London Fashion Notes

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1937, Page 17

London Fashion Notes

Specially Written for "The Post."

November 13, 1936. Another Armistice Day has passed and once more a Flanders field of poppies and miniature crosses bloomed beneath the grey-walls of Westminster Abbey. Strange to think it is eighteen years since the wild relief of the first Armistice and yet we still date things as "before the war," which to many growing up is only a legend. But the troublous world still holds the threat of future wars, and so each Remembrance Day has a special significance for us all. The flash of red in the November streets is cheerful, and always I am grateful that it was a poppy and not a lily that was chosen for this festival flower. With flower fashions so important many women wore large clusters of the beautifully-made Haig poppies pinned on their coats and in their furs. COLOUR IMPORTANCE. Red has become an all-the-year-round colour. It took several seasons for us to adopt the deep wine red for summer- but now it is as popular as any pastel shade, and infinitely more appropriate for many ages and occassions. In printed fabrics —wine red ground with a white design—it is particularly attractive; also a wine red blouse with

a pale linen suit, or a wine red linen jacket over a pale blue or white dress. Popular colours are.not born overnight. If they are unusual they are gradually insinuated into exclusive fashions, ; and about three seasons later we find them figuring in the shops for the average woman to buy. -The lovely purple shades are going through the same phases as Dubonnet Red. Last summer they were exclusive; this winter they are being worn; by next summer I expect to see every shade of violet and mauve and purple exploited. So this is a tip—if any of the

violet shades become you—why not anticipate fashion; but be sure it is your own particular shade when you choose it. | Incidentally, the purple vogue has affected both the blues and reds. Thus we have purply blues and purply reds, while at the other end of the scale there are the greenish blues and orange reds from the Chinese Exhibition. Yellow is another colour that loomed largely in summer fashions, particularly for accessories with dark colours; chamois shades and bright flower I tones. J WIDE-BRIMMED HATS. I Although the threatened ■'cart-wheel" brims did not materialise for ordinary wear, the large hat was more generally seen this summer than for many years. Possibly, because milliners developed a wide-brimmed hat that looked well with a tailored suit—a thing that was impossible in the days when a wide brim was lavishly trimmed. Dressmakers' suits of soft materials, with wide-shouldered, jabot trimmed blouses, and trim, narrow skirts, have been worn with wide-brimmed hats in sailor shape—some with flat brims, others turned up all round like a Breton sailor. These latter have been worn in two ways, conventionally, almost flat, with a slight tilt at one side, or clapped on the back, so that the brim gives the effecf of a halo and is very youthful and attractive. Straws of every description were fashionable during the summer months, and many fabrics, such as shantung, linen, and pique, but hardly any felt hats, except the wide pastel-coloured felts for sports. A great many lacquered straws-/-some very coarse, but soft and light; others very fine, like panama and leghorns, with a shitw surface. There has been a great variety in trimmings, flowers, feathers, ribbon, ■ tulle, and veilings, with birds and small wings. Paris sent us some rather overtrimmed shapes, with wings, ribbon, and flowers on one hat. Both London and New York eliminated some of the trimming, and usually the best models confined themselves to flowers and ribbon; or veiling or wings and ribbon; or just veiling alone. A new millinery flower that has figured on exclusive models is the lily of the valley. A large bunch poised high in the centre of a wide hat or toque, with a cluster at the centre of the neckline, have been a particularly smart fashion with dark ensembles. Many wide capeline brims dipped back and front, and the general tendency was for shallow but comfortable fitting crowns. Lace hats and the new transparent brims, called glass hats, were features of the very warm weather, although the latter are still too expensive to be general. The wide black hat with a large water lily weighing down the brim over one eye is a lovely model for garden party and gala occasions, and always remember that a plain black velvet worn with a very summery dress is chic at the latter part of the season. With small hats, veils are important. Short and fluted over the eyes, or covI ering the face entirely. Wide plain mesh is becoming and youthful, but i there are many veilings with large and small chenille spots that look very unfamiliar to the younger woman. —E, RUTH SIBLEY.