FASHION NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 208, 3 September 1927, Page 24

FASHION NOTES.

CRETONNE AGAIN WORN

BLACK LINGERIE NOT POPULAR.

(By An Expert.)

PARIS, June 1

June is the month of roses, and there is abundant promise that the rose gardens of the Paris area will soon be at the height of their beauty. There are several places in France which are allowed to add the name of "Les Roses," to their name. Fontenav-aux-roses obtained the right in the 17th century as the sequel of a law-suit. A convent there, laid claim to a piece of ground planted with rose trees and the town brought an action about it. The case lasted a long time, but was finally decided against the convent and out of gratitude the inhabitants annually sent a bouquet of roses to each of the members of Parliament. The latest commune to adopt the title is "L'Hay-les-Roses." Bagatelle's beautiful gardens are full of roses and as for the "Roseraie," it is a mass of the exquisite blooms, the scent of which is almost overpowering. Loads of them in the street carts, and clusters of them in the flower seller's baskets, fill the streets and Boulevards, and delight the eye. As if there were not plenty of real roses, the fashiondesigners are giving us artificial flowers, so delightfully seductive that no one can resist them. They blossom out triumphantly on crepe and voile and cotton, as if they were growing naturally in field or garden. A new material] is in black crepe de chine, with large "La France" roses printed on it. Another delightful stuff in white crepe de chine is charmingly decorated with wild flowers. Ifo Revolutionary Tendencies in Fashions. Fashion on the whole came out in a decidedly summery guise at Auteuil this week. No revolutionary tendencies were to be observed. If anything the feminine waistline seemed inclined to ascend toward the normal and skirts were as short as ever. Pearls maintained their ascendancy and many beautiful strings were to be seen. Several summery costumes in white or cream were notice -i able. In these a short coat fastened with a single button at the extreme end of the garment and worn over a plissee skirt seemed a decided feature. The Egyptian note was still much in evidence, one striking toilette being formed of a long coat falling well below the knee and embroidered in straight rows with hieroglyphical figures after the manner of an Egyptian frieze. A dress that looked like the snapshot of a rosegarden in full bloom was of cretonne covered with very big flowers in many shades of roses in pink' and red, and another had purple chrysanthemums in sharp contrast to a third in a small, neat Louis Philippe design without any clear background. Organdi dresses, made with a remarkable, but not unbecoming hoop effect round the hips, swathed as their fair wearers walked about the paddock. One was of palest green with a pink slip which produced the quaintest rippling sea water effect. Poke bonnets on Early Victorian style completed the picture. Hats on the wholel were small, the "cloche" still holding its place as prime favourite, although the "Gigolo" runs it pretty close as second favourite. The fashion parades at Auteuil are the more interesting as the models 6hown are destined for reproduction at the smart gatherings at Deauville in a few weeks time. The Grand Prix de Paris will be run in three weeks from now. It is interesting to know, that this race was created in 1803 when the prize was worth 100,000 francs. Interest was leant to the occasion bv the presence in the paddock of the then French Emperor, Napoleon IH. Since then fourteen foreign-bred horses have won the prize, which has been gradually increased until it is to-day the most richly endowded race in the world. Paris Lingerie.

When that time-honoured mark of refinement, the white linen handkerchief disappeared before the gay-coloured kerchief of chiffon, voile or hand-painted gauze, it was foreseen that other violent extremes would come. And they are coming fast. Handkerchiefs are trifling things, yet the latest styles in them have served as an opening wedge for other ideas, even more radical. The first of has to do with linen. Black underthings are made of the finest and most fragile materials for the most fastidious -wearers. When they were first displayed a little while ago. they were not taken seriously, 1 everyone thought they were just samples, amusing and chic as models to be copied in white or delicate colours. Not at all! They were presented by the lingeres as the last murmur in fashion. Some women took to the dusky lingerie, but the real elegante prefers those dainty lingerie things in crepe de! chine, in white or pastel colourings, or the snowiest linen, convent-made, handembroidered, and always in white. Novel Touches on Summer Models. Colour introduced by ribbon streamers on hand-painted flowers is a novel fashion note. Trimming unstinted is a new craze in decoration. . Huge satin bows posed low down on the skirt have again appeared. A decided emphasis on the normal waistline, calling for a belt, is noticeable. Grotesque lines, which have been a fad from time to time, have given place to graceful simplicity, following . the lines of the figure. Present-day fashions bestow upon woman that delicious sense of freedom that is essential to grace. New creations will vary from time to time, according to new trimmings, materials, colours, and so on, but the idea of grace and comfort will last. Alterations in the actual line will be slight, depending for variation upon the length of skirts, or the placing of the waistline. The summer has brought out quantities of large straw hats, for large hats, with straw brims and felt crowns, or straw crowns and felt-brims, but large, they are, and larger they will be, before summer is out. That a new hat is as good as a tonic, is an old saying with reference to women. One good thing about this, is that the | tonic can be repeated with great frequency,