Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1904)
. THE SUNDAY OBE GONIAL, POKCELAOT, FBBRUAEY 21, 190. LENTEN FASHIONS HAVE SPRING-LIKE A!"R JSfEVERTHELESS PUR TIPPETS WILL BE WORN - UP TO THE VERY LAST MINUTE THE street costumes nowbelng de signed, -while seeming to suit the Ixsnten season, have nevertheless a suggestion of Spring. Many Qualities of English homespun form a number of the materials, these and natty Scotch tweeds and suitings lending themselves stylishly to stitchings or braid trimmings. French broadcloth is likewise seen, the toilettes showing wide belts and other details of embroidered kid. Uttle velvet Is used on any of these gowns and -when it Is needlework, gen erally relieves the small quantity em ployed. Fur sets and knitted underjack ets give them the warmth required for the still "Wintry weather. So, when these mufflings are dropped the toilettes are made up without lnterllnlngs and In the lightest way it is easy to see how they may do excellent Spring service. First and still triumphant in the list of colors Is brown, which Is shown In more charming shades than ever. In the tweeds, homespuns and men's suitings, the brown mixtures are effective, but a reddish tint In a solid cloth or crepe is the latest fancy for this fashionable color. Brown kid, embroidered with -white, brown and orange, relieves an elegant costume in pale-brown cloth. To-the hip yoke of the skirts, which has a beetle dip at the back, the shaped bottom Is attached with narrow horizontal tucks, forming, as it were, a deep flounce. The jacket is in blouse shape; with the tail, cuffs and revers of the embroidered kid. The shoulders run down into an odd triple cape, ending short of the front, and the full sleeves are In puff shape. Everything is done to exaggerate the length of the shoulders of both gowns and wraps. Bo much is the drooping epaule admired that even the lace and chiffon pelerines are ofter alone designed to create this effect. The stoles, which are now worn openly mantilla-wise, are sometimes shaped into small capes, whose ends, which there curve into the figure, are gathered under the belt. Below the girdle the pointed or rounded bottoms fall, almost to the skirt hem. Nothing could be prettier on a slim figure than such quaint trappings. A stole and muff of silver fox. In a popular model give the February cachet to a plain gown In pale gray cloth. This toilette is eminently suited to Lenten wear, but the superb furs worn -with it demand chief notice. Despite the nearness of Spring, good furs still hold their price. The great demand for many skins has, in fact. In creased their cxpensiveness, and manufac turers declare that since the supply Is dying out, next Winter they will be dearer still. Meanwhile, the shops have been ransacked for every stylish bit in a desirable pelt, with the Intention of car rying them over to the new season, of course. Flat muffs and round muffs have received almost equal attention though the round models are Hkelv tn lnnc nut. live the others; but the careful observer was not slow to discover that the little cravats, which have been so fashionable this season, worn the favnritA nrMr-nlorAei A roll muff of sable fox sets off a dress In castlebar homespun. Browns, tans and whites are shown In this mixture, which taKes in the wearing an Invisible plaid. The belted Jacket Is dLqtlnrmlshPii Vi double tails, rounded at the front and MALABAR. HOMESPU'S A"D EMBROIDERED KID STYLES IX IEXTEX MATERIALS. deep enough to cover the hips. A small cape collar covers the shoulders and the I little revers turn back from a short era- I model with a stitched hem and a single I Men's suiting In grays and blues shapes J violet faced cloth. Men's suiting is an vat of sairron lace. The skirt is a goreo j sutcnea tuck or tne same wiatn. I anotner smart gown, ana anotner is or ( entirely new maienai in iemimne aepan ments of dress. "With all the Indistinct stripes and checks of the masculine textures, the weaves supplied for women are yet softer and finer. Black braids trim a number of the colored suiting gowns, but others even more stylish show only tailor stitching and & little turn-over; velvet collar. Faced cloth, as the title would Indicate, la differently tinted at-the two sides, and the gowns fashfoned in such textures ara made In a way to show both. Orchid vio leta new and delicate shade with the underside in mushroom white. Is the color scheme of one charming gown In French cloth. A novel shoulder cape displays the two sides of the cloth, the panels of the narrowly gored skirt turning back at the bottom for the same purpose. Silk and chenille passementeries and a violet silk braid are effective trimmings with this highly decorative treatment. ,For first Spring- wear nothing- more ef fective or suitable could be found than any of these textures. But It furs give the Lenten gowns a timely air, the straw hats worn -with them are decidedly spring like, and for quite three weeks straw hats have been seen. Those accompanying the tailored gowns In wool textures, however, conform to the requirements of the mo ment. In that their straw weaves are soberly hued and often braided with vel vet Odd turbans, with the