London Fashion Notes

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 110, 11 May 1935, Page 19

London Fashion Notes

'Specially Written for "Tha Post,"

;- LONDON, March 15. [ To the average'woman the cause and effect of tariffs are. obscure problems i she never tries tq solve. But to the■ most unobservant eyes the results of the tariffs on'cut flowers which have so encouraged .flower production in this country Is. increasingly evident each spring season. • From all over the country a profusion of gorgeous blooms is poured into London, each' day,; providing a riot of colour'at;every street corner. Daffodils, narcissi, tulips, with the. homely primroses and; wallflowers, etc., added to glorious sunshine, suggest that sprmg is already -here. Alas, cold winds in town and snow storms in the country- still- make winter coats; a necessity. I have, however, seen a few' tweed ensembles that include a matching topcoat'or cape, worn by the hardier spirits--who defy the climate, for the spring '•' tweeds continue to carry out- the two or three piece ensemble fashion.:. TWO-TONED MIX3CURES. The matching idea is newer if carried out in two tones'of one colour instead of all one shade, and many tweeds are woven in a light and dark shade of the same', colour. Two blues,; either woven together or used together, .provide the colour scheme for some of the smartest ensembles seen in; every collection. Shops ; are: now displaying new season's fashions and whole windows dressed in .two, shades of, blue, are to be seen eveiywhere.. The ensemble I;'have-sketched was a button-unrto-the-throat suit of dark and\ light v blue .tweedY with a top coat of plain dark blue lined and faced with the"same' tweed as the suit, the collar of the suit.pulled outside. This, you will notice,' is a really sensible outfit^ for = cold; days, and the suit is

the type ■-that could be worn in the house,.or out of doors in suitable weather.

Navy blue accessories are increasing in popularity. Shoes,- bags, and gloves in several shades of dark blue are quite, easy to procure.

I hear -rumours of navy blue stockings arriving via America, but frankly I do not think they will catch on in London, where all attempts to pfipularise gunmetal shades and to'rediscover the -charms of black stockings have failed. .

American" women* have always liked

a dark stocking, and I remember some years ago when arriving in America to find them wearing black stockings with white shoes and white dresses. How odd it looked! BYGONE FASHIONS REVIVED. If our grandmothers could see the wardrobe of the fashionable ■ young woman of. 1935 they would find many of the modes strangely familiar. Short basqued jackets, and occasional leg o* mutton sleeves, wider skirts and smaller (or apparently) waists, porkpie hats and little bonnets, tippets and short swing-back coats all have a suggestion of the days when Queen Alexandra was,in the heyday of her beauty. ...... Schiaparelli has blouses.that are entirely gauged all over, while the neckline of many of her dresses is an upstanding frill on a drawstring, with the, fullness fluting under the chinsmart but difficult to wear! ■ ! Quilting is almost as popular as gauging. A number of day frocks have quilted yokes or revers. Scarves of quilting in many materials are added to dresses and jacket suits. Little capes, of the same material as the dress and covered with rows and rows of quilting are worn for an extra wrap with evening frocks. Wide sash belts, sometimes with bow and ends, give a!small rounded waistline, particularly when the skirt is full and the shoulders are finished with a ruche. This was particularly attractive on a dress, of honey coloured lace, with the.sash;of folded satin in aquamarine blue and a cluster of pink roses fastened in the front' of the waist. UNUSUAL BUCKLES AND BUTTONS. . Fastenings continue to .be very important, often a plain dress is only noticeable because of the way it is buttoned or buckled., An unusual material, like coarse' grained linen (but really a woollen fabric) in' a soft shade of blue, was simply} made with a square neckline and, cape sleeves. But i it-was buttoned all the.way down the front with alternately red, white, and black buttons, and this gave it; a-:very<'arresting appearance: r ■■ ■': : v■;■'' v •■'-■. :■ ■■■■-. .<. •; ...... ■ The, ?:Big,;Ba(i 'iWblft figured 'as the tastenihg^to the belt and ,the>neckline of a'beige woollen dfe?sV the '"wolf" being of .'curved brown: ■■• composition set into' a frame.':. ' :"- "•;■ ; .Buttons lilce blobs of. sealirfg wax on a black .woollen,dress with a wide Eton collar of starched white linen is another- easy way of achieving novelty and smartness; also a/scarlet buckle to fasten ; the: belt of a grey.suit, and a scarlet scarf tucked ■■ into the collar of the. coat is youthful and dashing. Odd-ways of Using buttons include a yoke:-with pointed tabs on each side of , the • front to button . down ■■ on to pockets. that are placed .high, and the same tabs continue from the'belt on to the lower pockets. These buttons were carved "old ivory" on a stone coloured woollen,. the leather belt ■ gloves, and bag being the same colour. | Crystal rings on the shoulders of an [evening gown supported the tulle i straps, and the sash on another model I was drawn through an eiiormoiis ring jof diamonds and crystal. in the front of the dress, with the long ends hanging down. .-.-, ■■,-•-..;■'■■ \ ; ' . ':■]"■' ;■■•,; Ruth Sibley.