GARDEN COURTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 136, 10 June 1936, Page 16

GARDEN COURTS.

FASHIONS FOR ASCOT. THE EAR-PIERCING CRAZE. (By NETXE M. SCAXL.AX.) LONDON, May 13. New occasions bring new designs. The debutantes of 193(i will not lie entirely deprived of the pleasure of making their curtsey to the King, though it will be shorn ■of much of its usual glamour. There will be no night Courts, with the triple white feathers holding the tulle veil, and the Court train hung from the shoulders, and nil tiro splendour nf a night reception in the State rooms of the palace. Nor will there be an opportunity for the usual display of jewels. Court mourning has niade this impossible,' but the King is meeting the debutantes half-way, a« it were, and there are to be two afternoon parties in the palace grounds, when the debutantes will be presented to His Majesty, making their curtsey in garden party dress. One dress designed has evolved a compromise. They may still wear their feathers, but they will be drnped over wide, drooping hats. Nor will they he shorn of their trains, but these will be merely an extension of the skirt, and float over the grassy lawn a few inches behind them. In some cases these "Court" hats are made of stiffened chiffon—chiffon leaves, rows and layers of them. Yesterday Norman Hartnell displayed his models which have been epecially designed for this occasion, and also for Ascot. Speaking generally, every dress has Its coat of some sort. You merely peal off a flimsy coat or coatee of lace, silk, or chiffon; indeed, one was made of net shirred into piping cord to keep it in shape, and beneath is a full evening gown. Many of these little coats are short and loose, fitted into a shaped yoke. There is another type or coat, which returns to the elegance of Edwardian days. It is usually made of taffeta or cire silk. It fits closely to the waist, with leg-of-mutton sleeves, some very full at the top, and then flares out into a full-skirted garment, cut away from the front and reaching half way down the skirt at the back. This is what they term an "important" garment in dress shops, rather dignified, and it is certainly rather striking. Again', there is the short fitting jacket, hip length, made of crepe de chine or taffeta. This is usually dark, navy blue or black, and worn with a gay floral frock. Heart-Shaped Pockets. Of over a hundred models shown one can mention only a few. I noticed epecially a white silk crepe, rather sporting frock, with a short, loose coat. It had patch pockets on the bodice and skirt shaped like a heart, and was finished with grass-green belt. One long black satin dress, very tight, had an Edwardian coat, such ns I have described, in black and red cire satin, which looked very much like American cloth, and its chief attraction was thai it was different. And so many people would rather look different than anything else. Well, here's their chance. A navy blue crepe frock' had a big front composed of flat white flowers. They looked like camellias. Another navy and white outfit' for the afternoon was' a pique dress in white, with a him; pique coat reaching to the hem. It had quite a nautical note. A brown chiffon dress had an eighth-inch belt of sulphur suede. Gauging and fine tucks were much used for chiffons and light material*. One nigger brown- chiffon had the bodice tucked to form a yoke, the fullness below the tucks giving a softness across the bust, and an inch of free material above the tucked yoke had the effect of a small upstanding frill around the neck. And the fullness of the skirt was supplied by tucking the material around the hips'. One or two chiffons had a three-inch gauging extending from one shoulder across the front to the waist on the opposite side. Smocking, too. was shown as a means of moulding the figure with soft materials, and releasing the fullness where required. Tops of sleeves were smocked, and the fullness fell around the elbow. One purple taffeta evening dress had a swathed sash and neckline of pale turquoise blue, an attractive combination of colours. A Dashing Frock. Perhaps the most dashing garment shown was an Ascot frock. This was a tight black satin slip, over which was worn a redingcote of white organdie, embroidered in scarlet and white flowers with green leaves. It had a large blackvelvet bow and a flat black velvet cartwheel hat. Most of the hats were shady, and had that new drooping effect which lifts them at the side, and the shako crown, either deep or shallow, grips the head. A long white skirt was worn with a skirted coat of "hunting pink," which is really blight red, and a black velvet cape, but few women would face the public in this, I fear. Evening necks are still inclined to be high, but not extreme, and the bare ba"cke reveal little more than the spinal column, covering the sides more generously than in previous seasons. Skirts are still very tight when made of firm materials, and only the chiffons and such flimsy stuffs are allowed to float freely about the limbs. Earringe are making a valiant effort to return, and they are being used to add balance to the face, which many of the new hats unsettle. We have, not yet had fio much sunshine that the hard little models of springtime have had to be discarded, so earrings are being brought out to remedy defects. The long pendant earrings suggest dignity and also subdue a too full profile. The stud earrings give a more rounded look, so the type chosen must be decided by the shafe of one's face and hat.

To cope with the return to earrings, more women are having their ears pierced. Once it wa*s a fashion for middle age and later in life, but now debutantes are adopting it. One specialist recently stated that he was piercing the ears of about 100 womeii every month. The screw-in type and the clip earring are not nearly so safe as those hooked through the pierced ear, and women with valuable jewels prefer the latter method. This ear-piercing craze is now sweeping Mayfair. The Duchess" of Kent recently had her ears pierced to enable her to wear the magnificent jewelled earrings given her oh her marriage by King George and Queen Mary. And the Duchess of Gloucester had her ears pierced just before her wedding. And Lady Linlithgow actually had her ears pierced while the car was waiting outside to take her to the boat train for India, when she left with Lord Linlithgow, who has been appointed the next Viceroy.