WAR AND FASHION

Evening Star, Issue 23500, 14 February 1940, Page 13

WAR AND FASHION

BLACK-OUTS MODIFY THE ENGLISH MODE War -conditions—and above all the nightly black-out—have already had a very marked effect on the range and choice of clothes ..and accessories for women on the homo front. Although conditions are so different out here, it will not bo surprising if our fashions, so often based on the English model, soon begin to display “ black-out ” features as well. Apart from such obvious developments as lessened interest in evening dresses and bigger purchases of tailored suits, tho war is affecting fashion in rather unexpected ways, says an English correspondent. It looks as though the war might play a big part in influencing millinery styles, not by giving us “ military ” or “ Maginot pillbox ” models, but by encouraging the production of hats which will stay on our heads. HOLD YOUR HAT, Hats sometimes blow off in windy weather. Given a combination of black-out and wind, hats and their wearers part company for ever, and so many hats hat-e recently disappeared in the blackness that millinery designers have noted tho fact for future reference. It is fortunate that tho demisaucer, precariously perched on the head at some ridiculous angle, is no longer worn, but there is need for more securely anchored hate. There is_ a choice of solutions. Milliners may give us deeper bands, or deeper crowns which grip tho head, chin straps, or oven hatpins. But it is clear that it is the hat which will remain with us in the black-outs that will sell. The war has also taught the value of large handbags, and they are hero to stay, at least for tho duration. This fashion was much by manufacturers who produced capacious handbags with compartments for gas masks. One maker has now gone farther and is gonig to produce a handbag-cum-gas-mask-cum-torch container which is so ingeniouslv designed that the torch can bo lighted without opening the container. This may be a case where the bag will sell for the sake of the torch. Another wartime fashion isthe production of corsets with special secret pockets for storing money and valuables. The models are designed for service women, but many a civilian will be glad of them. The pockets are set in at the front waistline, and arc placed between two panels to give security and a smooth line. The idea is really a modern version of our grandmothers’ habit of putting their valuables into a stout linen bag which they sewed into their stays.