MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 April 1935, Page 9

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

DRESS DESIGN FROM 1825 TO 1935 (By a Fashion Expert). Silver-plated satins, spun glass brocade, spun glass lace, Chinese' lacquered satin, as soft as the finest crepe de Chine and infinitely beautiful in its rich Oriental colouring and gold or silver inlay, glistening taffetas and matt surfaced silks, are among the fabrics for. Silver Jubilee dresses.

So diverse are the periods of fashion which have influenced leading Loudon dress creators in their use of these materials that even the expert fashionists who have the first view of the new models are often puzzled to place the origin of a 1935 mode, apart from the genius of its modern creator.

A slender frock of taffeta shown at a recent dress display, with a skirt measuring 12yds round at the hem, for all its slinky hip line, takes us back perilously near the crinoline vogue which began in 1825 with the same type.of stiffened hem and held sway for three decades.

Dresses were wider in tlic early thirties, and skirts became more and more voluminous as the. years went by, till they reached enormous proportions in the ’fifties and ’sixties, when gigantic leg o’mutton sleeves appeared, designed to give a certain amount of ‘balance” to the shoulders.

These too, were the days when offI the-shoulder fichu lines were introduced on evening gowns; and as the chinoline gradually decreased in size, smaller waists were cultivated by women of fashion. Then the low shoulder corsage was kept in position by a draw-thread of ribbon. This season the more daring of the off-the-shoulder evening gowns have “boned” bodices which provide a sense of security to the wearer—although onlookers may have some moments of suspense—and the folds of the corsage are arranged with a modernist precision, giving greater variety of line. The 1860 crinoline evening dresses were also marvels of fine colour and soft fabrics. As painted by the artists of past decades these evening frocks were far more becoming in their lavender pink and blue lisse, silk and lace, than in day-time terms of puce and plum-coloured checked taffeta criss-crossed with lemon and brown, and, adorned with pinked ruchings of pale green. They ran to primary colours in those days, subdued by three-quarter length jackets, with wide sleeves made in darker tones of velvet or satin, and sometimes embroidered in self-coloured braids. • Hips began to fall into line with smaller waists in the later ‘seventies, and skirts tightly fitting at tho top. slightly trained and much betrimmed below the knees, became narrower at the hem.

FORERUNNER OF BUSTLE. Then came the forerunner of the bustle, a full stiffened line flowing in folds from the waist, achieved by cutting the skirt on circular lines, with a shaped back-centre seam. More than one designer of this season’s dresses is using this graceful black line, flowing from the waist with a softened stiffness due to a silk taffeta lining under the skirt of spun glass lace or lacquered satin. The ’eighties were the “dark ages” of fashion. Heavily pleated skirts, tight, sleeves finishing at the elbow, the “dolman” bonnets and the bustle, standing out at right-angles to the waistline, prevailed. Some of the Bustles were enormous, accentuated by polonaise draperies, and tight bodices with pointed waists. When bodices were moulded to the figure by means of many shaped and "boned” seams women stood for hours at a time during a fitting; and a leader of fashion sometimes lost her temper and—in one classic instance — slapped her fitter’s face.

The ’nineties took a trivolous turn. Bonnets became butterfly affairs perched on the top of curls. Pokefronted hats with high trimming made their appearance. High puffed shoulders are shown on some of the caped tailor-mades this season. This decade brought in the broad shoulder line, with its puffed sleeves like balloons and umbrella skirts.

Came the twentieth century, with its natural silhouette and many versions of the princess frock, worn with wide-brimmed hats measuring 40in to 50in around the brim; the five-eight tunics, seen this season again; long, slender skirts reaching the ground, and waists which were movable slightly up or down each season. Dress was decidedly beautiful during this period, which was the transition stage from the ugliness of fashion to the present simple and becoming lines of dress. One can see this change in a charming frock, now in the London Museum, worn by Lady Victoria Forester as a trainbearer to the Queen at. her Coronation. The dress, made of white silk, is moulded to the figure on princess lines. The Iront of the gown is adorned with ti long panel of hand embroidery, a -.quare trellis pattern in crystal bugles, and pearls spreading into, a bow design on the bodice al the foot of the skirt. long diamond brooch is centred in the corsage. The crinoline vogue'lived for nearly 30 years. To-day fashion changes officially four times a. year. No wonder the dress creators of the day delve into all ages for their inspiration. And the result, judging from the dress shows this season, is a certain charm and distinction that has not been given to woman before. She has the feminine rustle of Victorian days, the beauty of the princess silhouette transformed Into the grace and chic of the 1935 streamlined frocks, distinguished for their beauty u fabric, colouring and design.

