Ladies' Column.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 652, 2 December 1908, Page 2

Ladies' Column.

FASHION AND THINGS... FEMININE. By Miss Ida Meller. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. A BLACK TAFFETAS BLOUSE. It is in the power of dress to do much for the improvement of the personal appearance, to render the stout woman less portly-looking", and to give the thin figure an air of becoming roundness. In order to look her best

a woman should study what is becominc. instead of being influenced in heir choice of dress merely; by,; what, fashionable. To slavishly follow fashion without taking- into consideration the needs of the individual is a mistake which scores of women are guilty of committing; and many, too,

run astray in the matter of colour. As : a rule','the woman with bright hair, commonly known as ''red," can successfully /wear the paler shades of green,'dark blue, and various browns, but should avoid pinks, scarlets, and crimsons; the blonde should wear pale rather than bright shades;, and the , brunette generally -;:\\fam\-- becoming colours 'in.v.;dkhiift'-''''*fjw3^, berry reds, Baxe-blue> &nd pale pink. To certain types, both dark and fair, unrelieved black or a black frock lightened by touches of ivory-coloured lace at the neck and sleeves, is one, of the most becoming modes that cant be adopted. To sue- ■ cessfully carry' off the all-black dress , a good complexion, is necessary; the "depth" of the dress then serves to increase, seemingly, the clearness ana delicacy of the skm. Those who from mouniing or other "reasons favour the all-black frock will, be interested in our blouse-sketch which. depicts a blouse ; of -black; taffetas silk unrelieved by lice or colour.' The front is arranged with small i box-pleats, ,•■.: distributed at regular intervals, the high collar is of unliried silk, drawn on whalebones, arid the sleeves are close-fitting and rucked to the arms.

SPRING FASHIONS. Never,' perhaps, is dress so interesting as at this season of the year, when heavy materials give vyay, to lighter ones, and all the prettiest, the. newest muslins, chiffons, and such-like, /airy fabrics suggest the coming of summer, heralded also by the garden bouquets of roses and other, flowers that bloom on the newest hats. But summer is yet a season off;, though its flowers are with us in muslin aha] silk—large, fullblown flowers that cross the ttbnt of hats or are wreathed completely round the crowns. A ne>v and pretty fancy in millinery trimmmgs is the" flat wreath of rose-foliage, that takes the place of a ribbon as a belt tor the crown of a hat, and is united at the left side or front by a market bunch

of roses. Other of the new straw hats are trimmed' with closely-<set.loops of wide soft ribbon, that' cover,the crowns and are held in front with buckles. See, for instance; the hat "that crowns the blouse-costume sketched. This costume is of flecked grey tweed, the skirt trimmed with three crossway bands of its own material, and the blouse arranged with a box-pleated centre ancfcinch-wide tucks, right and left. These tucks are not made until the shoulder seams have been stitched, as in this way they project, becomingly, slightly beyond the armholes.

A "HANDKERCHIEF" TEA* ':• ' . .; CLOTH. , Somebody once observed, "If you want your dinner-party to be a success from the outset, seek to charm the eye as well as the palate.'' There was wisdom in the remark, for dainty napery and highly-polished cutlary and glass, together with taste in dishing up, go a long way towards putting guests in a mood to be pleased with the viands. With regard to afternoon tea, the fancy table-cloth used for the occasion offers great possibilities! in furnishing a charming background hn dainty cakes, and so forth. . The novel little "five o'clock" cloth sketched is made from nothing more costly than four large pocket handkerchiefs and a few yards of torchon lace and lace insertion. The handkerr chiefs are joined together with'" two strips of insertion, laid cross-wise, and the square thus formed is edged with a frill of lace. The handkerchiefs might be embroidered in the corners with monograms or initials, or worked with nosegays of flowers, for the sake of decoration; but the cloth is quite effective without any such additions. Large-sized cambric handkerchiefs, of not too fine a quality, should; be used —gentlemen's handkerchiefs- not those sold for ladies, as the latter would be too small for the purpose. • V ~

;Filet lace, which is extremely, fashionable, might replace toi&tdnti . For supper tables it Js'fflpw the fashion to use strips of 10 inches or so wide; i'nsl^ffl|&Jjitge ; tablecloths, these strips bQiss<tfiig.the table, while in the centre table-square of lace-trimmed tiattjask or duchesse lace, or a silk, on which are the centre-ornament and other things. The damask border is hem-stitched or edged with lace, and is, of course, ; more \ ■'■ economical than the complete table-cover.