A mixture of crin and straw à jour is also fashionable both materials are transparent: they are disposed in alternate bands, divided by tulle bouillonnés, or narrow garnitures of ruban à jour they are lined always with blue or rosecoloured crape. Crin is also a good deal employed, with a mixture of tulle or gauze ribbon. I may cite as the most novel of these chapeaux, those of crin à jour, disposed in chains of very small rings the brim is ornamented with narrow rose-coloured gauze ribbon ruches, placed three by three together, at some distance from each other. Nothing can be lighter or prettier than these petites ruches; there is no other ornament on the exterior, but the interior of the brim is decorated with tufts of red and white daisies mingled, and brides of broad white taffeta ribbon, edged with rose-colour.

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Notwithstanding the vogue of fancy chapeaux, those of paille d'Italie and paille de riz, though far less generally adopted, are still considered much more elegant. I have no alteration in the shapes to notice, with one exception, and that is the Marie Stuart, which seems to be coming a good deal into favour. The form is becoming to some faces, but not, I think, generally so it bends a little in a point over the forehead, and is very wide at the sides, so as fully to display both the hair and the flowers, mingled sometimes with ribbons, with which the interior of the brim is trimmed. Corn-flowers have lately been a good deal employed to trim these chapeaux, but the glare of the coquelicots is always softened by a mixture of other flowers, and with several of their own buds only partially opened; the other flowers are of a small size, and very pale colours. This shape is also seen in paille de riz, but more rarely; and the flowers adopted for them are of a delicate kind, and always mingled with ornamental grasses.

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are of embroidered muslin, bordered with festoons in open work. They are usually lined with slight silk, crape, or grenadine gauze; the latter has a very rich effect. Some scarfs of white tissu de barège, with richly-flowered ends, are very pretty; they are terminated with deep effilés, as are also a few plain silk scarfs of light colours. A few black filet de soie scarfs have appeared, but they are very little seen. Shawls of the same are more in favour: they may be trimmed either with black lace, or else with filet de soie, in imitation of lace.

Long shawls, of a half transparent kind, in cashmere patterns, are a good deal seen, and will probably be more so, if the weather continues warm: the most novel are of printed barège; they are long shawls, of the largest size; the patterns are those of the latest cashmere kind, very showy and large, with nothing, I think, but novelty to recommend them. Square ones, with borders in rosaces, or else quadrilled in satin stripes, are much prettier, and envelop the figure more gracefully. I think grenadine shawls are the prettiest of the fancy ones; they are very light, and drape perfectly well; they are quadrilled in colours upon a plain ground: there is a good deal of variety in the colours employed. The ground or the colours may or may not correspond with the robe worn with the shawl. China crape shawls are a good deal seen when the weather is cool or gloomy; they are expected to be more so as the season advances.

The materials for promenade robes at the sea side and the spas vary with the weather; thus on windy and gloomy days coutils and Nankins predominate; on bright and cheerful days, silks, barèges, and muslins only are seen. Coutil and Nankin robes have the corsage always à basque, and generally have it closed from the top to the Ribbons fill an important place in the trim-bottom by fancy buttons of different kinds; mings of chapeaux: they are so broad, and in such rich patterns, that they are very dressy. They are intermingled with flowers in the interior of the brims. Sometimes the stalks of the flowers are turned in the ribbons, or else they droop in tufts from knots. The broad rich ribbons that were introduced for brides in the early part of the spring are still perfectly fashionable, but not so general as they were.

Summer shawls have to a certain degree taken the place that pardessus used to occupy, but mantelets are still predominant. Those of coloured taffeta are most in request for the seaside; they are trimmed with broad galons, disposed in different patterns, always of a darker shade of the colour of the silk, or else black upon a dark silk, such as violet glacé de noir, or else deep blue or dark green, shaded with black lace or éffilé round the bottom is usually added. Muslin mantelets, trimmed only with festooned flounces, are a good deal in request for young unmarried ladies.

Scarfs have been seldom seen lately, but they seem likely to come again into favour. Some of different kinds have been lately worn by ladies of distinguished taste in dress: the most elegant

some are of fancy silk, others of cut steel, or silver. The corsage is trimmed with two or three rows of black velvet ribbon; they are of different widths; the broadest is always at the bottom of the basques. The sleeves, of a threequarter length over cambric ones, are cut at the bottom in four openings, and decorated in the same manner as the corsage. There are a good many redingotes of these materials. Some bave the corsage and sleeves made and trimmed as I have just described; and the front of the skirt closed by buttons of the same kind as those on the corsage. Others have corsages à revers of the shawl form; it descends nearly to the bottom of the waist, and is festooned at the edges; the centre of the corsage is trimmed with bran debourgs of a small size: they are continued down the centre of the skirt, increasing in size as they descend.

