VII.

Carrying a large bouquet at an evening party, and omitting to ask her partner "if he understands the language of flowers."

Spring Fashions.

[Illustration: FIGURES 1 AND 2.--DRAWING-ROOM AND BALL COSTUMES.]

The sunny days of April, after our long, cold winter, are peculiarly inviting to promenaders, who have been housed for four months. Fashion, always on the alert to please, and as prompt in her ministrations, as the breath of spring to the buds, is unfolding her beauties in the world of mode, and, within another month will bring forth her creations in full bloom. In the mean while, new costumes for the drawing room and the saloon are not wanting. We present our readers this month with a report of in-door costumes only, but hope to give them something acceptable in our next, concerning dresses for the carriage and the promenade. The fabrics and colors suitable for March yet prevail, with few changes.

The figure on the right (Fig. 1) in our first illustration exhibits a FULL DRESS TOILET, at once rich, chaste, and elegant. It is particularly adapted to youthful matrons, or ladies who may have doubled their teens without being caught in the noose of Hymen. The head-dress is very elegant. The parting of the hair in the middle of the forehead is very short, and the whole front hair is arranged in small curls, short in front, and gradually lengthening toward the sides. A band of pearls goes all round the head above the curls, and is brought round behind to hold the back hair.

Dress of antique watered silk, open all the way down from top of body. The body is cut so as to form lappets and has no seam at the waist; the lappet, quite smooth, goes round behind. The skirt is put on and gathered just under the edge of the lappet. The trimming of this dress is silk net in puffed _bouillonnés_. There is some round the body, on the sleeves, and all down the fore parts of the body and the dress. The _bouillons_ on the top of the body and sleeves are confined by pearl loops. A rich brooch of pearls and diamonds, conceals the junction of the _bouillés_ at the top of the body on the breast. The _bouillonnés_ of the edges of fore part are confined by pearl cords, and at every other _bouillon_, the strings of pearls are double and go from one edge to the other. The body leaving open a space of two or three inches at the waist, just shows the bottom of an under-body of white satin. The under-skirt is satin, embroidered to represent an apron, with very rich pattern worked in white silk and with the crochet. Two rows of Alençon lace decorate each sleeve; a little white chemisette reaches beyond the body. The silk crochet embroidery may be replaced by one executed in silver, &c.

FIG. 2.--BALL COSTUME.--The season for balls is about closing, yet we give another illustration of a very elegant style: Hair in puffed bands; wreath of roses, laid so as to follow the curve of the bands, forming a point in front, and meeting behind in the back hair. Dress, white satin, covered with embroidered silk-net, and ornamented with bouquets of roses. The body is close, plain, and straight at top, and cut in three pieces in front; the point is long, the silk-net of sprigged pattern is laid even on the body, and follows its cut. The satin skirt has hollow plaits, and the net one is placed over it, so as to puff a good deal, without following the same plaits as those in the satin skirt. The effect of this black silk-net with black flowers over white satin, is very striking. In the front of the skirt, and from left to right, ten or eleven bouquets of moss roses and rose-buds are scattered at random, and this is a most appropriate occasion to apply Boileau's verse, in which he says, that "fine disorder is the effect of art." The short sleeves are puffed a little, and are trimmed with _engageantes_ of scolloped-edged black blonde.

FIG. 3 represents a portion of an elegant DRESS-TOILET. Over the head is seen the upper part of a rich _sortie de bal_ of white silk, trimmed with broad white galloon, watered, rather more than three inches wide. This galloon is sewed on flat about an inch from the edge. A galloon of an inch and a half begins at the waist, and comes, marking the shape of the breast, to pass over the shoulder, and form a round at the back. The galloon serves as an ornament, and it is below that the body of the garment assumes the fullness for fluting. A double trimming of white, worsted gimp, embroidered with white jet, forms a pelerine. The upper one is raised, like a _fanchon_, to cover the top of the head, without muffling the neck and chin. The bottom is also trimmed with a deep gimp, gathered, in sewing on. The dress is yellow _moire antique_, figured with a lampas pattern, reaching to the top. In the front, at the middle, by an effect of white satin, obtained in the manufacture, the imitation of a beautiful white ribbon is interwoven in the figured part, beginning at the waist, diverging on either side as it descends, and running round the bottom of the skirt. This admirable dress has received the name of _Victoria_.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--DRESS TOILET.]

We denominate FIG. 4 a FANCY COSTUME for a little girl, because it has not been in vogue for the last three-fourths of a century. It represents the costume of a girl at about the time of our Revolution.

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--FANCY COSTUME.]

It was the dress, not only of children, but of girls "in their teens." It must be admitted, we think, that Fashion has not grown wise by age. In elegant simplicity this costume is far in advance of the flaunting exhibitions of finery, which little girls of our day often display. We recommend it to our Bloomer friends, as a practical historical evidence that their notions are not "new-fangled," but have the consecration of age, and the sanction of the generation when our good Washington flirted with the gay belles of Virginia.

[Transcriber's Note:

Variant spelling has been retained. Minor corrections to punctuation have been made without note.

Oe ligature denoted by [oe] in the text version.

Superscript denoted with caret (^) in the text version.

A Table of Contents has been provided for the HTML version.

Small caps replaced by all caps and italics denoted by "_" in the text version.

Correction of printer's errors:

Page 588: "...would to tend the horses..." changed to read "...would be to tend the horses..."

Page 595: "...the fasts, the v.gils, the penances..." changed to read "...the fasts, the vigils, the penances..."

Page 606: "...aided by my colleage, Moulins..." changed to read "...aided by my colleague Moulins..."

Page 607: "...that thunberbolt may be..." changed to read "...that thunderbolt may be..."

Page 607: "...sagacious transferrence of the meeting..." changed to read "...sagacious transference of the meeting ..."

Page 661: "...he said was one one of the counsel..." changed to read "...he said was one of the counsel ..."

Page 665: "...himself to Borriboola-Gha..." changed to read "...himself to Borrioboola-Gha..."

Page 666: "...made a similar responce." changed to read "...made a similar response."

Page 666: "...the utmost discription Ada could give..." changed to read "...the utmost description Ada could give..."

Page 678: "...it it was Woman..." changed to read "...it was Woman..."

Page 687: "...Douglas could scarcly have called him ..." changed to read "...Douglas could scarcely have called him..."

Page 690: "...the man was a a match..." changed to read "...the man was a match..."

Page 693: "...washing the dus: this is..." changed to read "...washing the dust: this is..."

Page 696: "...Lord Lieutenant of Ireand; Duke of Montrose..." changed to read "...Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; Duke of Montrose..."

Page 696: "...a good deal of skil and bravery..." changed to read "...a good deal of skill and bravery..."

Page 706: "...the color of the shiling there?" changed to read "...the color of the shilling there?"

Page 708: "...she was a reremarkable woman." changed to read "...she was a remarkable woman."

Page 710: "...the Greek Professsor in the University..." changed to read "...the Greek Professor in the University..."]