FASHIONLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 135, 9 June 1910, Page 6

FASHIONLAND.

(Kroin Our-Lady Correspondent) liOJOXXtf, April 22? There is a moral superiority about wearing new clothes which, no virtue or intellect can confer upon us, says the Oracle in •"Tie Sketch," and ia a state of moral superiority, therefore, must the feminine world be regarded as moving i at present. Wet paint, a constant odour of soot and scrubbing water and all the other thousand and one abominations of tho ; British spring clean prevail within the house, but, without, old and young are bravely showing a welcome to the delicate spring. The change is, however, . fairly gradual from winter to spring rig-ont, and a canny cautiousness in discarding .thick clothes is observed. Ne'er cast a clout Till May is out is one of the many maxims implicitly obeyed by Englishwomen; and what is called, in the upper middle-classes, a spring toilette is, to my New Zealand eyes, but a -winter costume glorified. . Hats are of the daintiest in colouringand decoration, but their size robs them of beauty and constitutes them public nuisances, yet the latest fashion are they, d«ny it though we would! Many of the shapes are turned back sharply at one side, a style that becomes very few faces when the straw is hard. Others are turned up at the back. None are turned down. Huge Breton sailors are still prime favourites. Innovations that will be welcomed are silks in a waterproof weave, and tulle that will stand the rain, and both are to be bought. The fashionable skirt of the moment is narrow, seldom more, among Fashions' votaries, than two yards round the hem, the measurement narrowing from the knees downwards, and clearing the ground by about six inches. It doesn't sound pretty, it certainly doesn't look pretty, and if she must move about at all, the unfortunate wearer of one of these skirts may toddle or hobble, but never walk in the ordinary sense of that word. Neck ruffles in two shades of tnlle, one veiling the other, are pretty trifles that give a chic finish to a dainty frock. Satin or knotted silk ends veiled in tulle finish these off. Veils continue to be hideous, and a really sinfril innovation is the black, or, worse still, the white veil smothered with red spots that gives the impression that the wearer is trying to conceal evidences of measles or chickenpox. The marvel is, to croakers like the writer of this, that women can deldght to array themselves in garments that rob ■the owners of eveTy possibility of beauty. The strange turnout of a Solomon Inland lady is not more awful than some of the atrocities of London streets, in reality. Sunshades so far have only appeared for sale in the shops. Some of these are square in shape, with fantastic crook handles; others have handles made of carved wooden roses delicately coloured, or other flowers to match or harmonise with the gown worn. Some women, we hear, are even indulging their fancy by having models of their favourite pets made for sunshade handles. WOMEN IN SACKGLOTH. On ono great point all dressmakers in Paris and London are agreed, and that is that a note of demureness is the most desirable tone in dressing. At the preeent time vivid coloured gowns are not to be seen, and one of the newest materials for women's dress is tow-colour-ing, and rather a good imitation of ordinary sacking. It is a mixture of silk and wool, and is not by any means cheap. Strange incongruities -are to "be seen in the popular blending of materials. What, for instance, would have been thought a few years ago of a soft satin coat and skirt -with trimmings of linen, I wonder? Yet to-day it is artistic. A very graceful adjunct to an evening gown is the new sash drapery of soft satin. It swathes the corsage above the waist to a depth of about four inches, is fastened at one side with a large rose, and then falls down -the left side -of the skirt. Apropos of the new tight skirt, "Punch" has the following:— "Edith (breaking into a hop): 'Hurry up, Mabel; you'll never catch the train if you keep on trying to run.'"