FASHION NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 43, 20 February 1926, Page 26

FASHION NOTES.

(By AN EXPERT.)

PARIS, 'November 4. My fancy just now lightly turns to thoughts of dress! This is such an exciting time of the year for new clothes, and the vision one sees of them in Paris haunts one perpetually. Enchanting things are shown, not ouly in afternoon dresses, coats, and millinery, but also in negligees and lingerie. As for dance frocks, they are things to dream about. At our shops one sees large areas iii the display of new materials, all shimmering and blazing, the massive brocades and metal fabrics of other seasons being translated in lighter terms. There seems to be miles' of gold lace, silver lace, gold nets, silver nets, and flouncing, fringes, tassels, and metal laces. Of course you know that velvet is the star material of the season? If you want to be one of the "stared ats" instead of the "starers," get a velvet gown, of the softest possible kind you can buy, have it made with the utmost simplicity, ■with a little square neck, and long close-fitting sleeves, a very short skirt, ropes and ropes of pearls, real or imitation, and there you most beautifully are! And if you want to climb still higher, and reach the topmost rung of the ladder of "chic," buy a yard or so of silver or gold soft kind, line it in black crepe de chine, collar and cuff it in fur, and top it with a gold or silver toque. If you find this coat not sufficiently warm, you can line it in rabbit skin or pussy skin, as you like. A Neglige is Ageless. Some of the most compensating results in the harmonising of new ideas modelling, in trimming and colour, are shown in the latest negliges. A neglige is ageless, lineless, and is pledged to no scheme to change the "figure." It is the most flattering, most indulgent type of costume, a costume expressed in terms of more artistic license than any other in a woman's wardrobe. Its possibilities are boundless—a fabric of dreams, of elusion, of grace and loveliness. In this season's styles, there is one pattern of neglige—the single, supreme requisite of this most intimate costume d'interieure being beauty. The Oriental Mandarin coat, loose trousers, and other picturesque garments of the Chinese with which we are familiar, are admirably adapted to the neglige. Such a costume may be highly decorative, and ultra-smart for teatime. These Mandarin costumes in satin, embroidered in metal, either gold or silver, and with loose trousers that lit tightly to the ankles, are extremely fetching. The Collar that Serves Two Masters. A collar must serve two masters, the face above it, and the shoulders beneath. It must preserve a delicate balance between them, favouring neither unduly, and, in addition to being becoming to both, it must be appropriate to time and place. Perhaps you think that is too much for a collar to accomplish. Perhaps the collar is to you, only a collar, and nothing more. But consider these. There is, for instance, the blue linen collar, which emphasises the deep still-blue of blue eyes, and the clear white of a white skin. There is the ■white organdie collar, with a yellow picot-edge for a piquant round face. Is a chin even more delicious, than when seen through white organdie? Then there are so many things to do with a mantilla, first cousin to a collar. For a brunette it is absolutely perfect. It stands out high about a neck like a fan. Then there is the collar of greenchecked gingham. For a girl with copper coloured hair and a creamy skin, such a collar is made for her. Very often copper coloured hair is accompanied with green eyee. Green eyes and copper coloured hair with a little green and white α-ingham collar, is too fascinating for words. Then there is the soit lace collar, wide over the shoulders, worn with a lavender crepe de chine frock with deep wide cuffs to match. It is very distingue. The deep, wide collar of silver lace, and of gold lace, must not be forgotton, as they are the top-note of the mode. They are lovely, alluring things, and add a brilliant note" of a jade-green, purple, bois-de-rose, or grey gown, silk or crepe de chine for preference. The satin "monk's" collar is a new idea. It was worn a lovely Frencii actress, and accompanied a soft grey crepe de chine gown. It was as graceful, as slenderly fashioned as her shoulders, and it curved with every gesture of them, but never lost its outline, upstanding steadfastly. Over it, was her face, colourless and like satin. There is something about a monk's collar that is aloof. Our Sketch. This black eatin evening dress has side panels inset which undulate gracefully. The black satin cape is quite a

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