PASTELS PREDOMINATE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 114, 15 May 1940, Page 13

PASTELS PREDOMINATE.

NEW SHADES LAUNCHED. COLOUR COUNCIL'S CHOICE. 'I'll? new shades launched I).V the British Colour Council should l>e a {rood antidote to wartime depression. Most popular Colour is likely to lie Breton red, a shade reminiscent of the sails of fishing smacks. Rich browns are making a comeback, and greys will be im|wtant, also pastel tones, including a delicate green, maize and blue. The newest yellow is a lemonish green shade. The only colours with a wartime influence arc actually a year old, but remain fashionable. They are Royal Air J'orcc blue and Legion d'Honneur red. None of the new shades have war names and war atmosphere is being avoided as much as possible. Included in the council's dossier is a charming group of delicate greens and golds and faint reds. The blue group ranges from mid-grey through delft and regina to hydrangea blue and tulip pinx. Two pinky beiges are called dawn and copper rose. There is a tropic red, a Mexican tan and a brownish colour called red earth. The (lower colours for summer include orchid, cattleya, hollyhock, salvia blue, dark cornflower and wild honey—a charming beige. The reason for fashion's turning to the lighter colours and the pastel shades is that products used in the manufacture of dyes are also used for war materials, and these shades, of course, require less dyestuffs in their making. Bright colour is added in embroidered figured eearf-squares, and other accessories. Oatmeal in particular can be made to look very smart with a splash of colour.