LADIES' COLUMN.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 154, 29 June 1912, Page 13

LADIES ' COLUMN.

London Haahion JSTotea. THEN AND NOW. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, 17th May. Not much more than a year has elapsed since curiosity took all London to tli© Gaiety Theatre to see tho display of liarem skirts in " Peggy." Now Londoners are wending their way with some interest to tho Shafteebury and "Princces Caprice " to look at tho show ladies who pass to and fro wearing the panier in many versions. The harem had few followers in r<?al life, but there is every indication that the life of the paaiex' will he considerably longer. True, tho revival hae not been hailed with great joy, but the fashionable who place them-t-fllves in- tho hand* of dressmakers- will bo sure to have to dioplay it in com« form, oven if fulness and drapery are placed nearer the feet tHan the : hipn. Certainly it sounds queer for paniersto decorate the feet instead of the region jnafc below tho waist, but it is evident that only by degree* will the dressmaker* be able to induce their cuutomera to pprt with tho straight line, and they prefer generally to bring about the change to increased fulness quito gradually. Murmurs axe low, so lonjr as tho hips are not made wider, therefoie recourse » co often had to drapery all about tho knees and the feet, and objectcrs to th's arrangement seem to be fo~. When hip-pesiiers are of bunched-out taffetas they are, of course, very eonsyicuous, but when they are of fine laco and nearly flat they are hardly noticeable, and there ia every likelihood that the flat panier of lace or net, worn at the regulation height, will be a very usual feature of the summer dress. There i* nothing clumsy about it, and no reasonable objection can be taken, to the flat side pieces pf filet lace falling easily till laidway on the skirt, when the ends arc gathered and tucked slightly under to* form a moderate puff. At Longchamps lately, many panier dresses have been eeen, but for tho most pad. there has been tho tendency . for the draperies to look as if they had slipped down near tho f.eet. Preference it. general for the hips to be free, and for any drapery to be gathered up at each side' in circular ioldr. from the knees downward. At tho Shafteebury the difference- in the arrangement an<l position arc much too bewildormgly varied to be all taken in st ono view. There ie co much difference in, detail. Sometimes there is a panier only at one- side, at other times it it both aides, find there are occasions whan a hanging-ovex puff is tied up all ! round tho skirt somewhere about the knees, and 'I is possible to have a double tier of this all-round haflging--otot puffing, while -still another edition hefi the Fulness only at the back of the okirt. Or.o of the mo6t attractive of tb/v dresses aa worn on the stage in of pale primrose hand-embroidored ninon, ■trimmed with a skilfully arranged under drapery of delicate blue ninon. The ' bodice, kimono in cut, hae a fichu of fine white filet lace, and tho paniare-of tho lace are not too bulgy. Their, presence ia made known chiefly by the outlines of the pale blue drapery which seems to be there to bring tho paniers into notice, and ako to throw up tho effective embroidery. One attractive dress of leafgreen moire has side paniers of white Melines lace, flat rather than bunchy. In contrast is the drees of moonlight blue charmeuw, with full side paniers, which are made particularly prominent because the middlo panel of tho skirt ie quite plain, and is made of coral pink-pleated chiffon. "A dress of shrimp-pink charmcueo has back paniore of tulle to match, and a gold poael embroidery down tho front 'of tho skirt. Another time the aide draperies, are. made to fall over no low on the ekirt that they are hardly paniers, though they may well be described as the thin end of the wedge. SOUD AND SEVERE. These adjective do not convey any impression of charm, but they eeem to describe a very recent edition of the blouse, and a style, likely to be met mariy times over for many months to come. The blouse is not at all fussy, yet it is smart; it can. hardly be described as dressy, yet it seems to be too much for morning wear. It looks solid because it is made of taffetas, and although that made of silk is really soft to the feel it is stiff and hard to the appearance. To the severe type of blouse we have been accustomed ever since the perfectly plain Magyar made its appearance, out the materials used have generally been voilages, which always are soft to look at. The latest edition of the taffetas blouse is something quite different. For tho most part the silk chosen is white ; there' is a fastening all the way down the front from the neck to the waist, and the buttons used are of crystal, flat and' thick, about the size of a shilling; a dozen of theso make procession from neck to waist; the buttonholes are outlined with taffetas of a colour, maybe shot. There is an American yoke, and this is piped with coloured eilk to match the buttonholes. The ftleeve is much more like tho old leg-of-mutton pattern than any we have eeen for a long while, and where it is seamed into tho annkole there is anothe* line of the colour-piping, a similar touch at tho wrist of the long sleeves mounting the fully pleated net frill which fall 6 over the hands. Just Under the. chin, the blouse is of tucked white silk, but from each side and going round to the back there is a high collar of the coloured eilk, with v deep tiirn-over piece. A. cascade of pleated white net furnisher the front of ths blouse, and tho necJr piece may bo taken to each side to meet the colour. Some of these white taffetas blouses have cerise silk as the colour relief, many have silk of blue and green shot, while as the union of white with navy is fctfll so much liked, navy s-ilk eeeins very appropriate to use with the white silk blouse. Somo of the blouses differ from others in small details — for instance, as a. change, the buttons nitty form a zig-zag line down ..one eido of this front instead of down tho middle — but the general effect is much the earnc. Some, instead of having tho sleeve seamed in at the shouldei", have a semiMagyar top, the plain piece coming for 6ome distance round the arm before the oolpur line is introduced. Then, too, coloui'ed silk may be used instead of white, coloured buttons of dyed glass may be used instead of the crystal variety, but this blouse, despite iittle difference's of detail, belongs to a clad* cf its own; it may be worn outside tin skirt, as there is at times a little basquo added, or it may bo tucked inside. While not exactly fujl in front, it is certainly much more easy to the figure than .the Magyars used to be, and ther© is the suggestion of a pouch above the | waist. Those who prefer- something easy to get into arc - welcoming tho oldfashioned method of front buttoning, I wliilo another detail that seems to pUv^o is the little pocket put high on the lefthand side large enough to hold & small handkoiichief— this handkerchief, by the way, ought to correspond with the colour scheme of the blouse, in which cas© care will be taken to leavo a point standing up ; if the handkerchief is a bad ma'cii ox no match at all, it will bo stuffed well into the pocket and quite out of ««ight. There are lots of extraordinary handkerchiefs on sale now, some coloured all over, some with startling borders, while lozenge Bpotß of white oa a coloured boxdea* are' ofteji skweo.

