DRESS:IN SEASONANDIN REASON.

ByA LADY DRESSMAKER.

ON THE MEER.

Justat the present writing we are in the middle of the sales, which now seem to be carried on far into the month of February, at many of the shops, and certainly appear to offer each year more and more benefits to the purchaser of goods. But it must be understood that the said purchaser have her wits about her, and know what she wants. This last is the case with very few women who are not very methodical in their purchases of dress, and very rarely make their plans far ahead. This is explained, first, by their slavish adherence to the ephemeral fashions of the day, and also by their being led so much by the eye, and buying things they fancy, not the things that are really suitable or needful to them. There are few women who dress on any plan of what is most becoming to their individual style, or most lasting, with a view to their particular purses; and the longer I live the more convinced I am that it needs special qualifications to be a “shopper” of any ability; the greatest requisite of all being a cool, calm head; and, if you have children to cater for besides yourself, the power to make a plan and stick to it. It is wonderful how much you find to help you when you once do this, or how easily everything arranges itself.

“But,” says someone, helplessly, “how am I to know what to wear or what my style is? Where am I to find rules to guide me?” In the present day we seem to have two rules, both of which are comparatively easy. The first is that the complexion is to be the guide as to the colours worn, while the second is that the eyes shall perform that office for us. Where there is a poor complexion, the first rule may be followed, but where the eyes are good, I think the last is decidedly the best. For instance, the many women who possess good eyes of a greenish or decidedly green hue will look best in olive, bottle, or very dark Tyrolese green—called sometimes a “hunter’s green,” having much blue in it; and the large army of women with yellowish-brown eyes look best in shades of yellowish-brown. The same may be said of blue eyes, which are changed into a hue like spring violets by a judiciously-chosen blue of a dark shade. Grey eyes which verge on blue may also wear blue; but the blue must be of the shade called “royal,” as a blue with no reflections will not answer.

For very dark women and girls with good clear skins, there is a large amount of choice in colour—red, orange, and yellows, as well as black, grey, and navy blue. But if the skin be sallow and dull, she may use dark and light reds—no blues nor greens. White and primrose-colour are likewise generally becoming to them. Fair-skinned people may wear browns, blues, and pinks, as well as green.

But after all, the great thing, it seems to me, is to be able to choose for one’s self; and thus to avoid either the extreme of fashion or the fear of dowdiness; and the taste of the Englishwoman seems generally to turn to quiet, neat styles. It is to her good taste and sense that we owe most of the best fashions of the day—the tailor-made, neat dress of tweed cheviot or woollen material; the sensible coloured under-petticoat, dark stockings, and the comfortable ulster.

So far as hygienic dress is concerned, the rules of that are fairly fixed now, and most women and girls have decided in favour of the tight-fitting, elastic woollen combinations, either of Dr. Jæger’s make, or of some English firm. Add to that the divided skirt, made of black cashmere or serge, and lined with flannel for winter use, as the sole needful under-garments for the cold weather. As to the stays, they may be the new knitted ones of Jæger’s make; the low riding-corsets, or else a boned bodice made of jean, and modelled like the dress-bodice, to fit without squeezing or tightening in. So long as thedivided skirt is used as an under-skirt, no objection can be taken to it, as it does not show at all. The dress above should be made short enough not to require lifting, however muddy the roads and pavements; and it is decidedly the most comfortable garment ever invented in that capacity.

GIRLS’ WINTER DRESSES IN WOOLLEN MATERIALS.

Of course, as the sales are going on, there is little that is novel to chronicle. Indeed, the winter events, where all that is pretty in dress are seen, are the private views of the two great picture galleries—the Royal Academy and the Grosvenor Gallery. At these two places all theéliteand the famous in literature, art, and society congregate; and generally wear their prettiest clothes, I think. Of course, some æsthetic ladies are to be seen. One of them had on a pelisse of moss-green velvet, made very short-waisted at the back, with a small round cape, the skirt hanging long, straight, and full; in short, much like a “Kate Greenaway figure,” and very peculiar was the effect. One lady wore a brown cashmere, with pea-green trimmings, and flowing ribbons of pea-green, which, I suppose, must have been an artistic fancy. The great difference between the artistic and æsthetic dressing is in the way the dress is cut at the neck. The artistic portion bares its throat bravely, at any and every age, and cuts its dresses well down on the collar-bone; while the general public wear high neck-bands, and try to reach the tips of their ears; assisted by big beads and ruchings of satin. At present neither class affects collars, unless the falling lace of the æsthetic lady can be mentioned in that category.

There was a great deal of brown worn, relieved by yellow, and also much green in various shades, the most popular being moss-green and a new hue called “jade.” There was also a good deal of heliotrope, and that always in woollen materials; so I should not be surprised if we found this hue in vogue in the spring. It is extremely becoming to many people. Black jackets and mantles are worn with it, and also black bonnets with heliotrope trimmings. Black plush is the most popular material for small or large mantles, and it seems, in any case, to be very much trimmed all over—shoulders especially. Amongst these artistic ladies the bonnet-strings are usually tied very loosely, resting on the throat, while everyone else in the “Philistine” world—as, I believe, it is nick-named—still wears theirs tightly tied under the chin, with short ends, and the bows tied under the chin, and so much pulled out as nearly to touch the ears, one loop being ornamented by a brooch or pin, generally jewelled.

