FASHION NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 235, 3 October 1936, Page 3 (Supplement)

FASHION NOTES.

WORDS ON KNITWEAR. NEW TAILORED SUIT DETAILS. (By A PARIS EXPERT.) The knitted dress is an indispensable element of the wardrobe. It is this dress which we delight to wear under a light coat on cool summer days. Knitted dresses can be worn successfully by everybody. The "bonnetiers" have created for us veritable masterpieces. The knitters have made knitwear a supple material, with fine stitches, charming designs, running the gamut of colours in vogue this year, green, red, brown and flag blue. In the Bois de Boulogne these past few days one might have noticed a young Parisienne dressed in a two-piece of beige knit, bordered with navy wool. Another stroller showed a tailleur of brown and beige knit, with brown revers. „ In the domain of accessories the knit may be of chenille, angora, mohair or the curly sort of wool, so that the same model blouse looks completely unlike its replica made in another material. Other accessories seen are waistcoats with sleeves in marino, a garment that is easy to make yourself. This looks well in a natural colour, and harmonises with any skirt. The shoulders, cuffs and belts are ribbed. Six buttons form the closing of this vest with a V neck, three to the left and three to the right, which enables you to put it on and take it off without ruining your coiffure. Also to be noted are sweaters with bands at the throat forming scarfs, insertions of crepe de chine forming cravats, amusing buttons, rather high collars, etc. Knitted Wedding Gowns. Hand-knitted wedding dresses are the most sensational innovation for the season I have seen in the collections up to date. One gown in linen thread and silk, was made with a thick, wavy design, had long sleeves, and a wide skirt which, however, fitted over the hips. The veil, which stood stiffly out from the head, was very wide-meshed silk draw lace, with a straw coronet.

Silk straw is the newest material for many other hand-knitted, and crocheted clothes. Several dresses seen are handwoven, and tweed and checked woollens are so closely imitated in knitting that ! they are indistinguishable from the real i thing. Shakespearean doublets and short > cloaks, ruffled sleeves and high collars ' appear in hand-knitted wear. Coats " have chains strung from shoulder to 1 shoulder, often with a large medallion 1 suspended from the centre. And the tops of hand-knitted day dresses are ' sometimes hung with tinted tassels. i Suited from Top to Toe. No matter what this fickle world ' thinks up to put on your back this season, nothing will be smarter than a i tailored suit. And nothing will be more . useful, if you choose your accessories skilfully. To begin with, do order an extra skirt of contrasting fabric. I have said this before, and repeat it , earnestly. A separate black skirt for a checked jacket is smart. Or you might order an odd jacket, a black one for a coloured skirt or a yellow whipcord one for a black skirt. The black Fascist and brown and dark blue shirts that raged through the tailored world last year, are now changing their complexion. Their dark surfaces are broken by huge, bold, white cross-bars, or wide white stripes. Paris makes both black and blue shirts in this manner, and you couldn't do better than to wear one with the suit just described. Over the turtle neck of a dark sweater or shirt, wear several strands of pearls, and see how gay the effect is. As a rule one should avoid an excess of jewellery witli tailleurs. But all rules can be broken cleverly. One of the smartest wonen in Paris wears a huge, thick, antique gold necklace over the high neck >of her black and white sweaters. And gold or crystal and diamond clips, on a lapel, often the right feminine note on a tailored suit. The Idea of Black. The idea of black is always good. Black is a good colour. This season it will be better, best. We shall see black used in every conceivable way, quite often in matt surface, light-weight woollen bot";i for afternoon and evening. These fine black woollen evening gowns for theatre, restaurant or home occasions have a chic all their own. Mostly very simple, they are specially conceived to form a background for jewellery. It is a very significant fact the importance which is now attached to jewels, both in the mind of the designer and the wearer. Flowers, too, are quite important this season. Carnations and camellias, pink and red ones, bunched together, are a standby. Blue cornflowers and yellow daisies look well in the lapel of a coat, as do poppies, pink and red geraniums and nasturtiums. Don't overlook any of them. Leave orchids for evening, unless you wear the baby yellow ones. And please don't be caught in a tailor suit and a nose veil, or a fussy bag, or fanfty cuff gloves. And don't wear such a lownecked blouse that your lacy underwear shows. And don't, don't, buy your perfectly innocent and respectable dog a collar and leash to match your suit. It's the Little Things that Count. There is no getting away from the truth that to be well dressed a woman must give time and thought to her toilette. It is not enough to buy a pretty frock and wear it. There must be time to live up to it. And is it not worth while to have dresses that are not like those of tout le monde if you can? I think so. You get the slim line, the neat hips and all the latest materials. The right silhouette—enfin, the very best of fashion, up-to-date. This does not mean that lots of money need be spent. It simply means that you must have time and leisure in which to think things out, whether you go to one of the grandes couturieres, or whether you make up simple little dresses at home with your own deft fingers. It's the "little things" which are the biggest factors in fashion. We must examine our linings, our facings, the careful manner in which our sleeves are set in, tL-jc -jams, the collars, the clean finish throughout. I