EFFECT ON FASHIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1937, Page 16

EFFECT ON FASHIONS

CORONATION INFLUENCES

The Coronation will have a tremendous effect on fashions throughout the world, in the opinion of an expert who arrived in Sydney recently, states the "Morning Herald."

Clothes will lose their casual line, and regain elegance with formality. Town and country clothes will show a greater difference. Fitted coats, princess lines, and perhaps trim tunics will be worn in town, while loose coats will be strictly for country wear. The main feature of the recent Paris shows was the higher waistline, which does not mean that the waist is right under the bust, but is just lifted slightly. There is little exagg«fation, and Schiaparelli's lead of the parachute silhouette, with the gently floating line below the hips, is being followed. Skirts are shorter—about mid-calf is the daytime length for frocks, and evening gowns brush the ankles in front and dip about two inches at ths back.

Suits, which have a nipped-in look about the waist, are made with reefer jackets for the younger people. Tunic suits are belted, have smoothly-fitting hipline, and flow out below this into the parachute flare which is appearing on most garments. Molyneux, however, has adopted straight coats, severely tailor and with no suspicion of the swagger flare. The swagger line has gone out, and in its place is the "uplift" movement, indicated by the soaring hat crowns, the higher waists, and the shorter skirts.

There is an atmosphere of alertness in keeping with the political situation. Both Schiaparelli and Alix have exploited this idea, putting their finger on the pulse of public feeling and turning it to their own fashion advantage. Another sidelight on the political situation is the sudden popularity of gaily-coloured blouses—the feminine reply to the political coloured shirts now almost like a rash in the world. Red shirts and blue shirts are in fashion, and now green shirts have been evolved—for supporters of the Douglas Credit System.