The newest bonnets are still high in the front, or, if not high themselves, the trimmings are high.  The horseshoe crowns which were introduced in the summer bid fair to become extremely popular, and the stringless bonnet will be in vogue as long as possible, and I have no doubt many people will wear it through the winter, too.  Beaver bonnets are announced to take the place of kid or felt, and I have seen some black beaver crowns with open-work jet fronts, which appeared incongruous.

Leaves of all bright hues, the bramble and its berries, the blackberry, and the virginian-creeper, are likely to be in great favour for trimmings this autumn.  These will be used even upon velvet and beaver bonnets.

There is a very strong feeling in many quarters in favour of restoring the “princess” cut of dress to favour.  In a letter from a lady, it is very wisely said, in writing to a contemporary, “For active exercise, a dress ought to be cut all in one—­’princess,’ as the milliners call it—­and so arranged in the skirt that there is no drapery which will catch in things, come unstitched, and look untidy; everything wants to be taut and trim, like tailor’s work.  But even the ladies’ tailors will insist upon making a skirt and little jacket-bodice, instead of a dress in one piece.  It is almost impossible to use the arms freely—­to go out in a sailing-boat, for instance, and help in its management—­or, in fact, to raise the arms high, without causing a hiatus between the two parts of the garment at the sides of the waist.  I have noticed this happen so often, even with smart tailor-made gowns, the wearer being generally blissfully unconscious of the accident, that I feel bound to draw attention to it.

“It was curious to note the awful revelations made recently by a storm of wind on an elevated promenade by the sea.  Every steel stood out in bold relief even under the most bouffante drapery.  Upper-skirts broke away from the under, and displayed the sorry fact that the latter were only shams, formed of lining-calico, with patches of good material put in here and there, where the over-garment was cut open.  One neat tailor-gown revealed the cotton back to the pretty waistcoat, a pretence which is carried out in every suit of clothes made for men, but which seemed an aggravated offence to art in a well-dressed woman.  It was comforting to turn from such sartorial mistakes to a group of young girls sensibly clad in simple gowns, guiltless of pretence, of steels, or tournures.  Gathered bodices and full plain skirts, confined by broad sashes, combined the elements of grace and utility, and exhibited no foolish attempt to distort and pervert nature.”