Fur For Skirts, Sweaters And Trousers In Paris

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29791, 6 April 1962, Page 2

Fur For Skirts, Sweaters And Trousers In Paris

(From a Reuter Correspondent] PARIS. A new fashion fad in Paris is the “indoor fur.” Smooth, flat-haired furs like pony skin, broadtail, unborn calf, and baby lamb, have been used in beguiling separates, including skirts, sweaters, trousers and ponchos.

The Jeanne Lanvin boutique launched matching trouser and tunic ensembles made of black and white spotted calf. Or there are full, circular-cut hearth side skirts made of imitation broadtail lamb as well as a dearer slim, sheath dress and matching fitted jacket made of genuine broadtail fur for cocktail wear. The all-black costumes are contrasted with collars of white mink or ermine.

Marc Bohan, of Dior, designed a strapless dinner dress and matching flared bolero jacket in paper-thin black broadtail. At first glance, this costly fur appears to be a silk moire fabric. Althouifo fabrics have long imitated furs, it takes the Maison Dior to reverse the process.

Other interpretations of “indoor furs” are Revillon’s little evening jackets made of panther or baby ocelot. They are simply styled like cardigan sweaters. wi*h collar! ess necklines bound in satin.

Fur trimmings have reached a peak of popularity Opulent fur collars, cuffs and hem bandings are no longer confined to winter coats and the great outdoors. They trim the most delicate evening dresses as an integral part of the dress. Hubert de Givenchy contrasts a slender biack tubular sheath with white mink, used as a band on the hemline, the hips, and crossing the decolletet from shoulder to shoulder. On one model for day wear, Givenchy makes the entire front of the skirt of a simple Mack wool cocktail suit of a panel of Mack mink. Paris designers are proving again and again that a little bit of fur can go a long way Single skins, using such furs as fox, are effective as neck warmers or choker scarves, and nothing is more fashionable today than a fur boa, measuring anything from three to six feet in length. When the sky is the limit

on price, couturiers feature a sable boa matched with a high -crowned beehive toque. The boa and hat are equally smart in fox, leopard, or beaver, worked in narrow rope effects inspired by the 1920'5. Three-yard Stole Pierre Balmain has an ocelot stole which measures more than three yards, while another novelty is the half black and half white fur kerchief. The left and right sides of this neckpiece are symmetrically divided by white and black mink skins. On her recent visit to Paris, Empress Farah of Iran chose an unusual new after-ski poncho in curly white lamb lined with baby giraffe skin, known as "Giraffette.” Kangaroo skin is another unusual type of fur featured by Paris couturiers this winter. Nina Ricci, importing these shaggy beige pelts from Australia, has signed a contract for their exclusive use in France.

Sealskin is one of the “international celebrities” of the fur season. Revillon takes Hudson Bay seal and dyes it a brilliant shade of orchid, Jacques Heim features nat-ural-toned seal from Brazil, while Mendel-Rouff furs launch “Dakota” seals, featuring deep chestnut shades. Lanvin-Castillo introduces a special new effect with beaver which has been dyed coal black to imitate seal. The skins are scientifically treated to obtain an extraordinary sheen and lustre. Another winner from this house is a silk-haired dwarf

ocelot which turns out to be more expensive than the most costly mink. Sheared Mink

Mink itself undergoes the most unorthodo:: treatment at the hands of Nina Ricci, who has shaved the skins, waterproofed them, and made them into a trench coat At first glance, the effect resembles moleskin, but a closer inspection reveals that the mink skins have been sheared, a common practice of treating beaver. The price of this “Ricci Raincoat” exceeds £3OOO.

Another piece of extravagance comes from Pierre Balmain. Cutting up luxurious fur pelts, he pieces them together again like an oldfashioned patchwork quilt—from which he makes a fulllength coat made of black Persian lamb, for example. The entire body of the coat is comprised of "patches” of fur about a foot square joined together by inch-wide strips of black and white tweed fabric.