TRIMMING THE FROCK.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 197, 14 May 1908, Page 5

TRIMMING THE FROCK.

" It, "is - only when occasionally 'orio: comcs across '-.'a-, dress -bodied. .without, the'softening >. effect'of.ltho; white or! cream ".front". 1 that' wo. realise what. an : esspntial feature,, it' is of, o\ir gowns (says, a woman writer- in tho "Argus"). The "front"'may only bo a high collar with - frills or lace, forming a jabot, but it gives the' light touch which we never tire of: . The cold, hard colours, which wo^ld-be-otherwise impossible, become quite and effective; with the judicious useof lace, net, or soft muslin near,the throat. White, or cream silk or satin should neverbo used/in preforence, and even chiffon, unless, it. is tucked, is not to bo recommended. It isjiard to say why such, distinctions should be made, but they exist, and it. is paying attention to details like these that constitutes one of tho most important i-ules of ' tasteful dressing. Tlie trimming of a gown is another-pitfall, 'for the great: majority- ofwomen think that if a dress: is not " handsomely -trimmed " it cannot 1 bs a bit smart, forgetting that good dressing ■of the hour is Dascd -on. simplicity. Trimming is certainly used with tlio present modes, but only es a suggestion, not as a.plaster. A good piece of embroidery or lace never comes amiss, but its quality must bo excellent, for cheap imitations are detestable. Nowadays we. aro -.suffering from, .the market 'being' flooded- with horrible cheap imitations of a more exponsivo -imitation. The beautiful Chinese and Oriental embroidery wo all admire so much this winter is in many-cases an excellent reproduction of an- original design, and, though only a copy, it follows closely,, stitch'for stitch, the exclusivo . article. Of course, oven that :s expensive, for no good thing,-be it a'reproduction or not,' is ever cheap. And now there is a third edition of the original, and it is to be avoided. The same thing applies to lace, and '.f a good thing cannot bo, afforded it is as ' well to do without.- For an effective evening skirt, trimming there .is nothing newer than crossway folds of satin of the same shade as the material, and strappings of net threaded with satin ribbon are pretty and i in.-.ily managed. Either, of these trimmings looks well on any of the new skirts, no matter what, shape. .