Paris in the Mirror

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 124, 21 November 1931, Page 9

Paris in the Mirror

written tor "Th« Post" by Germane.

PARIS, 23rd September.

The time of Adventure in Dress is at hand, when we shall all be trying new lines, new fabrics, new combinations of colour. Fashion, therefore, begins to make herself look more attractive than ever, and when the secrets of the Paris collections, which are now being shown, have all been revealed, the wise woman

will set herself to study the new mode and its many implications, and to plau ahead for the days -which are to come. Meanwhile, in this transition period, there is a necessity for something new —not a startling novelty, but a pleasant change. At such a time smart women are looking about for just tho right accessory. Well do they know that a new hat, new shoes, bag, and gloves can so easily, through novelty and variety, a.dd length of fashionable life to an oftcu worn, familiar dress. There are certain smart women, who, all through the year, maintain their reputation for chic by means of few dresses, and many accessories. The question of colour is important at such a time, since a new accent can give a fresh note. Changing tho colour accents changes the whole effect. Scarves and furs arc very useful too, adding warmth to the coat without fur, and they are, at the same lime, frankly decorative. The best of the old, that which has

proved to be comfortable and of service, takes on a new lease of life. The new shoes added to one's present possessions are generally only a slight variation or an exact copy, in another material and colour, of a favourite shoe. The first good hats each season aro generally developed from familiar successes in new materials and colours.

FOR SPORTS.

We are still allowed to be sporting and athletic to a certain extent, although it is no longer considered smart for a woman to spend her whole time playing games, or dashing about the countryside in high-speed motor-cars.

This season ire may say that the charm of sporting styles is complicated by the need of a personal touch in the selection of materials, in consequence of their special texture and the indescribable variety of their colours. In the Collections, which have just come out, a very important place is taken by the new wool fabrics which are exquisitely fanciful and perfectly supple. They have original designs, diagonals and chevrons in comparatively lively shades being uoticeable. In tailor-mades, for motoring or walking, in ensembles, for morning, in combinees for general wear, in dressy tailormades, these materials express a dominant point in the new styles.

Smartly tailored sports suits of the finest flannel suiting, dyed to any colour you wish, are going to bo very popular this autumn. Some of the sports suits have suede coats, topping skirts in the most lovely colours. The skins from which they are made are so fine and supple that they look like very thick, dull-surfaced crepe.

AUTUMN MILLINERY.

Paris is about to realise our dreams of a hat with an ostrich feather on it, for the newest and first autumn hats are made of velvet, with ostrich feathers for trimming.

It is a pleasant surprise to many women, when they come to realise that they need not go on wearing a beret for ever,.and those who have so bravely bared their heads to the storms of ridicule, that they may seek once more the welcome protection of a brim, or at least the beginning of one. All of which shows that the milliners arc lenient to lined foreheads. The newest hats have a dashing, asymmetrical line that is the reverse of monotonous, while even tho beret gains new glamour from a spotted eve-veil.

Hats seem tv be divided now into two categories. The newest kind are thuse- that do make some attempt to flatter the fa«e, while the other is simply a variation of the hats we have been wearing all the summer. These last seem to bo designed for tho sole purpose of showing up the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about our faces, and when you look at most: women's faces, you realise how nine I) wiser they would be to choose hats that flatter them slightly. Feathers that trim the new hats are of the ostrich persuasion, and some are often lacquered. Aluminium feathers are new, and painted feathers are seen. Jewels and flowers and ribbons trim hats in various ways.

FASHION HINTS,

The more original the colours, the more elaborate the fabric, the more distinguished will be your costume. Women have had two surprises this summer. They wear trousers in the ballroom, and use multi-coloured racquets on the tennis courts. The halo-sh.'ipcd coronets, one of the latest developments in modern jewellery, are still fashionable. They are seen in coloured synthetic, stones, in crystal dewdrops, and in pearls. They somewhat resemble the Russian head-