FASHION NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 181, 1 August 1936, Page 3 (Supplement)

FASHION NOTES.

NOTHING HAPHAZARD. ART OF PERFECT GROOMING.

(By A PARIS EXPERT.)

When Paris unrolled her superproduction entitled the "Spring Fashion of 1936" it was full of exciting, seduc-

tive clothes to glorify women of all ages. Looks, not liberty, appears just now to be the ideal behind the thread-and-needle kings' creations. A great effort has been made towards novelty allied with, economy. You'll have to renew your wardrobe, as everything is radically altered since last year. But you.will require fewer clothes, as every designer has one or two tricks that make the garment serve several purposes. So tho spring-summer collections should be welcomed with open arms and the purso strings slightly loosened to allow free exchange of amenities between clothiers and the clothesconscious. All beautiful clothes belong to the same era. for all beauty is dependent upon line. Women like fashions, because women find them amusing. Style is for the moment, it passes quickly, but good lines go on for ever. No fripperies, no gewgaws— the only genius of clothes is in the

line. And the line of the dresses—the day dresses, I mean —is this season very straight and slim. For the evening, skirts are considerably wider and an off-the-shoulder movement is introduced ill many of the evening frocks. As for the hair—so few people have any conception of what to do with it. Every stylist and every great actress has been taught to devise something for herself—the high effusion of transparent curls adopted by Katharine Hepburn, the long bob of Greta Garbo, the windblown locks of Anita Loos and the side swirl which Ina Claire fashioned.

Accessories of Fashion. Gadgets and trimmings will either put you in style or leave you out. Braid is one of' the first trimmings of the new season. Braid embroidery flourishes in every collection. Gold ornaments and gold tinsel cravat tassels and fringes, buttons everywhere, and silver mesh boleros and petitepoint tapestry are all fashionable. Lacing is in fashion, with lots of dresses laced up the front, sides or back.

Hoods are all over and those medieval hoods that slip on and hang to the shoulders for evening are smart. Long slim lines, the chief characteristic of everything smart, strike the eye everywhere. There are no frills, no furbelows, the silhouette is clinging and

its shape is the shape of the wearer. If you are slim at the waist your dress is slim to the middle, if your chest is high and you carry it well, the whole costume has the lifted, floating look that Paris loves. A Millinery Miscellany. Hats have provoked more conversational gambits than anything else ever invented. It is therefore a relief to find the Paris millinery collections even more interesting than ever. A war is raging—first empire versus second empire. In the first empiri; models you have one of those dear little 1830 coal scuttle bonnets showing curls on the forehead or on the temples, to soften the hard line of the hair. The' second empire hats are those absurd little models with just a bunch of feathers in front, the brims cut away to show curls on the forehead.

Berets are still being worn, but are quite different to those we have been accustomed to. The scoop shovel Iberet* aie a novelty. The coxcomb shapes— fitted hats with a sweep of ostrich in front, making a comb, the hats like fat pancakes with ostrich plumes riding away out in front. The inverted flower pot hats worn on the back (jf the head and with rippled brims framing the face —these are all amusing novelties. I must not forget to mention the new toques with a big bunch of flowers at the prow, or an enormous ribbon bow in brilliant colourings. The fillet hair nets of wool, or gold, or beads, holding the back hair neat and close, are newcomers. In the evening there's a plumed headdress making you look 6ft tall.

Perfect Grooming. People do not turn to look at a welldressed woman. If people stare, she is not well dressed—too spectacular for good taste. And we all know (don't we?) that first of all a well-dressed woman needs perfect grooming. There must be nothing haphazard-looking, or out of place. Hair must ibe immaculate, nails must show daily care, feet must be perfectly shod, hosiery of the very best. Xo details should "jump" at you. Every costume must strive for harmony. Appropriateness is more important than material, line, colour or expense. Wearing the right thing at the right time is the real test, never being out of note with the occasion, avoiding the experience of self-conscjousness resulting when clothes are not right for the occasion. One has to be interested in clothes to be a well-dressed woman. One might be a mechanical doll dressed by an artist, and still be effective, but, generally speaking, there must be the interest I speak of. The Parisienne as a rule has the keenest interest in clothes of any woman in the world. ,She loves clothes, loves being well dressed, and consequently has the keenest kind of sense about her appearance. Her clothes are always interesting, always appropriate to the occasion. She knows when to dress plainly, and when to wear the exotic and fanciful.

She has a perfect, sense of grooming also, a sort of personal grooming, as it were. A great natural chic. An outstanding personality is al.so one of her talents. Women should look like wellkept gardens, with hedges pruned, everything right. Paris Snapshots. The old-fashioned expression, "high toned," sums up the fashions of this season in two words. High colours, which are high toned in the old sense of these words, are essential to any kind of smart dressing at present.

No dress suit, no ensemble, is too simple or practical to partake of the colour feast that fashions are serving up.

The silhouette of the head is the most revolutionary of all, and there are a thousand new styles of hats and headdresses. You must look at the head to see the styles this year.

There are any number of lovely flower ideas for evening coiffures. Anemones in a semi-circle at one side, tiny bunches of violets and lace flowers, two or three 011 each side of the head, in graduated sizes.