brim widest at the sides and tying over the top of the crown, are shown In mixed and solid colors. Tiny steel buckles and narrow vel vet ribbons, in loos straps and flat ros ettes, trim many of these jauntily, and the shapes of other straw toques are so elaborate In themselves as to neect scarce ly any trimming. Many charmingly simple points distin guish the Imported hats. For one thing, several of the black or white hats are re lieved by a single bit of color, whlck lit erally meets the eye like a flash.. A tur ban of cafe au lalt straw and lace was wreathed with scarlet fuchlas. A draped toque of black" net was even madder, for loosely scattered over it were embroid eries of peacock feathers in natural blues and greens. Tlje slender head of the bird itself ornamented the front of this head piece. A swagger kink with a cloth gown that anybody might copy to their Spring ad vantage, was a scarlet pique vest- Thl3 was made exaatly as a man's waistcoat la made, with the exception of the close fit, and when the little black jacket was buttoned over it the effect was gay. Fronts and entire waistcoats of washable vest ings are said to be quite the thing for the moment across the water, though they are confined to gowns far practical wear. Belts, growing every day wider and ev ery day more decided as to contrast and elaborateness, begay the other sorts, dressy gowns of veiling, crepe and cloth. For example, a creation In bride gray cloth, a shade scarcely hued, Is girdled with scarlet crepe. A black cloth costume has a, peacock green kid belt, and a white pique dress a girdle In shaded violet silk. Still, Dame Fashion's favorite lecture is on sweet simplicity, and, despite the mar vels she Is dally turning forth, the talk Is not with meaning. How the thing Is done only those within the sacred ring can tell, but the most exquisite materials are made to achieve what might be called modest results. Nothing Is fussed or su perfluous, and with every detail in trim ming chosen as if the wearer's neck hung in the balance, the cuts of all garments are simplifying. And this dressmakers are willing to vouch for, for all the big sleeves, cape collars and trimmed skirts that women are wearing. MART DEAN. EXCELLENT NECK GCjMNASICJM FOR FIFTEEN CENTS UNIQUE EXERCISES THAT WILL TRANSFORM A THIN NECK INTO A THING OF BEAUTY TOR THE SIDE OF THE KECK. TIIE ELASTIC MAY BE ATTACHED TO THE VWALL. TEAM WORK CLEVER woman -with a slim neck and a slimmer pocketbook has invented the simplest and the cheapest gymnasium apparatus in the world. Tho slim pocketbook compassed the , 15 cents that It cost, and the slim neck is now being- put through a course of training- that is rounding it out to such an alabaster column as only a novelist can manufacture -without trouble. Fifteen cents' worth of white cot ton elastic ribbon did the trick. Tho ribbon was an inch wide and cost 10 cents a yard. A yard and a half was enough for the apparatus. She 'had visited an up-to-date gym nasium where a neck strap was at tached to one of tho pulley-weights, and she had seen the neoks of several pupils put through their paces. The strap was placed around the neck and then, by bonding in various directions, the neck was exorcised, while It strained at the weights. Now the clover little woman real ized that this training was exactly what her own neok needed. Sho had a habit of looking her mirror In the face and telling it the truth. The day before she had put on a locket and chain which belonged to her pretty sister, and the chain, meant To fit closely, had sagged low. while tho locket fell Into a miserable little hol low at the base of her throat. Yet the sister was by no means stout. "My neck is a fright," said this pain fully honest little woman. She vowed a great vow to give up evening- dress. But whon the neck strap in the gym nasium suggested her own invention, she plucked up cout-age and went to work to adapt her neck to the evening dress instead of the dress to the neck. "It has been bard work to do-tlop my neck." she says, "but It has paid. In fact. I think a pretty neck would pay for double the amount of effort. As pretty a. one as hers certainly would The side line, where the neck runs Into the shoulder. Is now a grace ful curve Instead of a rlgjit angle. The three hollows In front, which, her small brother had once dubbed the gi ant caves, are now only delicately rounded depressions. The neck is firm and smooth. She is proud of her little Invention, I and has spread the 'news of It among her friends. She has started a small fad for what the brother irreverently calls "Sister's Rubber-Neck System." "When she began her neck exercises she took them alone, nailing one end of the elastic to the wall, but she af terward developed a double harness. In this, she and a girl friend are practicing- together. To make an exerciser for two, a loop must bo made at each end of the elastic A little more than a foot of the elastic is used for each loop. The loops will not be large enough to pass over the head easily, but must be fast ened Tvlth a pin or a knot. A still neater device is to make a buttonhole in each end of the elastic, sew a but ton about 12 or IS inches from each end. then