LONG COATS' AND SKIRTS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 155, 25 March 1908, Page 3

LONG COATS' AND SKIRTS.

Fashion has ordained that as tho days get. shorter ;feniiiiiiio l .garments are to got loligor; there aro - tailor-mado coats which fit the. figuro closely, -.descend. well below and : sro'rounded off. ; in tho front. Softer fabrics aro mado „ with rediiigotes which descend from the short waist back and front a l'Empire, not from, a - waistband,. but from broad bands :of trimming' rounded 'on tho bodice portion of tho figure. Many, such gowns aro trimmed on skirt- and rcdingoto with ribbon pleated a Ia ; vielle. Coats 'of distinct'-colour .to tho skirt; aro mado short as well as long. For evening wear, long coats of Carrickmacross lace, and filet lace with Chineso embroidery, point te quito a new departure; theso aro being.worn for reception gowns, and as th'o season advances, on dressy occasions they will have fur accompaniments. Satin and velveteen'aro both boing worn; and we shall find in- nearly every case that they aro, braided, sometimes with •wide, sometimes with narrow; braid; but nearly all tho best models show a diversity, of width of braid; omployed on the: same model, and also treated in various ways, somo .of ' the fino braids being used liko corkErr,e\ys and many set quite on'end.—"Tho Queen."

We havo beon brought up to believe (says an. exchange) competition is the soul t of trade. In this'year of graco wo aro ablo to read a npw. meaning into tho old proverb. In fact,'it would seem as if. competitions, and not . competition, would soon . constitute the soul of trade. Large firms in' ;l\iris aiid .London have recently .developed a craso for offering prizes' -for "tiro best toquey. ■ tho best.; motor Jiat, the E - j;wk'st blouse,, and so forth.' Thoe.work sent in for competition is then exhibited in somo hall; or gallery, occasionally- conhccted with tho shop, but 1 moro frequently >iii' somo ultrasmart hotel. The Hotel Cecil, in London, has recently been, tho scene of an exhibition Ciuita exciting to feminine motorists. Everything from veils to overshoes wero exhibited, the. prize-winning hat being a small- mushroom shaped ooc, ■ well calculatedto withstand wind and weather.' 1