LADIES' COLUMN.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 49, 26 August 1911, Page 11

LADIES' COLUMN.

London Jtashion Notes. A USEFUL POSSESSION. [PROM OTTC OWN CORRESPONDENT.] • LONDON, 14th July. In these days a wrap of awn© description is needed fof all occasions, and, realising this, the judicious snapper spends some time in the department devoted to cloaks and coats, so that these have become of the leading lines in the sales. Many of them are genuine reductions. Most demand rune on the reversible wrap of satin—black reversed with a colour or of two-colour contrasts. A great many chow a brilliant cerise on one i side and a soft primrose on the other —there is a pearl grey, too, that goes well with the cherry-hue. With black brilliant colours are used, ono of the greeD?, known as National green, bein«r especially daring; a shot satin, too, is used for these easily-thrown-on wraps, I and much of it shows black blended with a brilliant hue. All these cloaks are Magyars, and have long tapering revew in front fastened off with a braid 6rnhmenfc; at, the back the collar may be a square sailor shape. The reversible satin wrap is ac much .worn for the day time aa for the ovening, no matter if the scheme does happen to be rather gorgeous. For the day time, of course, neutral shades should have the preference, and ' there are many examples to be had in mole,, silver grey, and beaver, all being effective in aatm. , There are dust coate and travelling coats of white serge. Shantung, alpaca, . and, perhaps most useful of all, heavy casement cloth. This material waeh&s like a rag, and, will never wear out. Ita colours keep chiefly to beaver*, greyg, and ' cream, and silk collars and cuSs of con- < trastmg hue mako them very smart. Some of the cream 6erge blanket coate are more like blankets than before, as i now there is a coloured border, just as i the blanket has, which is put round iia ■ ed g 6 of the coat, a'so on th& collar and cuffs. Most of these Coats are made with a long j straight paned back, with large- • revers in front, and with sleeves that are ' seamed in; a few are belted behind in military style. The sports jacket, if not ' of knitted wool, is of twill serge ; it is ' welPproyided with patch pockets, and in ' all likelihood ths sleeves will b» of Rag ' lan pattern. Golf coats and caps are ' new when the surface is of loosely knitted i white wool lined with a colour, also of knitted wool; the double-layer effect of white and colour is very smart, the rango i of the jatte? including cerise, emerald, and various shades of blue. The woollen skirt is not found so useful as a tweed one, so that ths general uniform will consist of the coat and cap only; the cape are still rather long and narrow in shape, some being finished with tarned-up ear* pieces after the style of a l)uteh bonnet. Turning f rom ( the useful to the smart, -one meets the little silk coatee that is co much /worn with . the , dress of broderie Anglaise or flowered ninon. The shapes &t these are as various as are the colours, but one of the quaintest is a cross be- , tween the Japanese and a dolman; the whole thing is quite short, barely reach* ing to the hips, the front* ars rounded off, and there le a talk ruehing as a finish all round. At the back, above the waistline, the fulness is gathered on to a cord, and the appearance is (something that of a little cape. Some of the silk coats are made with folds draped loosely over ; the shoulders, forming half sleeves, and drawn together in front with several rowe of pi»ed gatherings. < Shot sills are used ' as well as plain colours, but care must be_ taken that the colour does not clash ' with the colour-scheme of the dress. Shot blues and pinks look dainty on, white dresses, f The curious pattern* include the coats which are eleeveiesS &ftd which have Ino shoulder aeam, but. which fasten under i the arm by means of invisible hooka and eyes. FASCINATIONS OF THE FRENCH KNOT. Thia summer we have t marvellous embroideries; they owe their origin to lace and silks and, beads, for the most part, and when finished the result is One of ' intricate elaboration, Yet in spite of the ' ' presence all round us of marvellous ineer- ' tions and embroideries, we are quite glad I to welcome back the simple little French 1 knot, though, true, the, arrangement of this simple little knot is not always so I unassuming as it used to be, for it ia ! growing ambitious, and is .inclined to 1 describe rather intricate designs t in, colours that are many, associating itself at times witb buttonhole stitchery g and the Russian cfo&B-etitch. % On lingerie collars •artd on belts) on guimps, on each ends, on jabots, on ha! buckles, and on fancy bags, the French knot has a pla&fej following patterns that are quite charming. Oa linen dresses the decoration is attractive, and one frock of apple-gre^n linen had the ffont decorated with an intricate design of the knots, which also clustered about the waietbelt, and m/ide a d«ep border to the apron-fronted tunic; the turned-back cuffs were worked with the same, and the colours iniroduoed were pale blue, faint pink, and various shades of mauvej the Russian stitchery mingled with the knots, and a buttonholing finished the apron border. Considerable development of fche idea, may be looked for, sometimes in ae&ociation with fine braid* ing. That things are not always whafc they seem is evidenced by the presence of a substitute for braiding; this substitute is chain etitchery, and if evenly worked it has juet the appearance of braid. The. home dreesmakei who tv,anta to use chain-«titeh trimmings will pro* bably be glad to know how to proceed. Published instructions say: Bring the needle to the right side of the fabric, hold the thread with the left thumb, ,in* sert the at the starting-point, bringing it out about one-eighth of an inch below and in liner with the startingpoint. The loop of the thread thus formed is held in place by the next loop, i Put the needle always in the previous i loop and very near the place it wa« brought out. SCENT, AND ITS USES. Everywhere one goes one is met by an odour of scent, each user "having the per* 1 fume she likes best, until a particular kuid of aoent 6e«ms to become associated with ,ber. The boxes in her bedroom i containing veils and glove* and handker- , chiefs all -are provided with scent packi etß; the special perfume seems to exude from her notepaper and her visiting carda; from the cushions in her boudoir, ' drawing room, and motor car ; from her ; lingerie, and even from the rubber dreas ; fthield which every woman now seems i to have adopted— these shields can be ; bought scented. Not only t is the particular perfume associated > with everything the wearer has, but it is also associated with the pet dog she carries, the little , creature having >to be sprinkled day by 1 day to match its mistress. Ac a rule 1 the scent, though so general, is not over- ' f/owering or unpleasant; it should never, ' of course, be more than a slight sagges- ! tion. Here and there, in a orowd, one \ does come across an individual who is i strong of lily of the valley or 'white lilac ; • but a faint whiff of violet, rose, or laI vender is much more usual. Sofa cushions ' are made fragrant by an interlining of ' wadding sachets filled with pot-pourri 1 mad© from freshly-gathefed blossoms, and much of this is done at home. Sweet- • tinelling petals are gathered and placed > in a basin with a layer of salt over them, j fresh petals are # daily added until sufflf cient. pot-pourri is made; the mixture is . then put ineide a wadded sachet, this is slipped under the cushion cover, and j when the odour growa stale the packet can be easily taken away, A very sue • cessfrtl lavender aacbet w made with a T pound of dried lavender,, a pound of rose • petals, two ounces of cinnamon, half a l pound of closely-crushed orris root, and • a pound of dry table salt; it will be j ready for U56 in & fortnight. It is \ , stated that a number of fashionable wo3 frien have thie season been using perfume specially distilled fof them hy «ne of the • great scent-makets ; the multitude cannot ; obtain it, howeter much they may wish » to buy it. i Perfumed water is provided for ladies who smoke j the strong soe&t of the »sa is

