Recent Trends In Fashion

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 87, 22 January 1938, Page 7

Recent Trends In Fashion

Fixing The Moving Waist Line

(From Our London Correspondent.) has been so much talk of low- * waisted models that women generally are delaying the purchase of new frocks, or the, decision, on style for anything they mean to have made to measure. They are' afraid that any gown which attracts them with the normal waistline ■ may prove '!to be an out-of-date model in a short time. Actually, there is no danger of sudden and drastic change of the kind which dates the entire wardrobe in the course of a few, weeks. Rumour may be justified to the extent that the next position for the waistline will be lower', rather than higher, than normal. The change is indicated in teagowns, hostess gowns, boudoir wraps, and all loosely draped garments. They are not cut on Directoire lines, nor nipped in at the waist, but are lightly held to the figure by wide swathed bands of Velvet, or some such material a few inches lower. Some house frocks show the loosely clasped belt in this position, but in general it is reserved for the fulllength, softly draped gown. Evening models maintain the normal waist4ine, and in the stiffer silks this is more pronounced than last season. Boning is introduced to give the 18th century silhouette, and the stiffened bodice continues in points below the waist. In flimsy materials there is seldom a belt of any kifid, and last year’s sashes have disappeared. Evening Wraps. The cape which ousted the ordinary useful little coatee, for wear with various evening frocks, is still liked, and the coatee is confined to a “mode of the moment’’—plain organza designed for, and worn solely with, a large-checked organza frock with a full skirt. There are lovely colourings in the organza ensembles, but they are too popular to last long in favour. The newest evening wrap is the cape of finger-tip length in face cloth. It is almost invariably collar-less, and—since an ordinary hem would be too solid—there is a deep irregular outline of punched-out flowers, or some such design, to give a scalloped effect to the edge. : The solid effect is also mitigated by a yoke of sequins, usually iij white or pale pink shades’ on a dark cape, or an entirely floral yoke of large petals, sometimes of organdie, flat and closely packed. An “Easy-to-copy” Frock. Mention of flower petals reminds me of a most attractive model which could be copied by the home dressmaker. It was made of one of the metal tissue materials with a leaf design in rather dull blurred shades of dusky pink, green and honey on a black net foundation. The foundation barely showed, of course, between the leaves of the pattern, but it was just significant enough to justify wide wing sleeves of plain black ret, hanging nearly to the knees. Single leaves cut from the material were appliqued on the wings giving a most attractive (and expensive) effect. In the original model the leaves were lozenge shaped about two inches long and an inch across at the widest part. There were about thirty on each sleeve, sprinkled quite irregularly, so, having selected a tissue with a pattern about the right size, you can easily estimate how much extra material you will require for decorating the sleeves. You can get a good deal, of course, from the cuttings of the frock. The model was

on very simple Princess lines, with , a low round neck, and fullness in the skirt springing from knee level. In clothes for day wear the interest is centred mainly in novel accessories and finishing touches. The new styles stress stitching and . inset panels as the most favoured trimming. Pockets are stitched round, and in many coats and dresses there are rows of stitching that appear to be out-lining patch pockets which are not there. There is, indeed, no limit to the ways in which stitching can be used, and you can exercise ingenuity in introducing it across the neck, round the cuffs, down the back, and on the skirt—all, or any of them. Jackets of “dressy” suits and bodices' of afternoon frocks often have two narrow panels of contrasting material inserted in the front and outlined with stitching. They run from the waist to a rather high point on the chest—one on each side of the centre-front, midway to the side seams. Their colour is not usually repeated in the suit or dress, but is matched by hat or jewellery. New Accessories. Fashionable ornaments for wear during the day are still massive, but wooden and bone “jewellery” is eclipsed now by oxidised metals and leather. Heavy bracelets are worn at the wrist instead of higher up the arm. Clips and clasps are large, and rather dark stones with a dull glow are preferred to anything of

the. sparkling type. The cult of the odd jacket and mas-

culine waistcoat has brought inevitable changes in button-holes, since the natural flower is obviously out of the picture. There are many attractive novelties in leather-work combined with metal!, such as animal models, mushrooms and acorns, and the smartest button-hole of all is a large fob of a semi-precious stone such as amber.

On an afternoon dress with a square neck, you can pm at one corner in front a fiat bow with a jewel drop attached to it, and wear the other jewel to match as an ear-ring at the opposite side. For cocktail frocks and evening dresses, there are new sets comprising a large clasp or brooch with its design (possibly a cluster of grapes) repeated in miniature in a pair of ear-rings.