MODES OF THE MOMENT

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 30, 29 October 1932, Page 6

MODES OF THE MOMENT

Passing Notes by Jane Wellington, October 29. ]ig tfae gort of weat h e r when to sit in an armchair in front of a slumbrous tire, a good book in baud, and a comfoitable consciousness that it doesn’t matter whether you out ’uJJ unattainable dream of hard-working humanity, we tn the city have had our compensation. The Wellington district has trimmed the flounces m its skirts with the golden glory of yellow gorse, a gesture of defiance to_thi sunless skies, a reminder from Nature, in our darkest, days, that tecoveij is inevitable. In other words, that the.world of Wellington is at the spriu o Is indicated by the gorse and not by the weather. I must tell you of the new tennis dresses, for when tbc ram up theie is over, and the first of the shearing is done, you will be at your tenuis again without doubt, practising for the Christmas tournament's, und you may as well know the latest fads of fashion in connection with appropriate garb. The white sleeveless frocks this year are nearly all embellished Mini strappings or pipings or buttons of a contrasting colour, aud the white canvas shoes to wear with them have little strapped trimmings, too, to match. For instance, a dress of heavy white silk may have a turnover collar done up at the neck, where a tie of blue and white checked silk is knotted, with long wide ends that are caught under the belt at the waist, and three blue and silver buttons may mark the maebined-down edge of the deep shoulder. Another, of one of the new coarse-fibred weaves of silk linen, could be edged round collar, revers, and short sleeves with narrow pipings of red, red buttons used on the double-breasted front, and a red buckle on the rather ■wide stitched belt. The white shoes worn with these dresses IXOIII4 lie strapped in the first instance with blue, in the second with red, and the hat would be of white summer felt, with not too wide a brim; or one oi the little knitted pull-on Johnny caps, in white, or the contrast-colour. You’ll want to know about necks, I expect. ’Those of day frocks arc as high aud modest as those of evening gowns are otherwise. There are still quantities of scarves worn, mostly of coloured printed silk, tied in a soft; bow at. the side of the throat. It’s a very becoming fashion; very feminine. The little choker wool scarves that match caps knitted or crocheted in the same stitch, are quite short, and to avoid tbe bulk of a knot, one end is pushed up to form a bow, and the first twist seems to keep it in place. These sets are made of every fashionable colour and combination of colours, and tlie variety of stitches used for them is infinite. A new one seems to be invented every day. I tvant to make at least a dozen to give the girls I know at Christmas time. How absurd it seems that we must, confine our work to fingers, when we’ve been given ten perfectly good toes! They say that no American business man is really happy because no one has invented a way for him to use ills feet ■while he’s telephoning. The person who will teach us to knit with our toes while we sew or darn or cut up vegetables with our fingers, will be the real benefactor. On many of the summer afternoon frocks the round necks are finished with a variation of tlie dog-collar so popular just after the war. Ou a flowered crepe de chine dress—a perfectly simple dress without flounces or tucks or ornamentation of any sort, because the floral design was rightly considered of sufficient interest, and an unbroken line the object—there was a collar of double georgette, edged with narrow knife-pleating, of the ground-colour, which was yellow. It was cut ou the cross, about four inches wide, sewn without fullness round tbe neck, and gathered up at the back under a soft bow, so that the front was drawn into a slight cowl. There were little puffed sleeves to match, with three rows of pleating round the widest part. These little sleeves are cut to fit the armhole, then widened so that, the edge will gather and turn under to meet the net foundation without which they entirely lose their chic. You may find, in that fashion, a really satisfactory way to alter a last year’s crepe de chine dress. Take out tbe sleeves, contrive that tbe neck shall be a round one, fairly high, and bide the joins under tiie soft collar. And I must fly. With love. Yours. JANE.