button each girl into her harness. "When this is done there will be a band of two feet or more between the persons. This band will give resist ance while you work. , For tho first exercise, stand face to face, just far enough apart to let the band be stretched trtthout straining. Place tho heels together. Hands oh hips, thumbs meeting at the back. Throw the chest forward, raise the head erect. By way of preliminary, take five Ion? breaths. Inhaling with the mouth closed and exhaling with It open. One of you must count, for If you do not work In harmony there will be some sorry tugging and jerking. At count one, throw the head back as far as possible; at two, bring it back to an erect position. Twenty counts of tills will be enough for the beginner. Tou should feel It a decided effort to stretch tho clastic, and if not, you must etand farther apart. The neck muscles must feel that they are working- hard. Now, turn back to back, taking the same position as before. Tou will find that the ribbon loops, adjust themselves naturally as you shift. Go through the Fame preliminary breathing as before. Now. counting in the same way, bend the head forward until the chin touches, and raise the head to an erect position. In this, as in all similar exercises, be sure that your neck does all the work. Don't allow any bending at the walsL Next, stand so that, you both face in the same , direction. Bend the head out ward. Count as above while you bend away from each other. Now. turn about so that your positions will be reversed and the one who before bent to the right will now be bending to the left. These sideward bends will exercise the muscles at each side, as the other exercises used those In the back and front. If you have no partner in your exer cise, make the wall do the work of the other girl. In this case there will be a loop in only one" end of the ribbon. The other end Is to be nailed securely to the wall. Tou can go through the same 'exer cises in this way with equally good re sults, although far less fun. This work can be combined with other exercises so as to break the monotony. For instance, when the two of you are standing back to back, you may place the fists on the shoulders, backs of the hands upward and elbows out at the side. Then, on the first count, while the head is bending forward, extend the hands and arms together until they reach outward horizontally, making a long, level stretch from shoulder to finger tip. At count two, whilo the head Is becoming erect again, curl, the hands Into fists, at the same time bringing them back to the shoul ders. If you are Ingenious, you will think of many other foot and arm exercises to combine with neck work. These same bendlnp motions can be THE SWEDISH FLAT STITCH A MEW FVD HARDANGER embroidery, called also Swedish flat stitch, has quite sup planted cress stitch in the affections of up-to-date women, who, however, will wear much cross-stitch embroidery upon their Summer frocks. Denmark, Sweden and Norway send this embroider, in which peasant and princess are Alike proficient. Eveh the children In Scandinavia do beautiful embroidery in this stitch. Imitations of hardangcr cloth, upon which the Scandinavians work this em broidery, are seen in all the Spring fab rics, from the embroidered flounces for underwear to the colored and figured linen suitings. The shops are also showing col lar, cuff and belt sets of scrim or hardan ger cloth, or an imitation of it, worked In all the delicate colors, as well as In the red and blue combinations known as Rus sian embroidery. Frocks or rather bands for trimming frocks and blouses display this embroid er', and It fairly revels upon table cov ers, scarfs, rugs, cushion covers, hand bags, fancy bags of all classes, curtain borders, lounge covers, bedspreads and on every conceivable thing that may be trimmed In this modish manner. The etttch resembles flat stitch In em broidery, but it Is done, as cross stitch Is, by counting threads, and the cross stitch and Swedish' fiat stitch are combined in any number of articles, particularly where colors are used and a rich effect desired. On large covers for tables and on small ones as well and upon covers for cush ions, the wcrk Is dona with large stitches and bright colors are employed; In Swed ish embroidery a good deal of yellow Is in vogue. There are a number of shades of different colors beautifully worked to gether, and wool Is used for the ground work, where shadowed effects are desired, and rope silk or embroidery silk for the high lights. A heavy, coarse weave of linen Is employed for this sort of work, and there are plaln-meshod weaves and basket weaves and fancy merderized weaves. In which the threads nr stripes may be rounted, as in cross stitch. Sometimes the embroidery s done upon the material without a background in deed, this is usually the case iuf many peoplo are willing to spend the timfe and money necessary to fill In the entire .back ground with shadows and figures of inde structible workmanship and beauty and richness. This work resembles tapestry, in a measure, where the background 13 all filled in, and both cross stitch and hard anger embroidery partake of tapes try work. and are