Red in all shades was also much worn. In some cases it was quite a bright scarlet; but I did not think the idea a happy one. I looked very carefully at the numberless so-called tailor-made suits, and, after all, admired the wearers—neat, trim and tidy—the most. They were of all materials—ladies’ cloth, cheviot, homespun, and undyed Shetland cloth. Many of them were suitable for any season of the year, as, indeed, the true tailor-made gown should always be. The newest thing in them that I saw was a skirt put on in three immense box-pleats, so big that one formed the front, and the two others were enough for the back and sides, the skirt itself being quite plain and free from any ornament whatever. The newest muffs seemed to be those made of the material of the dress. The trimming was of fur, plush, or jet passementerie.

Amongst the few changes in fashions I must mention that the basques to bodices for everyday wear seem to be longer, and in some cases they are put on separately to the bodice. Polonaises also are becoming very general, and, no doubt, in the spring we may see a great return to them—certainly the most becoming and useful of any of our dresses. The polonaise that was illustrated in our dress article with the pleated bodice will be much in vogue, and also a smockfrock polonaise that is very pretty and becoming, but, of course, would need the smocking performed in the first style of that difficult art. This makes it rather expensive, and the houses who make a speciality of the work find it far from easy to get good workers, and, consequently, these smocks are expensive.

This winter there has been so much choice in the matter of styles and shapes that nothing can be called “old-fashioned,” and I am looking forward with hope to the long wished-for day when our own individual thought will, in a great measure, rule our fashions, and make us much happier in having less to worry ourselves with, if our gowns prove not exactly like Mrs. A.’s or Mrs. B.’s; and that they bear the mark of last year, or even of the year before. So long as they suit us personally, it really ought not to matter.

PRINCESS DRESSING GOWN.

This year mantles have been either very large or very small, and bonnets have been both remarkably high and almost hoodlike in shape. Hats, too, have been small and close-fitting, or large and spreading. As to our dresses, we have worn polonaises, pointed bodices, and jacket-bodices quite indiscriminately. Norfolk blouses have been also much worn, and they promise also to continue in favour, as they are most useful for young and old. The same may be said of the jersey bodice, and the so-called garibaldi skirts. In regard to out-of-door jackets, I should think the same tight-fitting, jaunty-looking jackets will rule such as we have worn for the last two seasons. They are too useful to be discarded as permanent occupants of our wardrobes.

In our sketch of “girls’ winter dresses in woollen materials,” I have carefully given every method of draping the skirts and making the bodices that has been worn this winter; and I consider most of them will be continued on until the spring, as the “wrapping style” of which the drapery hangs in straight folds, and as if wrapped round us, is very popular with everyone; and people seem to have grown tired of the skirts which were made of pieces of material. The skating picture, too, shows the general effect of out-of-door dresses during the cold weather; and the way in which fur was used by the best dressmakers and tailors. The dresses are more graceful, and less heavy-looking than usual, when trimmed in that manner. We do not often have such a cold winter as the present has been hitherto, and I hope my readers have applied themselves to learn the lessons of sensible and hygienic clothing which I am constantly preaching to them. Armed by it, they would have successfully resisted the cold, and escaped unharmed. I am more and more convinced that most of the illnesses and deaths of our winters arise from want of sensible clothing, and from the fact, too, that we are all accustomed to regard England as a temperate climate, when in reality the cold is more felt here, on account of its dampness, than in severer latitudes.

So many of our girls have begged that a plain and simple shape for a dressing-gown should be added to our paper patterns, that, after looking about me for some time, I have decided to select a princess shape, as one that could be made at home by anyone with little difficulty, either in flannel or any other material selected. The pattern will be quite suitable for a dress, if required, as many servants prefer that shape to any other. Indeed, when made up in a blue and white striped Galatea, I do not know any dress in which a girl looks better or is more becomingly attired for going about her morning duties. I must confess I like my maidens to look their best and happiest while under my roof, and nothing but the most exquisite neatness will content me; and I have found a plain girl grow quite pretty after a few months of care in the ordinary matters of the toilet. The weekly bath is a thing that every mistress can see that her servants have, and also a few hours for attending to and making and mending their own clothes.

The princess dressing-gown, or dress, consists of seven pieces, and may be made of either eight or ten yards of material, according to the width. The half of the back and the half of the fronts are given, and the fronts may be cut in one, if the pattern be intended for a dress. Price of paper pattern, 1s.

All paper patterns are of medium size—viz., 36 inches round the chest—and only one size is prepared for sale. Each of the patterns may be had of “The Lady Dressmaker,” care of Mr. H. G. Davis, 73, Ludgate-hill, E.C., price 1s. each. It is requested that the addresses be clearly given, not omitting the county, and that postal notes crossed only to go through a bank may be sent, as so many losses have recently occurred. The patterns already issued may always be obtained, as “The Lady Dressmaker” only issues patterns likely to be of constant use in home dressmaking and altering; and she is particularly careful to give all the new patterns of hygienic underclothing, both for children and young and old ladies, so that her readers may be aware of the best method of dressing.

The following is a list of those already issued, price 1s. each.

January, 1886, princess under-dress (under-linen, under-bodice and underskirt combined); February, polonaise, with waterfall back; March, new spring bodice; April, divided skirt and Bernhardt mantle, with sling sleeves; May, Early English bodice and yoke bodice for summer dress; June, dressing jacket, princess frock, and Normandy cap for a child of four years; July, Princess of Wales’ jacket-bodice and waistcoat, for tailor-made gown; August, bodice with guimpe; September, mantle with stole ends and hood; October, pyjama, or night-dress combination, with full back; November, new winter bodice; December, patterns of Norfolk blouses, one with a yoke, and one with pleats only; January, 1887, blouse-polonaise, with pleats at back and front; February, princess dressing-gown.

Back to Index Next