_Fig. 2d._--Dinner or evening-dress of pale rose-colored watered silk, made perfectly plain, with a tunic skirt end _berthé_ cape of a white brocaded pattern. The hair is arranged in very rich puffs and bands, and dressed with rose-colored plumes falling to the throat. EMBROIDERED DRESSING-GOWN. (_See Plate._) We give the pattern of a beautiful dressing-gown in needle-work embroidery. It may be done on plain cashmere or merino for winter, or muslin or cambric as a summer dress. It consists of a petticoat and sacque, the latter loose, with flowing sleeves. CHITCHAT UPON NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA FASHIONS FOR FEBRUARY. February, with its few mild days, is still to be reckoned as one of the winter months by dress as well as the calendar. The shop windows themselves present very few novelties, and the side-walk none at all. The endless varieties of cloaks and mantillas--the Hungarian, the Galeta, the Nabob, the Victoria, the Norma--are still in season, and the winter bonnets, with their profusion of trimming inside and out, will be worn until April. We particularly notice for the benefit of those having a large or expensive stock on hand, the edict of a late foreign fashion journal: _although large collars are the fashion_, it must not be _supposed_ that _small ones are altogether laid aside_. They are still worn with cloth and merino dresses, and for the street, as large ones do not set well over cloaks and mantillas. Plain linen collars and undersleeves are still worn for the street, and travelling, and for the morning. For making dresses, there are every variety of sleeves. For morning-dresses, the fulness at the wrist is gathered into a wide cuff turned over. It is a mistake to copy the full-puffed or slashed sleeve of Charles V.'s costume with any other style of waist. Such fanciful costumes should not be copied piecemeal; they lose all their effect. Better be a little behind the fashion. Costumes invented for rich materials expressly cut a very shabby figure in mousselines or chintzes. Basques are as much in fashion as ever, the favorite style being renamed "Odette Bodies." The basque, or lappets, being of the same piece as the body--not attached to it, but gored out, as it were, over the hips. For slender waists, the Parisian dress-makers have used gathered bodies, with the lappets sewed on, as the Odette body, being quite plain, is not considered becoming. We conclude our chat by an article upon mourning, copied from a valuable little publication, to which we would call the attention of our lady readers. The title is significant--"HOW TO MAKE A DRESS: _a Help to those who wish to Help themselves_." The American edition is altered and enlarged by our own editress, from whom we quote the following chapter:-- "MOURNING. "Some guiding hints as to the choice of mourning goods, and the general effect of close and half mourning, may not be amiss.