FROCKING OF THE FUTURE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 89, 16 April 1927, Page 24

FROCKING OF THE FUTURE.

CULOTTES PREDICTED

TROUSER SKIRTS

.M. Paul Poirct, that fat but \ory able costumier, ordinarily as chary a prophet a? .wit will find in t:i_ v model realms, hn< suddenly lent a willing ear to the siren calls of the spotlight. In a lively essay published in the "Forum," the eminent Paul boldly predicts the eventual eclipse o: the feminine by the mannish bifurcates. And then, as if to relieve Pari* or responsible*v for the cataclysm, he points to American fashionables as t.i« irrigators of this coming mode. Le->t you think this an ungallant gesture, he announces that he himself is a firm advocate of the trousered demoiselle of tomorrow. It may be, of course, that this bit of crystal-gazing on the part of the far-sighted M. Poiret is a genuine forecast of the future as he envisages it —if, however, you will remember that this same couturier was, as late as last season, one of the firmest advocates of the ancient regime, as well as one of the few members of the haute couture who launched long-skirted models at the late openings, you will find it difficult to reconcile his modernistic theory with his old school practice. In any case, however, as one of the oldest and most influential designers of the Paris couture, the expressed view of Paul Poiret cannot be lightly passed over. Hero are some salient excerpts from his article: —"At the present moment we in Franco are slaves to the American influence — to what else can one attribute the j>a>sion for wealth, t'ie worship of money, which has been so evident with us in recent years, and which has certainly not been characteristic of French life in past ag?s American, too. is the tendency which our young ladies manifist when they affect a masculine appearand 1 and a martial swagger, the vogue of cigarettes and pyjamas. Along with that, the necessity of providing for the future has turned many of them into lawyers, doctors, manufacturers, chemists, mechanics, and these professions perceptibly modify their garb, then manner, and often their moral attitude. Ir is safe to predict that this thirst foi (mancipation is not j'et qtisnchr-!, and that women' will reach out for even g eater liberties. Even more American are the implacable and hyperthropic rhythms of the new dances, the blues and the Charleston, the din of unearthly instruments, and the musical idioms of exotic lands. I should estimate that for another fifteen years we shall have an ascending graph of jazz bands and negro fanfares, which in their turn will give way to something newer, weirder. and more outlandish. The further this American spirit spreads, and the more and more we indulge the taste for these alien dances, the more masculine and the more severe will the fashions for women become. Already we have been treated to women in dinner jackets, and we shall soon witness a revival of trojser-skirts under various guises; some loose, but caught in at the ankle in the Turkish manner; some cut like those favoured by men, though somewhat wider, and more flowing in line, so that the transition from skirt to trousers will not seem like a deliberate "steal." Arm trousers for women will not be a mere short-lived fad; they will become as inevitable as bobbed hair, which is here to stay. Trousers will also be found tr be more practical, more hygienic, and as a consequence this innovation will keep gaining ground, and lead the styles h b" bit into a rigid *obriety. £ven costumes for evening wear will be straight and austere. By 1935 the female anatomy will be resuming its pristine aspect. Rounded contours will at first begin to be tolerated, and gradually become de rigueur. An era of refined and delicate pleasures, of wit, charm, and distinction." This is what one of the oldest and greatest designers in Paris writes, and pantaloon frocks "certainly made their appearance last season, but whether the couturier's prediction will be fulfilled in its entirety remains to be seen.