FASHION NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 96, 24 April 1926, Page 26

FASHION NOTES.

(BY AN BXPEBT.) PARIS, January c. The great event of the month, writes our correspondent, was the "Grand Bal Espagnol Costume" which'was held at the "Ral BuUier" of Latin-Quarter fame, for the benefit of the wounded French j and Spanish soldiers in Morocco. Parisians love a spectacle, end they always flock to See the dainty, painted ladies go by. As these beauties, wear-! ing Spanish costumes, with lovely' Spanish shawls and glittering Spanish combs, tripped up the broad steps, they, were cheered, or groaned oyer, according to the success or failure of their costume. Inside, there was wild excitement. Three or more jazz bands were going at the same time, and the noise ■ was deafening. It was the one draw-j back to the evening. To be heard, one j had to shriek, shriek, and shriek. Every-1 one did. Bedlam let loose, could not i have been worse. The eye, not the ear, was flattered and amused. Dresses of the most interesting kind were worn, the Spanish influence bien! entendu, was predominant—picturesque, and smart. Rut there were other dancy. dresses. For instance, the famous j Japanese artfsts Fujita, of world-wide reputation appeared garbed in the even-1 ing dress of to-day, slim, straight, short,, as all up-to-date dresses are now. This , dress, from a famous Paris ( couturier' created a sensation, and the wearer, being slender, sans moustache, and flat as a pancake naturellement, presented a perfect picture of the modern flapper. | Quaint Gavarni male types in stove, pot t hats, side whiskers and stocks,* danced j with charming ladies in full crinolines poke bonnets, hair done high with side, curls. There is a fascination not to be denied about the mincing gait, the bashful air, the coy glance of women in such clothes. The boxes were, full of well- j known Spanish artists: Raquel Meller, - Musidora, Argentina, Rahna, to quote a few. Monsieur Camijle de Rhlynal, the organiser of this fete showed his usual talent and tact. He, it was, who \ introduced the various artists to the , public as each one came forward to do! their "numero." Everything went with j a swing. There was no dullness, no - hitch, and the sight, as one watched it from 'a box, made one think that this Spanish spectacle had.been achieved, not only as a spectacle, but in feeling. What the receipts, were, I do/not know, but they must have been large, and the charity to which they will go, will benefit greatly. Are you yearning to . discover, the . secrets that Paris couturiers have 'been keeping so carefully guarded, and that we- shall only really become acquainted with in the new year openings? . Dp you want to know, what the .new silhouette, will be, the exact length of skirt, the new. hem-line, the \. favourite sleeves and decolettes, the correct i colours, the trimmings, the girdles, in ' fact—everything! ..-Alas, T;-cannot- -tell ; you;;-But ThaveVheard .that .there: will he some delightful suggestions for brides in addition to some lovely ideas concerning dresses' for other occasions. The lingerie in itself .will take your breath away and, of aside fromviwedding gowns, there wiU. ; be-travelling costumes and tea-frocks, everything for the bride, whether she is young, or past what Balzac calk her "poetic summit." And since the dressing of the hair puts the final touch, to the lines of the j whole costume, and the "shingled" head has- but -been tne complement of the boyish figure, it may not be amiss to mention that shingling is again shifting its tactics. A few 'months ago there was an accepted standard; cut short, like a man's at the back, with longer loose waves on curled pieces for covering the ears. Then came a sudden change, and, right off the' ears, straight" back from the brow, no ondiuees, but a flat brushed, brilliantined brightness, was the order of the day. Now quite recently, there" has been a reversion to the very low side parting, the right aide of the hair 'pushed up into aggressive puffs, the hair shingled, hut with a difference. At the immediate moment, one is liable to meet any, or all of these various expressions' of the shingled head, at any evening gathering, there is nothing visible in the daytime of course. Further to complicate matters, and to make confusion worse confounded, coiffeurs are busy concocting oute little, coils of hair, which are mysteriously attached low down in the! naps of the neck, and. these' last may be confidently accepted as the thin edge of the wedge denoting'that the decline of shingling, is on the wa*ne. I

Our Sketch. This smart little suit of black satin has a skirt with a decided flare bottom,

".-... - - '1 morning, and: gradually work yourself up to the swift action of 'the Cossack dance. You will find that it will improve Jour- muscular control wonderfully, and tck of this control is one of the first signs of old age. Sluggish vital organs j can be jazzed up to retain their youth > through the medium of the dance. 1