FASHION NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 56, 7 March 1931, Page 4 (Supplement)

FASHION NOTES.

COLOURS FROM NATURE. THE NEW BLOUSE-JACKET.

(By A PARISIAN EXPERT.)

That humble and unpleasant creature, the caterpillar, if it had no other use, could be put to use as a colour scheme. I saw one the other day. Dark brown, it was, with bands of brilliant orange. The brown predominated, of course, and, very close to the orange, there were tiny specks of a brilliant green. Think of this translated into a gown! I can visualise a street or afternoon gown of deep brown velvet, with little touches here and there of orange —-a bit of embroidery, an enamelled buckle or a twisted girdle. Isn't that a complete and attractive colour scheme? A butterfly, of course, is a complete colour scheme in itself, from the dainty yellow and white fellow, which suggests a gown for a spring morning, to his more elaborately gowned brother, all ready to offer inspiration for a black evening gown, trimmed with opalescent ornamentation. Dull purples and blues of twilight, greys of a rainy morning, blue and white of a snowy day—need one go farther, for lovely colours? A spring crocus is an inspiration, yellow centred, petals of lavender and white, tiny stem of green. Here is a combination, far lovelier and more complete, than any you could invent if you worked with bite of cicth for hours.

j The faint greens of early spring are as lovely as the duller greens of autumn, or the brilliant greens of summer. Nature uses each one, and combines each one with just the correct colour note. The Silhouette Unchanged. There is no definite change in the silhouette, yet there is a distinct impression of a change difficult to analyse. The upper part of the body is not so firmly moulded, but the hips are swathed. Skirts are full to allow for grace of movement, but they do not flare as they did, preferring to hang in soft folds of drapery. For evening, there is a suggestion of the silhouette of the crinoline period, and there are gowns which reveal the contours of the body by means of folds and drapery. We have the simple little three-piece suits of sQft woollens with trim lines for morning wear, shopping, travelling, and motoring, and one-piece frocks of'lightweight woollens, or silks, to wear under fur coats. Skirts of afternoon costumes are longer than they were last season, but the length of street dresses is unchanged, unless you are so meticulous as to argue whether an inch or two one way or the other constitutes a change.

For evening, skirts are a bit shorter, often revealing the , ankles. The lines of the evening decolletages have changed. Now they are high in the front, low on the shoulder, and pointed in the "back. Long scarves are used to emphasise this line. Those, which are of the same material as the dress, and sold as part of it, are worn flat across the cheat, and, hanging down -the back, flowers mark the outline of some decolletages, and artificial flowers are used occasionally to emphasise the lines of the evening gowns. A New Type of Jacket. \\ omen have been introduced to an entirely new type of jacket this season. • At least it is not more than 30 years old, which, as fashions go, to-day, means that it is novel and interesting. This is the-' blouse-jacket which is being shown in nearly every collection, and which, at first sight exactly resembles a blouse of the same material as the skirt. If you have any difficulty in understanding what I mean, look at the fashion plates of 1900 or thereabouts, when women wore their hats perched over their noses and their skirts swirling round their neatly-booted feet. Yoa will find that they often wear a waist

length jacket with wide revers over their extremely ornate, high-necked blouses. Now it has returned, although changed of course, for the modern figure, while the revers are missing. Instead it usually fastens cloee to the neck, so that until it is slipped ofl one is deceived into thinking that it is the top of the dress. A blouse of silk crepe or very fine woollen voile may complete it, although a cnepiece dress with a bodice in a silk of contrasting colour is often worn with it. And let me add that this type of one-piece dress promises to be very popular this winter. To make an alliance with the skirt, the top may be trimmed at neck, or cuffs, or collar, with encrustations of the heavier material. Different dressmakers treat this style in different ways, but never was there such unanimity about any fashions.

The line for sports costumes preferred this season is straight, with a slight curve at the waist, a close fit over the hips, and some fullness at the bottom of the skirt made by flares or pleats. Collars are interesting this season. Ribbon, pique', organdie and lawn are four of the materials, most favoured for some, which not only helps to brighten sombre dresses but gives an air of youth to old ones. ' , • . " Knitted Hats. The little knitted chenille hats are still very popular, and -very" cosy. Then, of course, there are a good many eccentric liats to be seen now, which must be carefully worn- Some of them Ja&ve certainly been inspired—those which expose • all the forehead where not a

single hair is allowed to break the monotony—by the pictures of those singularly unattractive ladies of the j mid- 16th century, which hang in the Louvres. It was the fashion then to wear the headdress as far hack on the forehead as possible, and to pluck out the hair ruthlessly if it grew too far down. It sounds painful, and no doubt it was, so let us hope that a similar craze will not begin again. But those hats look ominous! Our Illustration. For Tfees Dansants: In rose-coloured georgette, with a green and rose-coloured pattern, this little dress, with its hip length coat, "V"-shaped decolletage and flowing skirt, is one of the latest models emanating from the rue de la Paix,