and a half apart. The corsage was low, with a berthe of tulle bouillonne, i.e., composed of little puffins, with small bows of riband and short sleeves to match. The bottom of the waist was finished off with a double piping oi satin. One of these dresses was entirely of white, another of pink, and a third of amber; the ribands and under-skirt being of the same colour. These dresses, equally simple, brilliant, and elegant, cost £12 each, the quantity of riband and labour involved in each being very considerable. With silk under skirts instead of satin ones, they whould have cost £10 each; but the effect, though equally graceful, would be much less brilliant. Another charming ball dress, by the same artiste, was composed of two skirts of tulle, the under one long, and trimmed round the bottom with a little pink flounce, an inch and a half deep of white taffetas ; the upper one edged with a still narrower flounce, looped up at the knee, so as to form a series of light festoons all round, each festoon being held up with a bunch of small blush coses. The corsage was trimmed with Greek folds ; a bouquet of blush roses in front, and two small bunches on the shoulders; short sleeves, bouillones, and finished with a little silk flounce like those on the skirt. Among the new silks some are striped with bands composed of bits of brocaded pattern, alternating with bits of velvet, richly flowered. One of these, at Ceriot's, is of a rich brown ground, the stripe (running the long way of the silk) being composed of alternate black bioche silk, and black velvet with roses; a magnificent but very costly fabric. It in trimmed with a ruche of brown silk pinked at both edges and set on in a Greek scroll, about half a yard deep round tlie body of the skirt, with a little roll of black velvet, sewed along the middle of the ruche, which thus forms as it were, two little frills, one above the velvet, and the other below. The corsage is high, fastened in front with a row of buttons of Florentine mosaic.

This style of button is much employed just now. Broad sashes with short bows, and ends as long as the skirt, having been much worn in front, and then at the side, are now a rage, but worn behind only.

The hair is generally worn in rolls, turned back from the face; with flowers stuck in under the rolls at the side of the head, or perched on the top, over the forehead. Tiara-shaped bands of velvet, starred with diamonds or ornamented with pearls, are also much in vogue, though rather Wo pretentious to be quite in keeping with anything below the precincts of a Court. Nets of gold thread, of pearls, coral, &c, or of braid trimmed round with a ruche of riband or pinked silk, with or without tassels are still very much worn, but are, probably, destined to " go out" before very long.

The sewing-machines now coming so generally into use, are all employed in braiding rich and complicated patterns upon children's clothes. The braids employed for this purpose are either plain or mixed ; this sort of trimming is creating a furor at the present time Low dresses, with pelerines, appear destined to " come in" again ere long. The pelerines already seen, are generally round behind, and pointed before, the points crossing in front; sometimes they are square before and behind, and sloped over the shoulders; trimmed with a band of black velvet, edged with lace, to match the skirt and sleeves, and a little pinked ruche of silk, beyond the velvet.

Many of the best dressmakers now obviate the clumsiness caused by the excessive fulness of the upper part of the skirt, by turning in a few inches of one side of each breadth, at the hips; this plan sensibly diminishes the fulness of the top of the skirt, without, however, imparting to it anything approaching the old-fashioned " goring." Collars and cuffs are still worn very narrow; no novelty has yet appeared in this department. Open waists and chemisettes are seen, but not recommended. Lace undei sleeves, either with collars or with pelerines, are also of the old forms.