A FEATURE OF THE SEASON. On© hesitates to tackle the subject of neckwear. Particular attention has been paid t& it by n-.ajiufacturerti and designers, and as a consequence the public is bewildered at the wonderfully varied choice that is available. Neck ruffles of ostrich and taffetas and marabout stand in a category by themselves, and they are shown in a selection that never before has been equalled. It is difficult to believe that neckwear can ever in tho past have attracted tho attention that it is doing at tho moment. One .hesitates to -say which type exactly i« ili« nowest, for novelties j>eem to abound. ™Ye have iiot before had the pieii'ot frill of net inado in threo tiers — the middle one being of black, the top and bottom on* of ecru : this sometimes just touches the tip of the .shoulder, sometimes it is narrower, but thero arc evidences tliat the two-tier net frill will develop into a ohouldei* cape. &> drop ar? many of tho I latest pieces of tho material. Flat frills of white net, fresh and dainty, are run through afc tho edge with a line of black—- white and black effects are as smart as over — and thero is a corresponding piece b> finish the wrists. Tho two-tined and three-tiered frills aie made of goffered lawn, muelin, and lace, as well as of net. Among tho upstanding neck finishes perhaps the Robespierre is the most prominent; it is made of lawn in white or colour, or of satin or silk, with the limp turn-over top. the entire front consists of a cascade of lace, worn as a jabot or as a double frill, which falls attractively down the front of coat or drees or of Magyar blouse, and when it is noted that the price begins at about 3s and may run up to 355, it will be gathered that the Robespierre collar is 1 a. detail of considerable importance.