Show O o SPANGLfO SrtlNBOH Of fASHIONS t OVL TISi O I a cv I i ld c s t r f I n r J t Lit i t t r I 1 1 i B li f a I i 1 I o r itt it-t 7 J I rf I lrHr I I COMPOSITE COSTUMES New York Feb 3The season for I profitable bargain chasing is practically I oVEr and many an otherwise well balanced bal-anced feminine brain is whirling with I the problem of Easter hats and gowns I We are promised on the 3d of April a 1 recordbreaking display of spring splendors splen-dors Last year the flash of colors was unique and interesting but unless all signs fail the Easter parade of 98 will i In color go far ahead of anything we I ever believed the heretofore rather conservative I servative American oman could lend f nn fll herself to Every preliminary millinery opening so far has not failed to impress i i im-press all observers withthe very obvious f hbeon leOt vious influence of the Audubonsociety The smartest tokes and bonnets and i picture hats flaunt gorgeous bouquets i of ribbon in place of glassyeyed little songsters and it is undeniable that the I ribbon is answering just as well as the birds did for effective decoration The giddiest headpieces from Paris sent over as models fairly bristle with bows in the making of which there I has sprung up a small art all to itself nai st i Out of a dozen imported hats on one stand seven were marked for the predominating pre-dominating tones of yellow they exhibited exhib-ited and the other five were black and white Yedda and basket straws prevail pre-vail over the lately loved rice and Swiss weaves and nearly every straw has a satin finish STRAW NOVELTIES Perhaps one of the most conspicuous novelties of which we are destined to see a great deal later on is the rice straw woven with silk and velvet baby I ribbon and it was only to be expected that plaid straws should make a bold show They will undoubtedly be the feature fea-ture of the season and pretty too for with smart checked ribbon bright ornaments or-naments and bunches of gorse or heather they possess a style and cheerfulness cheer-fulness of color few women can resist Next in importance after the plaid are Roman striped straws that are be I also made to retreat as far as possible but any head covering that boasts the least brim is dragged far over the eyes Small bonents it is good to relate are henceforth to be tied on with strings Narrow ribbons are in use for this purpose now and the ribbons tie In quite a respectable arrangement of loops and ends just under the chin Later on the most becoming little wreaths of violets forgetmenots and cowslips fastened flat on trips of net are to be adopted as chin straps with gauzy theatre bonnets These last are scarcely more than little whiffs of white tulle or gauze sprinkled with black spangles and garnished with a tuft of roses on one side Wreaths of flowers fastened to the head by a big black comb are adopted with theatre toilets and another new style is a small coneshaped cap of net entirely covered with what are called sanguine red spangles and having two tiny ostrich tips curling up from the front like the delicate antennae of an insect A REIGN OF SPANGLES Spangles do not seem to lose in the least their prestige as the season goes marching on One dressmaker shows how she is making up expensive Scotch ginghams and French linens with spangled span-gled skirts and waists Of course these are not to be wash suits and of course they are only for women of practically unlimited wardrobe but the matter is significant nevertheless The French linens mentioned above are having a marked influence on the early shoppers for this goods is only linen in part is regarded as of tougher quality than the hest ginghams and is beautifully checked and striped in every ev-ery possible variation of red and blue The dressmakers say there is a distinct craze for making up all these wash goods on the bias and embroidery by the thousands of yards is also consumed consum-ed for the spring making of cotton matt ma-tt rials The musins and they are nearly all in bold primary colors embroidered in 1 fife t > M T ll I g S via t f a l r Y1 f lllix r i SPRING FROCKS lag tentatively offered here though they do say no lack of market for them Is found In Paris There they are to j wear loose soft straws in sailor shapes the brims sage green or gendarme bluer blue-r and the crown cerise clear yellow or warm dahlia purple A new Idea in the arrangement of trimmings Is to pile everything possible all on one side or to encrust the crown with whatever in the way of ribbon or flowers is preferred 1 pre-ferred and have the brim quite plain i In adjusting the headgear a toque If worn id set well back from the face I and this e > ct Is heightened by the up rolling bnm The small bonnets are I K LJI4 itiIid < S i black quite fancifully demand lace in I their composition or it is a popular I fancy to edge the countless ruffles on skirts and waists with narrow black j satin ribbon The color of lace that leads just now is described best as age yellow This has not a tinge of the butter gold in it t rso 1 eN dc elf but Is the soft mellow tint that comes to heirlooms long laid away in guarded i trunks Age yellow Is also the new and I pcpular color of the evening silks and satins taking the place of cream and I Ivory white This tint has come In with I the new straight watered line called I moire imperial Justice demands an P > Q 4r enthusiastic re recommendation of the bordered foulards which are just out and of the soft light lovely taffeta chi nois With its newfound border the foulard costume needs no other trimming trim-ming and for cool and beautiful summer sum-mer shirt waists