Wool to fore

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33093, 7 December 1972, Page 6

Wool to fore

Wool was the predominant fabric in clothes shown by Selby and Company at the English Speaking Union’s annual fashion parade in Christchurch yesterday. Hemlines were at the same length as this year — “kissing the knee” — in the

dresses, coats and suits for winter, 1973. And according to Selby’s managing director (Mr Bernard Zeff), 1973 will be the best year to buy a woollen coat at a reasonable price. Coats were softly belted, almost without exception, and a few were fur-trimmed. Fabrics varied from wool mixtures to showerproof models in wool and terylene. Suits were often belted and had shorter jackets than in previous years. The rumour of pastels returning to fashion was bom out in a few lightweight English tweeds. Catholic colours There was no dominant colour — they varied from standard camel through the browns to brilliant geranium and the vivid turquoises and a blue which could almost be described as Ming blue. But it was in the evening wear that most of the applause came. A lot of dresses in lightweight wool featured prints made by the heattransfer method.

A very popular evening dress was a full-length gown in black, belted and with a white collar and cuffs and a white bib front. The illustration shows a flared showerproof coat in tobacco tones (left) and a calfskin suede coat, both modelled by Mrs Lorna Cooper.