New And Striking Ideas From Overseas Fashion Houses

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 142, 12 March 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

New And Striking Ideas From Overseas Fashion Houses

ACCESSORIES are very much in the limelight in the newest autumn fashions. Frocks, coats and ensembles are all designed with striking simplicity and interest is centred on buttons, collars, jabots, gloves, shoes and especially hats.

■yiVIU emerald green added gaiety to many of the autumn suits and coats on which it appeared as a trimming at a recent fashion parade.

A brown camel-hair cloth coat was finished with a cravat and breast pocket handkerchief of emerald green. The coat buttoned high at one side of the neck and had a deep inverted pleat down the back of the skirt.

As a foil for a suit, of wineberry Angora wool emerald green was used again in a stock tied high at the throat, and the same colour scheme was shown in an ensemble consisting of an emerald green frock, with braid in a darker shade trimming the bodice, and a wineberry fur felt hat with a tucked crown. Persian lamb, English coney, American opossum, and water mole were the furs used for trimming top coats. Several models showed entire sleeves composed of fur, while others were.cut with bolero effects edged with fur to match the collars. Outstanding among the evening models shown was a simply-designed black gown worn with a little black net bolero sewn with gold sequins in a curly design, and edged with a band of sequins. Another attractive bolero, also worn over a black gown, was covered with silver beading, and was sleeveless.

Navy suede allied with black patent leather is surprisedly smart in autumn shoes. The patent leather is used to trim the toe and heel of a highfronted street shoe in the navy suede. Mulberry . and penny or malaga brown are the two newest colours for day shoes, while bronze kid is also used with success for afternoon pumps.

Every shoe for day-time wear is cut high over the instep, and heels show a tendency to become shorter and thicker, and so give more comfort without detracting from the smartness of the shoe. Evening heels, after their brief descent to sports shape last winter, have risen to the highest stilts.

Schiaparelli, .despite certain exaggerations, is heading for quiter clothes. While she may have pink garters to her gloves, she yet clings to slim, fitting, inconspicuous suits of moderate length. These may have wood or leather buttons; they may have brightly coloured blouses; they may have plenty of flat pockets, edged, perhaps, with shiny leather, but they are quiet in tone. Some of the new black suits look smart with blouses made of a knobbly jersey,

which fits closely and yet has a pleasantly rough surface. These black suits have become almost the foundation of a smart wardrobe. Hats have been jumping from one eccentricity to another, and the peasant bonnet could hardly have been more travestied. Even here pleasing lines have been evolved out of some of the absurdities. The forage cap is yielding some good lines, especially when stuck through with a quill or two. The beret is ever with us, both in its/ soft state for the young and in its crystallised state for the old. Schiaparelli exaggerates, so that something may be left after the toning down. She has a black hat with a long handle trimmed with a cutlet frill. The “Nonsense” berets are like tightly buttoned cushions or the seat of a chair upholstered and studded with different-coloured buttons. One hat is really a padded muffin pricked witli little pink buttons. It lies flat on the head in front and is padded a little more thickly to raise it behind. With some suits are worn the new hoods. They resemble the old-fashioned motorveil, but are worn directly over the hair, the long ends being swathed round to the back of file neck and then brought, forward again. The fool's cap, much varied, holds its own. Introduced by Schiaparelli, it is developed by various designers until sometimes it looks like the Doge’s headdress.

The best, evening frocks tire severe and simple in line. Velvets, satins, chiffons, lames are only .a few ol the materials used, among which stiff fine lace figures largely. A deep sappliircblue velvet dress is moulded closely to the figure. A puce, prune, or almost purple slate coloured satin Ims a draped

bust and is entirely smooth over the hips. Many evening frocks end with a little wriggly train, which lends parts but not magnitude. These severe frocks call loudly for little coats, which grow elaborate in inverse proportion to the dresses. Some of them might be ambassadorial by nature, so heavj is the gold lace, so formal the design. Velvet coats are worked with all sorts of sequins. Collars and fronts have stiff gold embroidery. Coats of lame have touches of brilliant colour like the Schiaparelli pink. These coats make the dresses more beautiful than they would otherwise seem—that is to say, they throw up their beauty of line, which because of their severity might escape the casual observer.