LADIES' COLUMN.

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 37, 12 August 1905, Page 11

LADIES' COLUMN.

The letter of Priscilla will <be found on page 15. London Fashion Notes. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, 21st June, 1905. A study of the best gowns now reveals the fact that the tendency is towards the more graceful lines of three or four seasons ago, and the styles now are more graceful and artistic than they have lately been. Some delightful frocks for girls are composed of the new printed voiles of the very silky texture and of a little more substance than muslin. Some of the most dainty irfuslins are in pale shades of eau-de-nil, adorned with large hand-worked collars and cuffs and quaint sashes. A great deal of attention is now devoted to accessories and. details, for a dainty finish to collar and cuffs, the correct vest, fichu, and waistband, and parasol, ruffle, and headgear must all correspond, and above all, there must be perfect harmony as regards colour. And colours this year are perhaps a little difficult; everything must be a match or a harmony, and thus a sunshade and a ruffle is required for every hat, not to mention such details as silk underskirts, stockings, and shoes. It has been remarked that hardly a smart gown is to be seen without a white chemisette, ■Which*, together with the white frills or puffings whioh appear under the edge of sleeves, imparts a dainty touch. Elbowlength sleeves are fashionable for day wear and for all smart occasions, with ! trimmings flatly arranged holding them closely to the arm just above. In most cases a frill of laoe will fall far enough to cover the elbow, but I have seen some of quite the newest sleeves which have only the merest frills as a finish, and these are so short that the elbow is oxposed, with a result that is anything but pleasing. Detachable undersleeves are in demand, and these, are ol all descriptions, but are chiefly or net or lace or some other fine material. Although the elbowlength sleeve is the orthodox one, the upper portion may be treated in numerous ways, so that the similarity ends with the length. There are cl6se-fitting sleeves wrinkled in mousquetaire fashion, and these are generally worn with the sharp-pointed, high-busted Louis bodices. There are short sleeves formed of several frills overlapping and set on a, puff foundation, or on three separate foundaj tions, all set into the armhole and varying in length ; the top frill is generally the fullest and widest, and the lowest one fits rather closely to the arm, so that the broad shoulder line and gigot suggestion are achieved. The frill sleeve is considered to be particularly pretty when it is arranged to slope downward in points on the outer arm. The upper portion of a number of sleeves is cut in the leg-of-mutton drooping style, but this does not become popular. The plain puff sleeve is most often seen, and sometimes this puff is divided in the middle with a, few lowa of gauging t& form .'» double puff ; frills of lace are introduced as a finish at the elbow. The triple puff is seen too sometimes, with fitting cuff to the wrist ; then there are sleeves elaborately puckered longitudinally; and then there is a close fitting little elbow sleeve made by setting two widths of lace lengthwise into the armhole affl running them to the elbow, the scalloped edges turned towards each other on the outside of the arm, but not quite meeting, and being held in position by little straps of folded ribbon or velvet or even by small sprays of flowers, while a. fall of lace again gives 'the necessary finish. But one could go on writing about present-day sleeves and yet not exhaust their possibilities of variety, and this same amazing variety seems to extend to nearly every item of dress, so that there J is a wide choice to be had in every direction. Very beautiful effects are obtained by the use of shot taffetas, which is a leading material this season, when something with a little substance is desired, and in pale tints they reach perfection, the best being worked in embroideries, which take in the same tones. Whenever materials will allow it, the various shaded effects of the season are made to appear; and some dresses in moussolino or chiffoii create a singularly flower-like effect ; quits a number of the smartest dresses are trimmed with some lingerie material, such as Swiss batiste, mousseline, etc., and these make a very pretty and soft finish to dresses of taffetas, shot or plain Pink and blue — in the bright Trianon shades — is a raro combination in .the embroideries of some dresses whose ground material it is at times difficult to de termine, for several delicate shades nro so cleverly woven together. Braids, galloons, embroideries and other flat trimmings aro not only to be plentifully used, bub they are to be liberally supplemented by frills, ruches, frou-frous, and lace of every kind, but chiefly of Irish make. Since the fashion of having the long skirt of a coat slit up the back has been revived, there is yet further increased op portunity for stowing away trimmings, especially as the sleeves are often slit | up the back almost to the shoulders, to match the three-quarter skirt of the coat ; all these borders are hemmed with fanciful galloons or with the silk mohair braid, on which there lias been such a run since the autumn of last year. The completely white lace dresses are very lovely^ and their effective appearance is enhanced by just the merest touch of colour which can be introduced in the form of a feather upon the white hat or even by the jewellery worn, or, perhaps, by a waistbelt of the most delicate colour of some sort. When a smart and yet simple diess is wanted, broad tucks come in with good effect, and the bodice, when adorned with white chemisette and embroidered lawn collar and wrist ruffles, is an easily secured triumph. Boleros are seen in all sorts of fancy arrangements of embroidery, lace, or of designs in bruid ; some' are made entirely of open lace designs, formed of narrow braids, and theso are quite striking and can bo worn with good effect over a dreia bodice of another kind. Little lace boleros arc made of both fine and heavy lace, and in the latter description Irish lace is prominently employed. These little lace boleros are made to curve in scallops for tv 'little distance above the belt-line, and they are also made to hang square round the figure or else to form points on each side of the front and back ; in all cases .they arc small and fanciful, and their edges are finished with an outline of the lace or embroidery used in the- pattern. Indeed, the new lingerie coats, some of which are long and loo&e nnd loose and some of which are fehort and fitting, are among the prettiest of tho summer garments, and are often used as wraps to protect some very perishable dress underneath. These lace coats must always be worn— when they are intended to bo' otherwise than mere coverings— wi>h very plain skirts, and the fashionable accompanying skirts are those of mull, whoso soft lines accentuate the rich elaboration of laco nnd embroidery worn over them. They are regarded as being smarter when made entirely of embroidery or of embroidery mingled with lace, and they arc generally made upon the lines of the box coat as to cut, since seams arc not desirable in them, and are seldom been ; the embroidery or lace is as a rule .so nppliqucd together as to do away with any semblance- of seams.