LOOK YOUR BEST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 30, 5 February 1937, Page 10

LOOK YOUR BEST.

TASTE STILL DICTATES.

DRESSING TO ONE'S AGE.

All styles belong to all ages these days. Mothers and daughters may wear much the same things provided that both their figures are built on the same lilies. At the same time it is still possible for the older woman to "dress up young," and for the younger one to be rather too old in her choice of clothes.

There is not, as in grandmother's young days, when girls went straight into foot-length frocks on leaving the schoolroom and those past 40 had definite "matrons' " styles, any line drawn i between fashions suitable for one age or [another. Taste still dictates, however, [ that some styles are far more becoming [than others to women at varying stages of maturity. I Youth has a free hand among the |simple little wool day frocks, belted with flared skirts, or with juniper tops, trimmed with Peter Pan collars or colourful handkerchiefs knotted with careless grace about the throat. Miss Eighteen and the girl in the early twenties can also wear the jaunty little French dunce's caps to perfection, or the halo type of hat that shows off a pretty youthful brow to advantage. She can well sUford to leave the more sophisticated high hat with its towering quill or fur tail trimming to her older sister, whom it suitg so much better. At 25 one may be "girlish" in so far as plain frocks with "schoolgirl" collars in velvet or lingerie fabric are concorned, but sufficient experience in dress matters has probably by now been obtained to enable a woman to introduce a little more deliberate "femininity" into her clothes. She may, for example, have acquired the art of wearing those fascinating small veils with the right air. In her evening wear ehe has the choice of graceful gowns with fullness gathered at the back of the skirt so that they sweep out with a train effect, while the younger girl is wiser if she remains faithful to the simpler dance frock that has an ankle-lengtli full skirt with even hem and a de colletage that is not cut too low at the back. Thirty and Upwards', \ Many well-known dress designers confess that for them the most interesting age of women from the point of view of their art is between 30 and 40. The woman who is 30 odd, so they say, is the ideal person to dress. She has sophistication and gives simple clothes an air of chic, but also she can carry off more elaborate styles that need just a touch of dignity and self assurance to make them a success. The tunic dresses are particularly good for her, esj>ecially now that the "lampshade" tunics, seen at the beginning of the season, have now been modified. The slimmer kind of tunic includes a variety that hangs straight and is cut away in front so that it falls to knee length unbuttoned, although the buttons and buttonjioles are there for show. The skirt that accompanies the tunic is pencil slim, and the ense'mble I looks very well in a smooth woollen i material.

Da shing-looking tunic coats, flared in tlie skirt and well fitting at the waist, with a collar that buttons up to the chili, are among the fashions of to-day that become the wearer who is in the thirties. For those who want the warmth and protection of a full-length coat btit like the line of the tunic outfit, there is a specially designed coat that looks as though it were in two pieces— skirt and three-quarter .coat —but is actually all one garment. , By the time a woman approaches her fifties, figures have usually developed some not-so-pleasing pDints that require flattering. Plumpness is not always the trouble, for nowadays over-thinness seems to be almost as muck in evidence among the older women. Tailor-mades. Tailor-mades are appropriate fqr every age, but when 50 is reached tKe jacket should not be of the brief kind, but is most often becoming if it is cut with a fairly long and only slightly flared peplum. Necklines finished with rever fronts hanging in soft folds are becoming to both full and thin figures. This style of collar is obtainable in topcoats as well as all kinds of indoor frocks. Even fur collars are made with big revers that fall forward in this fashion. Evening gowns for the olde# women are usually best cut on "classic" lines, and the treatment of the neck is important, j If the figure is full, a perfectly plain neck cut moderately low with nothing but a jewelled clip to- ornament the shoulder straps is often good. Thinner women need something softening abojit their shoulders in the way of a fichu wrap or cowl drapery in chiffon or georgette. So far as colours are concerned, there are no longer "young" colours, or shades that are considered too old for the debutante Prune colour, for instance, was once thought decidedly a shade for elderly wearers, but is now a strong favourite with the younger generation when relieved with touches of light blue. Pale blue, white, and pinky mauves are worn with equal success by both matrons and maids, except that in the daytime, when it is a matter of wearing the colour next the skin, oyster and palest silver grey are usually found kinder than pure white or a pastel tint to complexions that are past their fir%. youth.