Redingotes of a 'more dressy description are principally of foulard or taffeta. Several are trimmed with ribbons of the same colour as the robe, but broché with velvet of a darker shade. The corsages are à revers, encircled with puffed ribbon, or ruban à la vielle; but the former is more novel. The sleeves are bordered to cor

respond. The skirt is trimmed en tablier with ribbon, disposed in the same manner at each side, and a row of knots placed at 1egular distances in the centre. There are a good many redingotes of plain silks, of neutral colours; these are trimmed with ribbon, the ground of the colour of the robe broché in groseille, poppy, or bright green or blue. I should observe that the ribbon is festooned at the edges in round scallops, and, being drawn full at the sides, has the effect of narrow ruches; the corsage opens in front, and the ribbon is disposed en revers; it nearly meets at the bottom of the waist, and descends from thence down each side en tablier, widening as it goes; the centre is ornamented with chour of the same ribbon, placed at regular distances, and of different sizes, large at the bottom, and diminishing as they approach the waist. The sleeves a three-quarter length, round, and of very moderate width at the bottom.

Muslin, silk, and barège robes still continue to be trimmed with flounces; they are indeed the only garnitures seen upon robes in the promenade; but they are now become so very common, and made in such cheap materials, that there is reason to believe they will soon go out of fashion. Nothing is certain about it at present, nor is there any talk of the kind of garni- | tures likely to succeed them. Robes of plain barège, of dark colours, are a good deal seen in promenade dress; they are deep blue, dark green, grenat, and black; they are trimmed with three flounces, bordered by satin stripes of different colours: the corsages and sleeves are bordered in the same manner. There are also some barèges quadrilled in black and cherry colour; the volants of these are bordered with cherry-coloured stripes.

Barège, particularly silk barège, muslin, and grenadine, are all in favour in half-dress, but not to the exclusion of silks, though the latter are in a decided minority. Peu de soie, which has been little seen for some time, is now more in favour than taffeta. These robes are of light colours, lilac, pea-green, pale pink, all glace de blanc they are trimmed nearly to the waist by three very deep flounces, the edges cut in large round scallops, festooned with soie terse. The corsage, a three-quarter height at the back, and very open on the bosom, is finished with a single plain basquine, also festooned. Two or three very narrow festooned flounces form a revers on the fronts of the corsage, which is closed a little above the waist by a knot of ribbon of the colour of the robe. The sleeves, a three-quarter length, are arched, and moderately open at the bottom; the under-sleeves, always of lace or bulle, are closed at the wrist by a band; but

flounces festooned in sharp points; they are 1 looped by a fancy silk button as high as the bend of the arm; the under-sleeves are bouillonés, or pagodas of embroidered muslin. Under-sleeves are more in favour than ever in halfdress toilettes; they are trimmed for the most elegant ones with expensive lace, or else beautifully embroidered. This, indeed, is rendered indispensable by the richly-trimmed or worked fichus worn with the open corsages now so prevalent. The skirts of the robes are trimmed high with flounces festooned in sharp points.

The fêtes recently given in Paris to the English that were invited over, have brought also a great number of our own beau monde from the country and the watering-places to assist at them. The ladies, in honour of their guests, laid aside the simple toilettes usually adopted at this season. As there is a good deal both of novelty and taste in these dresses, I shall cite a few of the most elegant. Some robes of the demi-redingote form, with corsages very open on the bosom, and demi-long pagoda sleeves, were composed of pekin, a white ground striped in rose-coloured stripes, quadrilled in brown. A small white flower was brochée between each quadrille. The two sides of the skirt, the round of the corsage, and the bottoms of the sleeves, were ornamented en revers with point d'Angleterre, headed by a ruche composed of narrow rose, brown, and white ribbons twisted spirally; the guimpe and the under pagodas were point d'Angleterre.

The corsages of some white barège robes were rather high on the shoulders, and opened squarely à la Louis Quinze: they were encircled with a narrow ruche of tulle, and the centre crossed with five rows of ribbon, with a knot in the centre of each, forming an échelle on the front of the corsage. The skirt was trimmed with three deep flounces, each bordered with a broad-plaided pattern in various colours. These hues were all united in the knots on the corsage.

Some white barège robes were trimmed with five flounces, ornamented with five stripes satinées in various colours. The sleeves were bordered to correspond.

One of the most remarkable robes was of mousseline de soie feuille de rose; it had three flounces, ornamented with a very broad gothic pattern, formed of a narrow white cordonnet. A large round berthe was entirely covered with the same pattern; it appears like broad lace in relief.

Fashionable colours are still the same, but white and pale rose-colour increase in favour.

being made very full, they form a large bouf- DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

fant;
this style of under-sleeve seems likely to

displace the pagodas.

Some robes of barège de soie have the corsages full upon the shoulders and at the bottom of the waist, forming a gerbe, and opening upon a fichu composed of entre deux and Valenciennes lace. The sleeves are of the demi-pagoda form, trimmed at the bottom with three narrow

FIRST PLATE.

SEA-SIDE PROMENADE DRESS.-Robe of one

of the new autumn silks; a high corsage, and sleeves a three-quarter length over sprigged muslin ones of a large size confined by wristbands. Mantelet of the same material, high and