the taffeta chinos Is sure to take the palm LENTEN MUFFS A bit of attractive frivolity that has caught the feminine fancy is the big chiffon muff It is black or any rich dark color you please has ample flounces on either end and the chiffon is painstakingly shirred onto a foundation founda-tion and lining of rich bright satin Sometimes a knot of violets or pansies or primroses Is fastened on the outside and within the muff perfumed like a sachet This ephemeral bit of prettiness was widely used at oreLenten weddings wed-dings and is likely to figure at those following Easter week I Along with these it Is as well to speak of what we may expect in the way of sunshades The early arrivals are as fluffy and downy as newly fledged chickens having garlands of ruffles festooning them within and without The ruffles are as often as not of crimped liberty silk scalloped to resemble rose petals and artfully tinted along the edges Silk and gauze sunshades are not only pierced with appliques of black lace but are most exquisitely painted in wreaths of flowers or groups of fat cupids or most lovely indeed on one skyblue dome was a long flight of whitebreast ed blackcoated swallows They were painted large about the bottom of the blue dome growing smaller and smaller small-er until they were only specs up near the ferrule Here and there white clouds were painted in and the whole spread of silk was mounted on a long malacca stick Much emphasis is of course laid upon the stick and in a batch of expensive ex-pensive parasols such novelties have been noted as a gold enameled handle having a tiny watch surrounded by brilliants set in the very end Another gold and crystal handle for three inches up is hollow and touching a spring off flies the gold cap and the empty space is filled with smelling salts Still a third has a slit in its ivory shaft into which slips a small goldrimmed lorgnon fastened to the handles end by a gold hinge The price of these Is commensurate with their beautiful material ma-terial and exceeding novelty but far more stable and quite as attractive are the gaudily striped and checked taffeta and gingham sunshades Some of these by the way sturdy fellows with caned wood handles are so arranged ar-ranged that at any time the cotton cover can be removed washed and neatly replaced again by whomsoever may own one An eccentricity in summer sum-mer umbrellas is In the shape of a golf driver or brassy rendered quite serviceable serv-iceable on the links by the simple scheme of buttoning a close leather cover over the tightly rolled silk and small ribs SPRING COLLARS Shirt waist collars would deserve more exhaustive consideration at the fashion chroniclers hands did they exhibit ex-hibit any marked variety over thos we wore last year So far everything rolls this spring and a good many cuffs as well as collars have scalloped and embroidered em-broidered edges or are hemstitched There is a fondness exhibited by tasteful taste-ful women for wearing plain lavender linen cuffs and collars with shirts of lavender and white stripes plain blue with achecked blue and black shirt and so on through the category of colors A slight diversity over the usual method is that of passing a bright ribbon twice around a rolling linen collar col-lar and tying it with a neat bow behind In front a pretty pin Is caught In the ribbon but this has not done away with the string tie of vivid plaid silk or a big cushion ascot made of the most lively striped satin is worn like a cheerful sort of plaster across many feminine chests Quaint and cool are the little lawn bands in pale yellow and pink and tan color folded narrowly and hooking secretly beneath the chin and very small accordion plaited lawn bows On the same counter with these are white Swiss muslin scarfs having their arrowhead ar-rowhead ends embroidered in black or deep yellow or bright blue flowers this marking one of the latest stages of the neck scarf MIXED COSTUMES A great deal of false prophecy is be ing made just now to the end that mixed costumes are to no longer be j adopted especially of an evening A mixed costume which consists usually of one serviceable dark silk skirt or a white moire one worn with a variety of waists is bound to be popular so long as there are women of taste and I limited means It is all very well for Mrs Astor to demand a skirt to match every evening waist she wears but this does not really affect the great laws of fashion and the shops and dressmakers showrooms show-rooms are full of evening bodices of the newest design to be worn with any skirt a wardrobe may supply A fair example of what is new in this line is given this week The little waist Is made of pale pink net flecked with dark green velvet dots and bark and front the net is laid in a series of plaits Every plait has an edging of green baby ribbon and the top of the bodice is finished by a broad scarf of mint green velvet drawn through two narrow brilliant buckles Mint green velvet epaulettes edged with net frills fall out over light net puffings that supply sup-ply the short sl eves and on the Irft breast Is fastened a knot ot t rise red roses and light garlands of smilax The three strings of big mock pearls tied under either ear with knots of green i hK i velvet ribbon Is one of the inexpensive inexpen-sive and pretty methods ofprnament Ing the throat so greatly in vogue just now The effect now striven for most earnestly earn-estly In those evening bodices is daring contrasts of color One pretty little thing of champagnecolored chiffon has a girdle of mandarin orange silk elbow sleeves of black velvet ana the square decolletage outlined in