Paris in the Mirror

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 111, 12 May 1934, Page 9

Paris in the Mirror

PAEIS, March 21. Tiees in bud and flo.vcrs shyly raising their heads arc not the only sign of spring. The little workroom hands pouring out of the dressmaking houses in the Rue dc la Paix and the Champs Elysees provide as sure a proof of the arrival of the season as do the wild daffodils on the flower stalls.

, Hatless, and arm in arm, their eyes sparkling, they surround the nearest flower woman and recklessly spend a franc on a" bunch of violets, instead of putting it towards their lunch. Nobody says good-bye to winter more heartily than they do. Then there is another sign of spring to be seen in the Paris streets. The ice-cream merchant has returned. In the small shops which have sprung up of late years to cater to an ever-growing appetite for ice drinks and ice cream, the waitresses are already serving clients. And finally, of course, there are the Easter eggs in the windows of confectioners, which prove that, whatever the weather is like, spring is really here. PARIS CREATIONS IN PAPER. A new frock, every day is the tantalising prospect offered to women by a dressmaker who has just sprung to fame and who has a little salon hidden away in a quiet corner of this city. She has taken to designing creations in paper, cellophane, a nd stiffened muslin, which can. be worn for a day and then thrown away, for they cost so little that an extensive wardrobe of them would be available even to the woman of moderate means. This fantastic idea is born of the conviction that constant variety is desirable in dress—presumably so that the freshness of a woman's charm shall not be allowed to fade for lack of embellishment. To extract the full essence of this idea, the design of the • paper dresses should be inspired by characters from history. Thus, the wife with the requisite physical attractions, might surprise her husband by appearing one day as La Pompadour-and the next day as the Empress Josephine. History could be searched for other creations likely to produce the desired effect. COLOURS. If you want to stake your all on one thing for the daytime, get it in dark blue touched with a bright colour, probably sealing-wax red, or if you prefer it, let the contrast be in white. The new colour of this spring is blue. Bright olive Brown is smart, olive green, a dark, ricli bottle" green, and blue, as I have just said, in every shade. In the evening, don't let anyone tell you you look sweet in pale pink or pale blue, unless it is lame, or tulle, chiffon, or cotton, and don't insist on the inevitable black. The dark rich, shades which replace black are newer. Deep purple, deep' sapphire blue, carnation red, bottle green, or brown. If you want something lighter, then a bright Chinese blue and Chinese red. _ And white this season will star. Let it be cotton, muslin, chiffon, crepe de'chine—white is always pretty. Yellow, too, ( has charm. There is something about a'yellow chiffon dress, all tucked by hand, trimmed with yellow flowers and green leaves, and worn by a dark-haired girl with amber eyes, or a fair-haired girl with grey eyes, which is unforgettable once seen in a ballroom. FUSION FASHIONS. Clothes that are candidates for the office of style dictators • this season are being voted on by fashionable women. There is an approved movement for fusion fashions, which -join the best points of the late 1933 period and early 1934. Slim body-lines united to sleeves that are important in one way or another are triumphantly reelected. " ; Dinner suits, which, have been a powerful minority of the grand chic last season, are fused with the new season's styles. Evening dresses that take their smartness from daytime styles are in again. But side by side with them are some glaringly new frocks that are. cut to new low levels in front. These last remind us that there will come a time when our necks will be worn without drapery once more. THE "WINGED-VICTORY" LIKE. There is a new "winged victory" line for evening which may be the fore-

Written for "The Post" by Germalno. "'

runner of a totally new silhouette. Two "wings" run up tli2 skirt at each side or down the centre seam at the back, with most picturesque effect, although to the unbiased' observer it looks as though Hie wearer would have to think out the problem of sitting down without spoiling her gown.

But the fact that panniers—modern | version—basques, bustles, flounces, and trains, are to be observed on most of the new evening gowns I have seen up to now, * seems to suggest that, if women will accept it, designers are ready to launch a much more elaborate evening line than we have now. BELTLESS COAT POPULAR. The slim coat without a belt is having all the success predicted for it, and a coat of this type is a runner for afternoon wear. Women quit their loose practical morning coats and take to the wrap that is at least semi-fit-ting. The . suit that the ultra-smart have chosen for his spring is a silk une that has a hip-length or longer jacket. The very short pea-jacket suit is seen no more for town wear. It is still worn, however, for sports. Pleated skirts are being worn by some fashionable women as ; suit skirts. The straight wrap-round skirt is smart, and so is the gored skirt. Every woman ought to give thanks that thfs bias cut skirt has disappeared. presses, too, are cut on the straight. Suit colours are the same as coat colours, and the suit blouse gives a new kind of colour contrast. There are many less white blouses seen, by the way. "With a black suit the Parisicnuc will wear a blouse of coppery-brown, or pale grey, for instance. Coral-red blouses are smart with black or other

dark suits. .In short, coloured blouses, rather than white, . are fashionable. Satin and lace blouses are chosen for dressy wear, and silk, crepe or crepe de chine for practical wear.. Your hat may match, your blouse if you want a lively chapeau.