THE LAWN AND THE DRESSES.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14324, 9 April 1912, Page 7

THE LAWN AND THE DRESSES.

It is a long lane that has no turning, and at last the sun fhone, and continued j to shine, through an Easter Race Day.' As it is four years since it has done so, the fact is worth rccordiufi;, and ttith gratitude. On this account, perhaps, if for no other, thc crowd wai larg6, and though many familiar faces wero absent, and many of the well-known, habituees of the Rncecourse aro now on tho eea, somewhero between Now Zealand and England, tho sccno presented its wonted anpearancO of Jifo and i gaiety. The raiii in the night had laid thc dust and freshened up everything, and to make all perfect, it was nor'-west, so there was enough heat to grumble at. Tho distant mountains ar.d tho lon_ belt of firs looked fasautiful in thc nor-west light, ami th» autumn tints lit up the foreground with red and gold. The dresses wero distinctly good, and often original and chic, but tho largo amount of dark bine, black, grey and fawn, kept thfi tono low, whilst a few brilliant and" daring frocks wero all tho moro noticeable and welcome from tho -contrast. The coat and skirt wero in tho awMwl* ant, as is usual at thc Autumn Meeting, but voile, ninon, and chiffon •iverc often to lo seen, eomotimes cleverly blended with chrth. Trimmings .' ond passementerie and coloured em-, . . broideries yof the Oriental typo wew rzA

very much to the fore, but the most general idea seems to be the inloduc- - tion ot striped silk, either a.- re vers, edging, or in some torin or other. The favourito colour, used as a contrast lvoth on hat and dress, is bright emerald green, and its introduction, if "judicious,' is very effective. It is certainly a. colour which catches the eye, svnd "needs to lie used discreetly. In fact, a little goes a long way. One ' other noticeable feature is the lace frill, which is attaining great dimensions, and balances the deep single { revers to the waist with which most of j tho coats are made. Collars are still J •low and turned down, of lace or finely j pleated muslin. Skirta do not look J quite so scanty as they did, owing to j tlio loose panel back with which the i tailored gown is made. The waist- j line is still high and marked with ford, piping, or buttons. The colossal h.it, is still to be seen everywhere, Rene-rally turned straight back "off the face, though the small ones, with little or no trimming, and corning well down over the ears, are very popular. The j ostrich plumes tn the season are very j beautiful, curled very little, if curled ; nt all. In close competition with th--- ! large ami small hat i.-, the high peaked \ crown, set round with many wings which meet above tho crown n la Matterhorn. Corded Ottoman silk is n»ed to rnv<<\- many of the hats, as is velvet and panne. Tho newest veils are sprayed with lacey effect*, and add a great deal to the up-to-date appearance of the costume. A few fur huts reminded one that winter is on its way, and as Paris has set its seal of approval on the untrimmed hat, the fashion is better carried out in fur than in any other material. To enumerate all the attractive toilettes would be impossible. We must content ourselves with ;;.«

many as space will permit. l'*ir.it, to deal with the coats and skirts, of which thero w;us every variety. One, in

black anil white cheek and black revors was worn with a high black hat. with rj.iiills and black and green striped ribbon. A black coat and skirt looked well with an ermine stole, ami again an emerald green hat, with white marabout trimming, while a- :zrern coat and skirt varied tlio scheme, with a black bat and green wings, and the wearer ol another black dress, carried out the no to of the green hat. with a chain of large green heads. These will show the popularity of this combination, and they are only i at random among many of the same typo. Grey and green were nl«o ve.ry much in evidence, one grey coat and frkirt with green rovers, black hat and green wings, being an excellent sample. A pretty grey dress was trimmed with black buttons and worn with black inland black upstanding wings ""on thc hat. A fawn coat and skirt looked -well with a purple velvet hat. with f.vwn wings, as <tid a well-cut striped black and blue tailored silk dross, with largo laco collar and white vest. Tho hat wa.s covered wiLh white Ottoman silk* and. vandyked round with blue, and had white upstanding marabout, and a touch of peacocks feathers. A very successful grey cloth dress had a back panel of grey velvet stamped with a black pattern and was trimmed with the sumo material, and a mauve roman .satin, braided and short-waisted costume, was equally good, worn with a black hat and long whito drooping ostrich plumes. Another grey dress accompanied an original hat, with bluo beaded crown, trimmed with black leathers and a small bunch of pinkfruit. Yet another grey coat and skirt had bluo rovers, and was worn with a pink hat with long uncurled upstanding pink feathers. A pale fawn with high waist was braided and looked well ivit'i a mole hat, black feathers, and oorisu velvet roses. A remarkable bright cerise cloth coat and skirt had sash-liko ends, instead of the single panel and rovers, of bright blue and pink silk. A dark blue dress had a narrow black and white silk trimming inlet on tho re vers and a piping of crimson velvet, and was worn with a high hat covered witn black silk, at the back of which was a clever imitation of a high feather 'n rucked black silk. Another black moiro coat and skirt had the largo black and white revnrs on ono side ; and the largo hicey frill on tho other. A light bluo coat and skirt, .with black piping and revers, was worn \vith an ormino stole and black hat with upstanding palo pink feathers all round. A black dre*;a to nintch a crimson parasol wa.s accompanied by a black velvet and fur .too, no draped with laco. Thero were several velvet dresses, a black one, with broad black silk embroideries and round lace collar . bx-ing most successful. Among the ' draped d reuses, a pale grey overskirt trimmed with gold passementerio and largo black hat with long waving black *md white ostrich plumes., was notico«blo, and a beautiful black satin and iiinon dross was worn with a. big black bat, with long uncurled feathers of black and fawn, and a .wreath of cleverly-made jet flowers. A crushed strawberry coat and.skirt had uncommon reyors of apricot satin and black, to match a. golden straw hat [with black tulle and feathers. An effective dress of old gold was veiled jwith black chiffon, tho black hat having golden"ftttd black buttercups in it. Throo different dresses ot .varying shades of, blue' veiling, shantung, "and lace wero among tho prettiest of this tunic stylo of dress. Thc cream hat turned up with blue and trimmed with bluo and brown wisteria, worn with ono of these drosses, Svas extremely pretty. An original grey dress had grey chiffon veiling over cream and grey embroidery for tho body, joining a high waisted grey cloth skirt to match. The hat was of rough purple beaver with a ribbon cockade in front, and yet one- other grey dress trimmed with largo black velvet buttons, was worn with a large black hat turned straight off tho face, and trimmed only with two bunches of violets. Altogether, although tho many absent faces made a perceptible difference to the gathering, the day and the general effect of the "Easter races were alt that could be desired.