ILLUSTRATED FASHIONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2425, 5 September 1900, Page 61

ILLUSTRATED FASHIONS.

Dear Emmeline, — The printed muslins so fashionable tins summer have such a marvellous fineness of texture as to be easily mistaken foi silk, and the artistic patterning and schemes of colour employed in their formation have been brought to a surprising degree of perfection with the result that few, if any, 'women can withstand the temptation of possessing at least one gown of this lovely material. Lovely and well-nigh irresistible as these muslins undoubtedly are, they prove a bad investment for the girl with a limited dress allowance or a mind as frugal as that of the spouse of John Gilpin of nenown, for the second visit to the laundry or the cleaners usually proves very disastrous to the delicate shades of colour used in the floral or ribbon designs, with which the surface is patterned. There is only one thing to be done when the tints become faded, and that is to have the gown boiled with some

■bleaching powder in the water till perfectly •white. This is not so easy a- matter as it would appear at first sight, but with care it can be done without damage to the fragile, texture of the muslin." Some of the most charming muslins are made with a wide, open check which permits glimpses of the silk underskirt to be visible through the space. The pretty dress shown here is formed of muslin covered with a conventional pattern in pale green, the fulness of the bodice arranged to gbowj a front of pale-green «lk covered

with lace, the almost tight-fitting sleeves being composed of the same materials. A piece of white satin ribbon surrounds the waist and is tied into a bow at the side, where it falls in two long ends. The skirt is arranged after the style of la bonne femme over an underdress of white, for the fashion of draping a transparent material over colour is now considered demode. Most of the muslin and "airy fairy" gowns have a slightly draped or drawn overdress over an underskirt, the latter showing a number of frills all round the lower part, giving the effect of a foam of lace and muslin from which the slender figure of the wearer gracefully emerges.

The modernised adaptation of the sleeve worn in the early sixties forms also a prominent feature of the most fashionable summer gowns, and ends in a cuff just below the turn of the elbow, below which appears a puff of net or lace, finishirr; in a transparent band of lace insertion or^simply a black velvet band fastened lightly round the wrist with a pretty ornamental buttqa. Such is the cas3 in my illustration, where a gown of blue sateen spotted with white shows a puff of white lace at the wrist, the front over which the bodice or ens being likewise of lace, while lines of lace insertion are arranged acioss the sleeves and upper portion of the bodice. A rather original touch lies in tlie line of black velvet ribbon which finishes the edsre where the material adjoins the lace. * This touch <jf blacfa is a necessity- nowadays, and appears

either at the neck, woist, or in the hat. A very pretby manner of introducing this touch of black adopted by many smart women is to fasten a narrow band of black velvet ribbon with a jewelled clasp round the throat jusc where the collar ceases. It lias the effect cf enhancing the whiteness of the throat by the proximity of the soft black of the velvet, and is highly becoming. Black is often introduced aleo in the form of a "bow of tulle or by a Eoft silk sash loosely tied round the waist. A black crinoline hat looks very well worn in conjunction with a white gown. The latest little fad adopted by the summer girl is the "friendship fob," which consists of half a dozen ends of silk ribbon of varying lengths held together at the waist by a jev.iplled buckle, each piece of ribbon having a tiny jewelled, gold, silver, or crystal heart at its end, engraved with the initials of the donor. There never was a time' T fancy, in the history of the reign of Madame La Made when small articles of bijouterie were more in request, and the more old-fashioned they arc the more chic they are considered, a foitunate circumstance for thopa of us who can follow the whims of fashion in such expensive items only because we happen to be possessed of a store of relics.

My sketch shows one of the newest hats, which is turned back from the face and trimmed with trails of the dwarf pink roses which appear on many of iho nicest hats.

They look less cumbersome than the ordinary roce, and seem specially adapted' for millinery purposes. The hat itself is of fine while plaited straw, with lines of narrow black velvet ribbon at intervals. Largo Tuscan straw hats daintily trimmed with flowers and ribbons ranb highly in fashionable estimation, and remind one forcibly of the hats worn by the belles and beauties of long ago, as the &ame quaint styles are reproduced, only slightly modified. Roses are the favourite flower, interspersed with knots of black velvet ribbon. — Yours truly, • COQUETTE.