narrow flutes of chiffon heavily sprayed with silver Another and not expensive dinner ar arr r r i C AN EVENING BODICE waist was of white satin Its pouched front spangled ih pale green its close i elbow sleeves of turquoise blue velvet and its rounded peck frilled with ecru I lace very fascinating are evening bodices bod-ices of which the bertha Is composed I s1 rtftgw fyw shaded entirely of close set flowers geraniums or verbenas for example ILLUSTRATIONS But now to solid gowns The large drawing shows three spring goods and spring fashions No1 nearest the edge of the sketch wears a summer poplin a delightful goods half silk half wool and not quite transparent The skirt and under portion of the waist are delicate de-licate gray treated with gunmetal beads in the airy skeleton pattern repeated re-peated on the softly full waist on the short bolero of wisteria purple faille Under the silk shoulder epaulettes fall double rulllcs of cream lace and the sleeves are rucked and treated with lace at the wrist Mignonette green silk warp cashmere is the material of the second cut on a perfect princess pattern and garnished gar-nished with an applique of heavy white lace on the skirt Lace in a lighter I mesh but of a pattern and color to harmonize with the applique forms the berthe and the side drapery from the I shoulders which last is caught in at Intervals In-tervals by big cabbage bows of peacock blue antique velvet The third and simplest frock is a blue and white striped French linen garnished gar-nished with white linen embroidered In blue This forms the top of the body I and ornaments the sleeves while the skirt Is set off with narrow doubleedge I quilled ruffles of the same In the group of young people the little lit-tle boy wears a practical school suit of I the tough and inexpensive gray Iiome spun his norfolk jacket held in at the waist line by a belt of heavy dark leather lea-ther and his big tam oshanter cap is of red wool to match his red dotted l madras shirt For a girl of 11 is the smart striped blue and white gingham designed The I skirt Is laid in broad box plaits as Is the simple waist plaited below the yoke collar of white embroidery A girls gown for child of 12 years striped blue and white linen gingham Waist laid in three wide box plaits at back and front skirt full l gathered yoke of heavy white embroidery belt of white wash leather and collar of lllte silk hat a wide soft burnt basket straw trimmed with big band and bow of rosecolored taffeta ribbon Boys rough gray homespun suit nor j folk jacket with pockets set atop of I box plaits Belt of rough suit that buttons I but-tons behind and is worn with a hat of I burnt yellow basket straw trimmed with n big band and bow of rosecol I ored taffeta ribbon I I Finely checked red and white gingham ging-ham is the material of the little ones suit with embroidery sets oi the grcy cotton suit and beneath the strips of embroidery running from neck to hem and circling the waist and throat clear bright red ribbon is run M DAVIS drum existence In her husbands kraal If a Zulu man wants a wife he must pay for her in cattle and the payment Is made not to the girl but to her father The lover begins his negotiations negotia-tions by sending some men with a few cattle to his future fatherinlaw who If he Is favorably inclined takes snuff with the visitors and comes to an understanding un-derstanding with them In regard to the rest of the cattle which must be forthcoming II forth-coming It is to be feared that the parents anxiety as to the number of cows his daughter will bring quite outweighs out-weighs any considerations of her happiness hap-piness If satisfactory business arrangements are agreed upon the day is set and both sides prepare for it by learning new tongs and new dances The bride collects col-lects the stock of mats spoons etc with which she is to begin her housekeeping house-keeping to these are added the gift ota I ot-a blanket from her father some cattle cat-tle perhaps and always an ox which Is supposed to belong to the ancestral spirits Early in the morning the bride and her party bathe In the nearest stream after which they dress the bride often wearing a veil over her face then setout set-out singing and dancing toward the bridegrooms kraal The bridegroom his family and friends watch this crit ically till their turn comes when he with his sitters his cousins and hs aunts try to outdo the others When night descends kills a cow and gives it to the bride and party who have not yet entered the kraal The poor bride wanders around the kraal during the night followed by the women relatives of the groom She is crying for her fathers house where she was well lir chio treated and Is supposed to be trying to run away and the others to be preventing pre-venting her The next morning the bride surrounded rounded by her party of girls enters the kraal carrying a sear One of the girls carries a calabash of water and another one beads The bride takes the water and throws it over her husband and plentifully besprinkles the rest of his family giving her sisterinlaw a slap to show that henceforth she iso is-o be the mistress Doubtless there come many times In after years when the Zulu wife would be glad to repeat this part of her marriage ceremony The rites are ended by the breaking of the spear by the bride after which she makes a last dash for liberty but is I caught and brought back by a young man appointed by the groom If he ails to do so the disgrace is only wiped away by the further gift of a cow to the girls father The couple are now married and we hope live happily ever after ANNA NORTHBEND BENJAMIN |