done along the same lines and with the same material. (Swedish fiat stitch makes a superb li brary or dining-room decoration, where curtains, cushions, scarfs and covers for tables, when not In use, are all made of these rich colors worked in floral and scroll patterns In one of the oldest and most beautiful embroidery stitches known to mankind. Together with the passion for Scandina vian embroidery and fancy work comes a fad for decorating with Norwegian pot tery. Which has broad color schemes in the decorative patterns and a good deal of yellow In the plan. The lines are graceful,, but' Instead of round curves to the pottery there is a fancy for flat, sharp-edged sides and peculiar shapes. Basketware irt Norwegian colors and shapes Is brightly painted In broad sweeps of color,, and the weave has a mesh whose bands are. over an- inch broad. Trays, waste baskets, "wall pockets and all manner of articles.- that can be made In basketware are seen la tills work." How Careless. Cornell Wldo-w. There was a little girl And she had a llttla curl To the vanity of woman It attested; And when she -was pood She -was very, very good .Anfl.-Rhsn she -cat bad. s&e, was arrested. practiced without the elastic, but its re- sistance adds to the effort and to the good results. Twisting is as valuable as bending and Is practiced without any apparatus what ever. Taking a standing position, twist the neck as far as possible to the right side, then to the'left, four times each. Al ternate for four more counts. Increase the number of counts daily. If you will place the hand on one side of the neck while you are twisting toward the other, you will feel something that resembles the tugging of cordage. That same "cord age" gives promise of a Arm and round ed neck. Neck and shoulders can hardly be de veloped separately. "Whatever develops one Is of a certain value to the other. Their beauty must grow In harmony, for evening dress reveals them both. There would be little enough satisfaction in plump shoulders if a neck like that of a young ostrich should rise above them. "Work for their common good. For one exercise, raise the shoulders as high as possible, as If In an exaggerated shrug. Draw them forward as far as you can. "While they are still raised move them toward the rear, then drop them and push them forward again, thus keep ing up a sort of circular motion. Stop this exercise the Instant it becomes tiring to you. One of the simplest exercises known Is the best for filling out 'those melancholy hollows just In front of the shoulders. Stand with the arms extended, directly In front of you, palms together, thumbs up. The tips of the upraised thumbs should be on a level with the tip of the nose. Swing the arms slowly backward, always keep ing the thumbs on tho same level. Bring the arms back as far as possible, then swing forward again, and so on in a slow rhythm. Dumb-bells are particularly good for the shoulders. Use a bell that Is light enough for you to lift without effort. Holding the bells', drop the arms loosely at the sides. At count one. raise the bells slowly to the shoulders, doing this with an outward movement, which finally brings, the .elbows directly out at the sides. Lower the, arms' at count two. If you have no dumb-bells use light flatirons. If flatirons are lacking, or too heavy, use your imagination, aay to yourself, "I have a heavy weight In each hand," and go through the motions with that fancy firmly planted In your mind. This Is good training in mental concentration, besides being physical culture. Stand facing the wall, toes about two feet from It. Place the palms against tho wall at whatever height brings the arms horizontal. Fall forward until the chest touches the wall, then push yourself back to an erect position without moving- the feet. Vocal culture and massage with roller, ball, hand or the new bag, are of estab lished value In developing neck and shoul ders. Since the years of choking collars collars that belonged to the middle age3, when thumb-screws and broken glass for bare, feet were In fashion women are weeping over wrecked necks. There Is I no quick cure for these, but patience will accomplish wonders, in tne nrsc piace, forswear all collars that are starched or stiffly lined. Take advantage of this year's charming fad of soft stocks. Noth- Ing could be prettier than the new ones ornamented with Russian cross-stitch or satin-stitch. They fit the neck so per fectly that no stiffening Is needed to hold them up. :Lemon juice slightly diluted and per sistently applied tends to whiten the neck. A cold cream massage should follow each application. For serious dlscoloratlons, use a bleach made of 20 grains of sulphate of zinc and one ounce elder-flower ointment. Rub this mixture in at night and do not wash It off lintll next morning-. After washing; apply a mixture of 30 grains of citric acid and a half pint Infusion of rose petals. In some cases. Irritation of the skin follows this treatment, and a soothing lotion should be used after It white vase line, for instance, or an almond cream. In fact, the treatment Is not an every day diet for the skin, but useful in the case of freckles or stubom stains. CATHERINE MORTON.
