Dress: In Season and In Reason
By A Lady Dressmaker

I daresay some of our girls have been looking with interest on the struggle of the poor "pit brow women" to keep their work at the pit bank. These women, by the most trustworthy accounts, seem model workwomen : industrious, respectable, and often supporting their families by labour (which if hard, and not overly cleanly, is very exceptionally healthy) and setting an excellent example in every way to their brother working men, who, I fear, are seeking in the abolition of the "pit-brow women", a rise in their own wages. The complaint brought against their work is, that they have to perform it in trousers and tunic, thus adapting their costume to their work; and this complaint seems the more extraordinary and absurd, when Lady Harberton and many other women eminent in letters, science and reputation, are advising the adoption of the divided skirt; when many millions of Her Majesty's women subjects in the East wear the trouser as their national attire; and when it is the dress prescribed for bathing and the gymnasium. It is not every woman who is fitted for domestic service; nor can she obtain work which we, perhaps, should think more fitted for her. Meanwhile, little mouths must be filled and the old and helpless must be fed and clothed, and our brave sister-women don the most suitable decent dress, and sally forth to the labour at the pit-bank, hard and uncleanly though it may be; but if no other be at hand, what can be done? According to one woman, who had twenty years' experience of both domestic service and pit-mouth work, she prefers the latter! So it is not from healthy and congenial employment at fair wages that our women and girls need to be protected. Mr. Matthews, in receiving the deputation of these industrious "pit-brow" women, laid down a very fair and sensible aphorism, "that grown up people, both men and women workers, ought to be trusted to know their own business, and what is good for them;" and it is from the women themselves—not from men—that complaints should come. "Have salt in yourselves, i.e., spiritual wisdom and vitue," holds as good to-day as 1800 years ago; and we women and girls have special need to follow it, for we are too liable to be led by mere opinions, and not to think for our true selves.

I am always anxious that my girl readers should think on all these daily subjects of women's work; and so I mention everything touching their dress and clothing as it comes

And now, from seasonable news, I must turn to the subject of the new styles that have been adopted since we entered upon this changeable spring, in which it has been so nearly impossible to wear spring dresses. In the Park I see nearly as warm clothing as the winter months. Last Saturday morning there was but little appearance of summer there, so far as clothes were concerned, woollen and velvet and silk being the prevailing costumes. This year the Princess of Wales has seemed to favour brown in various shades, and truly some of the new ones are very becoming and pretty. On Saturday she had a brown mantle and bonnet to match; and the young princesses had pretty hats of a dark reddish shade, with light coloured "covert coats". Very large but very invisible plaids were worn, and also many gowns with small spotted patterns on them, the spots being white. Ribbons tied in long clusters of loops are worn on the skirts of many of the spring woollens. If the gown be grey, the ribbons are often white, the same long clusters of loops being placed at the side of the fronts, or on the left hip. The most becoming costumes at the present moment are in different shades of heliotrope, which appear universally popular; and I also noticed that tan-coloured gloves were worn when the entire costume was of heliotrope: while heliotrope gloves were much used with black dresses, in all shades of the colour, having the place of lavender kids.

The spring woollens and cottons are some of them very pretty. Some of the new cashmeres, in all colours, 46 inches wide, and less than two shillings a yard, are quite wonderful bargains; and the summer serges are also low-priced and good. The same may be said of beige, which may be found as low as ninepence a yard, all wool, of excellent quality, with the new checks and stripes, as well as the plain surface. In fact, the choice of woollens could fail to find what they want. Alas! it is a stern and faithful testimony to the cold and changeable nature of our climate, that their range should be so great, and that woollens of delicate hues should have so largely take the place of cottons and linens.

The newest cottons look as nearly like woollens as possible, having white frisé loops over plaided grounds; and even zephyrs show the same style of weaving, with thick cords and coarsely-threaded canvas weaving. Lace and zephyr, women in chessboard squares, of close and open weaving, is very pretty; and so is the lace-striped zephyr, which will make up into pretty best frocks at a small expense. The range in cottons is immense, from sateens, lawns, and zephyrs, to crimped cottons, under their different names of Arabian and Damascus, to cambrics and blue linens.

So far as possible at present with these long draperies, they should be made to tie up with tapes, so that they may be undone easily for washing, and by good management even some of the bought skirts can be thus arranged, to the infinite comfort of the washerwoman and the better appearance of the frock when washed. Embroidered lawns are made much as thin woollens are. The bodices are pointed, and have a vest-like trimming of the embroidery. Full bodices are laid in very narrow pleates from the point to the waist line, and then left loose to about two inches below the throat, when the small pleats are put in again. The backs are sometimes made in the same manner. The back drapery is still plain or caught up in small pleats at the waist behind.

The basque bodices of woollen gowns are very often edged with cord, and some of the newest have the edges of the basque double-piped again. The revival of the plain round underskirt is very marked, and they are much used with polonaises; but a change is made in using the light material for the underskirt and the dark for the polonaise. Two very favourite colours to be used together are myrtle-green and almond colour. Many of these fine woollen skirts, being very soft, are lined with horsehair, to give them a little substance.

The Norfolk blouse in its varied forms, but generally with pleats back and front, is as much worn as though it were just invented, and seems to be a garment becoming to everyone. There are variations to its form, one of which we give as our paper pattern this month. The sketches are very representative of the season's fashions, as they deal with tennis flannels, embroidered robes, and black silk dresses, which are coming more than ever to the front as the ordinary best gown of the Englishwoman.

The zephyr gown, with parasol of the same, the crown of the hat also having some of the same material on it, shows the way of making these pretty dresses. The original was a grey zephyr, with red design, the cuffs, collar and front being of red sateen, and the bunch of ribbon at the side of red gros-grain. A red bow trims hat, and also the parasol.

The gowns of tennis flannels show both plaided and cross-barred flannel, and I have given two examples of black silk dresses, showing the plain but graceful draped skirts. The summer travelling mantle may be of fine flannel or of pongee silk or alpaca. The three summer mantles show exactly what is worn in the way of out-of-door coverings. The small sleeved mantelette is very suitable for deep mourning, made up in plain crape cloth without crape trimmings.

Last but not least, I have illustrated a pretty method of making up one of the embroidered Swiss lawns or zephyrs which are so prevalent in all the shop windows in every different colour and shade of colour. These will make cheap and pretty summer garden-party dresses, and if kept clean and carefully ironed should not want washing during the summer. Then with a change of ribbons and a few alterations, they will answer for small and early winter evening parties quite well.

The paper pattern selected for this month's issue is one of the new loose-fronted Garibaldi bodices, with a tight-fitted back like a dress bodice, a most becoming as well as novel shape. If made in a printed flannel, as they generally are, they are not lined, and are very easy to make indeed. Unless the material is most flimsy, they never need lining. The amount of material required is from two and a half to three yards, depending on the width of it. The fronts are finished with a plain hem, the hooks and eyes being put on between the hems, so as to be invisible. The edge is simply hemmed in the machine. The pattern consists of nine pieces—two sleeve-pieces, one collar, one cuff, front, back, two side-pieces, and a band. The collar is of turnover shape, and is stitched each end. Price of pattern, 1s.

(The Girl's Own Paper, June 29, 1887