London Fashion Notes

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 152, 29 June 1935, Page 19

London Fashion Notes

Specially Written for "The Post."

LONDON, May 10.

The cheering will have died down long before you read these notes, and yet it is impossible to write on any subject this week without reference to the magnificence of the Jubilee celebrations and the significance of the sentiment they evoked. I Once again. Buckingham Palace has been the centre of a great emotional demonstration. During the awful years j of war, every fresh disaster brought | crowds to the Palace as though to share the stress and sorrow with the head of the family. Again, in those anxious days of the King's illness, a' silent crowd kept vigil at the gates eagerly scanning the bulletins in the forlorn hope,of better news. With these anxious times still fresh in the memory of most of us, the rejoicings of the Jubilee crowd round the Palace are specially significant; for we feel that the King who has gone down to the depths of sorrow and depression with his people deserves our love and loyalty for all time. The pageantry of colour and light which has transformed this staid old city into a veritable fairyland has to be seen to be believed. When you see the pictures on the screen let your imagination run riot, adding colour to the waving flags and festoons, brilliance to the uniforms, and the glitter of the sunlight over all. The Queen looked magnificent, a regal figure in silver faintly flushed with pink, wearing her swathed toque like a crown set on her silvery hair. What a queen, and what a woman! And so the week has continued, processions and levees by day, balls and banquets by night; and the rest of the town out'to share the ex\itement and enjoy the beauty of the floodlight-

I after writing my last notes, when I mingled ' with the fashionable crowd at the Private View of the Royal Academy. My chief impression there was of the popularity of flowers, so . many women wore real or artificial flowers as buttonholes or dress trimmings, and quite a number of new hats have closely-banked flowers round the crown or under the brim. I An elegant woman in black and white had a close-fitting toque of all white violets, and a youthful head of curls was crowned by a small pancake of velvet wallflowers—very much on one ■ side—with a stiff brown veil standing out like a brim. Lady Oxford in a long black dress wore one of the newest boat-shaped hats in black with upstanding heron plumage that swept over the crown. Several of the new taffeta ensembles were to be seen, one particularly attractive in navy blue with a short caped coat over an ice-blue blouse1. This was worn with a navy blue taffeta hat, the brim being caught back by a cockade of ice-blue ribbon, with the new navy stockings and other accessories to complete. But there were many suits in soft woollen fabrics with jacket tops that fastened close to the throat with a row of bold fancy buttons aW a turn-over collar. Some of these jackets fitted the waistline; others hung square and loose to /the hips. This latter style of coat should only be worn by the slim woman, for it has a way of exaggerating a full bust. Gala evening fashions have been very much.in the limelight this week, when every evening has brought huge charity balls with Royalty attending as well as smaller parties organised in the same festive spirit. It would seem that present evening modes were expressly designed for such a season, although there are two distinct styles being worn. The full-skirted dress is usually made in plain materials, while the long, slender gown "goes gay" with large bold-coloured flowers scati tered over a pale coloured background. .' In the mid-season collections I no- ! tice a general trend towards a lower I neckline in the front, with accents of j drapery creeping into the skirt, and even one or two suggestions of a "hairem" hem.- These are very advance notes which will probably develop later, but very noticeable are the little bodices finished "Palmost like a brassiere, which accentuate,a rounded bust, particularly when the waist below is swathed tightly with a sash of contrasting colour. Yet another type of evening frock shows a neckline that is almost like a tailored suit. The one I have sketched will illustrate this, and",was. made in black taffeta sprinkled with yellow flowers, the yellow accent being repeated in the stitching of the collar and a huge cluster of flowers to finish the decolletage. ~- As you will see, the back of the bodice is practically nil, with straps extending from the neckline to the side of the bodice. With this was I shown a short full jacket of yellow crepe to be slipped on, with collar and revers pulled outside, thus changing the effect into a demure style suitable for very informal evening wear. The short jacket as an accessory to an evening gown has returned to share the popularity of tulle capes. In white silk pique, grosgrain, or faille, a loose plain jacket of any length'with a dark silk evening frock is the most sophisticated evenfng fashion of the moment. E. RUTH SIBLEY. WOOLWOETH HEIRESS FIVE MINUTES' CEREMONY Princess Alexis Mdivani, formerly Miss Barbara Hutton, was married at Reno recently in strict privacy to Count Kurt Haugwitz Reventlow, in the presence of her father and stepmother, Mr. and: Mrs. Franklyn Hutton, states the London "Daily Telegraph's" special correspondent. ' , The ceremony took place 24 hours after she had secured her divorce from Prince Alexis Mdivani, at the home of Dr. Hood, a local physician who became friendly with her after he had treated her for an attack of influenza. The Rev. William Case, of the Reno Federated Church, was the officiating minister, and the brief and solemn ! ritual, which only lasted five minutes, j was in marked contrast to the pageantry of her former wedding in Paris to Prince Alexis.