The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 22, 1901, Page 4

HIE NEW —_ s THE NEW YEAR CALL; THE NEW YEAR GOWM / —_—— Both will be revived this year and many beautiful Nov- elties in the way of Dress and Dress Trimmings will usher in the year 1902 _Costumes to be worn at the New Year ‘“Occa- sion’ of the Countess de Cas- tellane—Preparations for the White House reception—Miss Helen Hay’s charming but subdued crepe de chines—Mrs. Gebhard’s new gowns. - O be at home on New Year's day is a delightful occupation for any woman. It gives her an opportun- ity, while extending the greetings of the new twelvemonth, to wear a gown designed for the occasion, one that shalt be not only fresh, but typical of the styles of the coming-year. A typical New Year gown must come bine these qualities: It must be in style. Its material must be one of the stan- dards. It must be of the full dress order. 1t must have characteristics that appeal to men callers as well as to women. It must be becomingly chic. e It must be of good color. 1t must “light up” well. The New Year gown is so indicative of the fashions of the coming year that if ail the New Year. dresses of all the women of fashion were gathered together in one fashion exposition there would be shown the modes that will prevail the'coming year. The French have a way of turning out positive novelties for the octcasio and in the New Year drawing-room o the Countess de Castellane there are gathered representative gowns that show ‘all the little touches that mark a chax:g: of style. For it is at this time that fashions really change. A Conventional Gown. The conventional New Year gown may be high in the neck, for in this country one throws open one’s house and all the world is bidden enter. Besides this, the own is put on early in the day, and un- ess the house is to be darkened to simu- late night the low-necked gown would not be in good taste. The skirt of the gown should be en train. We are returning to the court train, and the skirt can scarcely be too long. It shouid drag upon the floor mary a foot, and be stiffened so that, instead of a draggly tail, spiritless and aesthetic, it stands out a proud follower of the gown. Besides being trained, the skirt should be long in front, so that it touches the ground just where the slippers peep forth, and if rightly planned it should also touch upon the sides. It is the'hu‘rd’- est thing in the world to hang this fuil dress gown, and in the making of it many a modiste ‘‘falls down’ hopelessly. Prop- erly done, it 1§ a conception of styie, a consummatipon of art. A gown that caught the eye and riveteld it was madesfor a New York debutante who will receive with her mother for the first time this New Year's day. She is a maiure looking girl, rather plump, of the blonde type, almost pretty, with a Wil- na freshness and of the charmingly vivacious order which enables its owuer to wear gowns that could not be carried off by u girl who dresses herself stiffly. This studying of character, as it were, {s an important thing for any woman who is planning a New Year gown for herself. If she be listless and Jackadaisical, let her select a frock that is interesting in itself—one that is a study without its owner; a gown that would be good if hung upon a clotheshorse. There are plenly of these dresses in these days, made up in a composite of lace and silk, satin and jewels, that, while not too rich to be in good taste, are certainly of great interest from a study standpoint. On the other hand, if a girl be vivacious and interesting in herself—it is difficult to differentiate, but everybody understands— then she need not rely so.entirely upon her frock. She can go into set and con- ventional gtyles if she so pleases. A New Year Ideal. A New Year gown made for the debu- tante who is to receive with her mother has twc bodices, cne for day and one for evening. jetween day and dark, when there is a lull, the young woman will steal away and slip into the evening waist. In Gotham old New York and new are mingled, and there is a division between the New Year call of day and the one of night. The old New Yorkers—those who made calls upon one's grandmother—are the ones who call before 4 o'clock, begin- ning to drop in at 11 in the morning. In the evening, well mellowed, they go home for a quiet evening around the hearth stone. The New Yorkers that belong to the newer days, on the contrary, start out at & as though going to an afternoon tea, and until midnight, and after, they make merry with greetings. Between 4 and § there is a lull in the home, and the girl who wishes to change her gown can slip into the decollete bodice. The debutante’s gown is built of flow- ered silk, not of the thin order, but ex- tremely heavy; brocaded silk would per- haps be a better word, though the flowers do not look entirely like the brocade which one understands as such. The groundwork is a pale gray, and growing all over it are great pink tulips, life sizs, with long yellowish green stems. The flowers are closely clustered near the hem of the gown, but grow scarcer toward the waist line. To accomplish this marvel and maka the gown look as though it were a pattern dress there is recourse to embroidery, Embroidered tulips are used upon the hem of the skirt, and between the bro- caded figures the embroidered flowers grow thick, A Long Train. There 18 no other trimming upon the skirt, which has a long train, round and stiffened to hang out straight from the back of the waist, where it has its start. The skirt shows a lining of crocus col- ored taffeta and around the foot there is the little plaiting of pink chiffon, with white lace over it, for that dainty foot touch so much liked. With the high necked bodice for day wear there is a little bolero jacket of flow- ilk, sleeveless, with a deep pointed ar overlald with lace. A full lace ufii dg he collar, Under tl little blouse bolero there {s worn a Irt waist of chiffon, This is very full .xlnl fon is shirred over silk. The sleeve » cut in princess fashion; that puffs with bands of silk runni | the arm, strapping down the cl n, 1 ake elbow puffs, A deep tAl,\! hiffon vers the hand. T e of those simple things in pink § with ribbon traced upon it to mal design. 'The stock can }::.l‘\ i L'l‘”‘ | these days for it needs gir S r & few appliqued A stock showing much quiet taste was worn by Mrs. Frederick Gebhard. It was made of box Flaited silk with a panne vel- vet rose appliqued upon each one of the box plaits. At the back the plaits flared, while the sides were stitched flat. In a gown whose sweeping length will not per- mit her to fake her time-honored position in front of the mantel, but will force her into the very center of the room, in order that its yards may be uninterrupted, a very fashionable woman will receive her New Year guests, As well be out of the world as out of fashion, and she who cannot receive in this manner can come very near to it by putting on her best gown and bidding her guests welcome from the mantel. There is to be a general revival of the New Year call this year, and not only of the call, but of all its attendant customs. Front doors will be opened by small members of the family, the ushers will be impromptu ones—college boys home for the holidays—the luncheon table will be visited by the young women who assist the hostess, and the whole will be done in that old-timey fashion which makes one think of George Washington and Martha. The ‘“first lady’ of those days gave her guests only tea cakes and wine, but her train was long and her manner cordial and accompanied with some ceremony. The parlors of the dressmakers have looked like the show rooms of the import- ers of Jate, for there have been spread out upon the carpets yards and yards of material, all attached to skirts to form long trains. Not pointed were the trains, not soft and swishy, as a little seamstress put it, but long and stiff, stately and space-defying. A crinolined train—for many of the trains are crinolined—is a thing terrifying to the woman who has never tried to walk in it, but, once on, the figure adapts itself to the train with amazing swiftness. If well stiffened it hangs out from the feet and is really not a difficult thing to man- age, in gpite of its apparent impossibility, in a small room. But the soul of woman worries not so much over the length of the train and its possibility of management as over its ex- ¢