dropped into water, and into this the smoKer scatters the ash from her cigarette. The fragrant water is supposed to counteract the odour of tobacco, and in Paris, where cigarettes are passed round at tea parties, each visitor is given a little basin containing the perfumed liquid. The basins themselves aro choice, made of onyx or alabaster wr ornamental ohina. SHOES AND STOCKINGS. These, of course, ought to match, but choosers of coloured footwear seem to grow more and more careless about this important point They will wear coloured shoe^ with t black 9tockings, and black stockings with coloured shoes. The only redeeming feature is that one or the other happens to match the dress or some of its details, but it seems so strange that the harmony cannot be carried out all through if coloured shoed &nd neckings are preferred to black ones. Walking shoes conj tinue to be made of various sorts of leather, and two kinds of leather are often used together. Kid and patent leather are combined, so are patent leather and suede, while more and more shoes are turned out of saakeskin in mottled grey and beaver shades, and the crocodile skin, too, finds numerous patrons when it is turned into walking shoes. "Gaiter" shoes are those of black patent leather, with uppers of white kid or suede, which, coming low on the vamp, are suggestive ot gattors, especially as they button at the side. Suede shoes *ro of numerous shades, including light grey, beaver, violet, green, cream, and blue, Most of the shoes are low-cut, and without straps or tongue, being finished on tho instep with the very fiat bow of corded ribbon ; but there are still many which have the metep straps and#some which have a sni all tongue, finished on the instep with a buckle of steel pr jet or silver or paste. The Cuban heel ib still seen, )*. spite ot its heavy appearance when associated with a low-cut walking shoe. The surface of antelope is co soft and velvety that it is not always e*«y to say whether velvet or antelope is the material used. The favourite 6hoe-front is still long and narrow. < Hosiery is fanciful— much is han-em-brpidered, ntueh is woven with striped effect, some is decorated with woven spots. ISeatest of all are silk stockings, which are without adornment save for the clock afc the side; moro elaborate are the silk stockings inlet with motifs of CRantilly lace; these, though intended for evening wear, are worn m the daytime as welL While the weather is wafm il seems strange that two pairs of rtockmgß should be -worn together, but this is being done. The under one is of colour in very thin silk, the outer on© is of filmy Mack silk net. Striped 'hosiery should be ohOsen to match the striped cotton dress, and the spotted variety should be chosen with similar purpose m view. Spots of cerise are to bo found on stoCKings of navy, blaok hose is spotted *ith grey, brown dißcs are allied with golden hose. Indeed, to ths colour combination there is no limitation. When the cheap tlvread stockings are bought, either nlam tr with oosnworked fronts, care is taken to see that they have feet of wool, fir then they are much more comfortable to wear; ootton feet are- pretty sure to get very stiff and hard when washed.