Paris in the Mirrpr

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 134, 8 June 1935, Page 19

Paris in the Mirrpr

Written tar "Tl»t Pwt" by Germalne,

PARIS, April 17. The Parisienne this Spring seems to have a leaning towards wash things. The idea of the Empress Josephine, ' in her Martinique muslins,' appeals to her. She has' always liked the look of housemaids, .trained nurses,- and the clean sound of words like percale, 1 dimity,' batiste, swiss, organdie, calicot, muslin, lawn. This Spring, she simply can't 'resist them, and she' has collected. the kind of wardrobe you - might imagine, yourself buying, if you suddenly found yourself married to a ' Viceroy and about to go out to India as ;the Vice-Reine—muslin evening dresses; which she wears with her most .brilliant jewels, pink pique peajackets' over pink pique evening ' drpsses—-materials so fine, you could draw ■ them through wedding-rings,

cottons as cool and stiff as the great British Navy. . Then, the Parisienne seems to-have a liking for, black linen dresses. She chooses theni with bows on the shoulders,<and she later on wears them when she goes down to the sea, with her brown legs bare, and white espadrilles, and her curls damp on her forehead. The other, more tailored, she will dress up with white sundries and wear in town—sometimes with a black jacket, sometimes with short white ' gloves. In the country, she comes down to breakfast in a dress with a tiny red spat iv it, and a bright red jacket, looking "as fresh as a rose." She plays tennis in. brisk white cotton, cut short with flares. She has shirring dresses

for golf, made without waistline, and buttoned straight down to the hem, ironable to a degree. She loves dresses of soft crinkled cotton which don't even have to- be ironed. You simply 'wash them,' and pull them up taut, arid- perk up the bows with a little hand iron, if seem to need it. Capes being fashionable just now, she often wears a 'cape round her shoulders. Her big pique hats go to the wash, too, together with her children's hats, and come out looking just as fresh and starched. EMBROIDERED COTTONS. Cotton will this year once more hold an important place in fabrics, and embroidery will step in to make them as beautiful as possible. Women nowadays are inclined to hold up their harids in holy horror at the mere sound of the word "embroidery;" it had gone out of fashion, and the embroiderers,1 many of them, were ruined. However, these good people may take heart, for embroidered fabrics are on the crest of the wave. Indeed the embroidered cottons, which the fabric-makers,have produced, have never been so beautiful In design. They are,so wonderfully well made, that the dressmakers are encouraged to increase their number of: real cummer models, a feature in which they.have-always been lacking. There is nothing- so pretty for summer than a cotton frock daintily embroidered, and some of the embroidered organdies in white and in pale pastel colourings, are so beautiful, that it is .difficult to find words in which to express them. Later on, we shall see the feature, as always, emphasised at the races. CONCERNING HEM-LINES AND TRAINS. Remember that trains and hem-lines are very much to the fore. The hemline this season is. a point of great interest; vandyked, fluted, or weighted with'a rouleau: of the material, it inevitably attracts attention. Where there is a real train,, this is lined with a contrasting colour, or a deep ruche is.placediupon it. There is a feeling not only for fish-tail trains—and these come in especially where the mermaid silhouette is concerned, but for cascades of'frills and .little fish-fin ruffles decorating' the front of the bodice. Important in the season's elegant motif, are the flowers destined to be worn on the shoulder, tucked in a belt, or even suspended airily in the mouth of a silver fox-fur. Orchids, in particular, are booming in the fashion, market. The flower is worn without ribbons,.frou-frous, or fern RIBBONS FOR SUMMER. Ribbons are in vogue this season, and the old-fashioned types are coming in again. There are quaint embroidered • ones, featuring polka-dots and flowers in garlands all along them. Tiny birds and-sprays of leaves characterise others. Some embroidered ribbons have organdie foundations", displaying their design upon ,this fine gauze, others are of the strong .Petersham type. Even cretonne ribbons in varying widths are used by, dressmakers and milliners. Whole hats may be made of ribbon, but the majority are used as bands round plain felts and straws. It is not uncommon to see the bands upon a hat repeated by a ribbon insertion, on the yoke of a dross, or in a coat-collar, and I have seen the decolletee of a blouse bordered in ribbon, and a belt of the same fastening it round the waist. DOMINOES AND DICE AS BUTTONS. . Are the new fashions likely to revive, some of the old parlour, games? The Paris dressmaker has used domt

inoes as buttons upon many of'her new models;" and, it'appears that many of the .women who have bought dom-lino-trimmed coats, now play dominoes instead of bridge! Both these types of buttons are well in keeping with" the summor fashion note, and the dominoes are far. more attractive than the usual black-and-white faced variety." They are in polished natural wood, with the numerations and dividing line inset in white ivory. 'An old-fashioned craft, has been revived to supply dressmakers with yet another, novelty in buttons. Many people used to collect paper weights, and ornaments of solid glass in multi-coloured designs and floral patterns were blown. Now one sees similar work in the form of solid glass buttons, nearly an inch thick, in which little bouquets of field flowers gleam. Then another surprise is "anthracite" buttons. They look like little lumps of anthracite or ordinary coal, and are used to fasten trim summer tailor-mades.