Paris in the Mirror

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 6, 6 July 1935, Page 19

Paris in the Mirror

Written ftr "The Past" by Germaine.

PARIS, May 15. ' ■ Feminine styles are more to the front than they have been for some time. All sorts of delicate little collars, cuffs, and jabots are worn.' Ribbons float and fly. Flowers are worn, as also'j are wonderfully-made blossoms of feather and silk, or lace, or varnished ■ leather. A flower in the lapel of a. coat, a■' bunch of flowers on the shoulder, or at a new angle lower down on the corsage, or at the waistline, is worn. Scarves round the throat are trimmed with flowers too, and close garlands of them are made into waistbelts. FASCINATING NEW THINGS. Fascinating, tricky new things with unexpected dash and charm are incorporated in different necklines, fitted shoulders and sleeves, quite different collar and cuff arrangements. Frilled flutings, some of them edged .with lace, outline necklines, wander down the side closings, cuffs and collars to match, appear in crisp white, to frost a dark'frock" and accent the simpilest of the trim, dark blue or black models. Never have there been 'so many touches of white on dark frocks, as in ,this season. They do not, however, consist of mere collars, but range from garlands of white flowers about the throat to blades of white pique threaded on bead necklaces: Scarves are exceedingly fashionable and of many kinds. There are striped satin scarves, spangled and lame scarves for dressy wear, and taffetas scarves. Scarves of pastel-coloured jersey are seen in rough, cptton-tweed suits that have blouses to match. Printed silk and patterned scarves are all over Paris, and lots of them have some metal ' thread-pattern in their weave. Boucle scarves in cheery stripes are very fashionable. Their lightweight wool offers just the protection against the chill winds of a summer evening that silk does not achieve. MILLINERY. In the coming millinery we can predict a departure from the monotony of the unicoloured which has for too ■long been a dominating factor. The hats themselves will often be in two or three colours, and will be trimmed with bright colours. 'We will soon probably 'see a bevy of new and interesting straws on which the trimmings of all colours will strike a new note and perhaps will be so much more difficult to copy, as they will appear to be simpler, for they will be harmoniously composed by intelligent and expert hands. Broad-trimmed hats continue to top our summer clothes, and they are made of soft and supple straw and of flexible linens and such materials. There is a new wide-brimmed "Feodora" in stitched taffetas which is a first-run millinery fashion that is going to be big later on. Note should be taken of the new bonnets, something after the Salvation lassies' headgear and those enchanting bonnets of 1790 inspiration. Then there • are the Breton hats trimmed with a bow of ribbon on the peak of the crown, and the whole series of "Postillions." The absurd little sailors as flat as pancakes are still seen tilted to one side and attached by an elastic hidden in the mass of tight curls that ripple from the neck to the crown of the head. ■ Some have a shallow bandeau to keep' them on, and often as not hidden with ruchings ,of ribbons or posies of tiny flowers. Some have curly brims, and of course .we have also the little boat-shaped hat which seems to suit everybody. FASHION DETAILS. The straight, unbelted silhouette which is appearing for tailored onepiece dresses, is very kindly to the figure, for it gives a slimming effect, accented by a waistline cut that is a little higher than normal. Those who cringe before a beltless state can add

one, of course, though the line is smartej without. ,

The discreet use of gold is one of the outstanding features of the Paris

season. A brown coat seen the other day had pin-tuck trimming on the collar and cuffs, and at the base of each tuck was a single thin thread of gold. Jet buttons, daisies concocted from seed-pearls, butterflies made of both feathers and materials, and golden seashells are among the accessories that make the fashions interesting.

The new beach and resort clothes seen in Paris are amusing at times. Some are hand-knitted, some are made of linens, some of unbleached flax. Some wear'trousers, some wear skirts. some wear shorts, but all dwindle off to the very minimum about the waist. A. pair of white linen pyjamas, for instance, resumes its upper part in two crossed straps, though the knitted bathing suit beneath comes to the rescue now and then. Little signal flags ol the naval code run up and down one leg and around the edge of a big sailor collar that paradoxically covers the nape of the neck.

Open-work "broderie anglaise" in silk has been treated with a new porcelain finish, and comes in among the lacquered surfaces, crisp and attractive with its summery perforations.

Be on the look out for the firm tussores, which are admirably adapted to tailoring. Deep cold blue as a background is quite as satisfactory as black, and both are printed with small tracery designs that do. not shriek at the passer-by.