> FLOWER AND FRUIT FASHION. (By Hon. Mrs C. W. Forester). Designers are giving us a bewilder- ■ ing display of decorative detail in I clothes. Dress experts have a real understanding of the becoming and practical lines that' women appreciate, and at the same time they are able to ring the changes in an enormous variety of ways. Colours and fabrics are so cleverly treated that each collection one sees looks entirely new. • Simplicity is still the aim of the well-dressed, but there are clever elaborations being introduced and notes of distinction provided by novel trifle. It is mostly in the variety of evening clothes that we must look for amusing and daring details. Dress for the street is as a general rule of a smart, sober and practical character. Many women, and young girls, too, will rejoice in the dainty coloured capes composed of net, tulle, or silk. Sometimes they seem little more than a sort of double toby-frill in a gay colour worn with black or white. Tilleul in one of the new fancy nets looks well as a fluffy cape on a severe black taffeta dress cut low back and front. The skirt pleated at the hem, and the width provided by the double cape strikes an admirable balance. There always seems a good reason for extra decorative trifles, which is probably why they deserve success this season. A cape may provide width of shoulder, as a bolero can produce the narrow slim look. Colour contrast will be picked up in belt and shoes. With the tilleul shaped cape there is a wide belt in half dull and half shiny crepe-de-chine, and the shoes are of the same fabric. A lily-green frock has a deep berthe and belt of silver lame, shoes of the same, and tucked in the belt is a cluster of green orchids. Dark platinum-grey lace is placed over a paler grey moire slip. This model for an older woman has a coatee of the moire fastening with large steel buttons and is worn with platinum plaited shoes and a moire sash studded with steel. These are the times when we pay for the light touch in art, also skilful elimination. The finest hand-craft must be recognised in any creation, from a hat to a button!

SPRAYS AND TRAILS. Flowers and, fruit, too, will have their season. Some shapes in, fine cellophane or coloured paper-panama aro cast on the Watteau mould, and show a wreath or bandeau of coloured fruits and blossoms twisted in with loops of taffeta ribbon. There is always something attractive about the piquant tip-tilted Watteau hat with its incongruous <ollection of oranges, pomegranates, currants and grapes mixed with roses, mignonettes, daisies and clematis. The colour contrasts and blends are as alluring as the curls of the wearer. The long floral shoulder spray, or the trail of many blossoms or fruits starting at the waist are both charming worn with the fuller skirts and the later picturesque stiffness of taffeta and moire. The fine coloured nets and laces are also greatly improved by flowers and fruits, always provided the colour scheme is studied carefully. A trained princess dress in dull white crepe-romain had an inserted belt of shining silver satin —it looked almost like leather —with huge clusters of black velvet grapes allied to purple glass ones. A tiny glass cape, standing stiffly out, was in the. same purple shade. Black shoes and gloves were worn and the whole scheme of contrast and harmony was most successful. TERRORS OF THE NIGHT. CHILDREN’S BAD DREAMS. Nightmares aud other forms of night terrors are conditions met with chiefly in nervous, also in weakly, children, but sometimes thej r occur in children, who are quite sound and strong. Children are more frequent sufferers than adults. The child goes to bed apparently quite well, but in the early hours of the night wakes up screaming with fright, and crying. It may be some little time, a quarter of an hour or more, before it becomes properly conscious of the surroundings, when it will usually cry itself to sleep again. In the morning all recollection of the event has often passed away. There is seldom more than one seizure a night, but for mouths the condition may tend to return. The main treatment consists in seeing that the child does not go to bed with an overloaded stomach, and. in cases where nightmare is recurrent, no meal should be given for two or three hours before bedtime. The child should also be examined tor any worms, adenoids, or enlarged tonsils. If no such cause can be found it is often advisable to give some sedative drug at bedtime, as prescribed by your doctor. The child had better not be allowed to sleep alone, nor be without, a light in the room until a cure is established.

Sleep-walking is a form of incomplete sleep, in which the muscles and tne part of the brain controlling them remain awake, although the intellectual faculties are asleep. Sleep-walk-ing varies in its degree from mere; talking, slight movement, or rising from the bed to the performance of I the most complicated actions. As a I rule, on awaking, the individual is i quite unaware of what has been done m the sleep-walking state. The condition is closely allied to hysteria, or. at. all events, is met with chiefly in persons with hysterical tendencies or of hysterical family, although it also occurs in nervous and “highly strung” people, particularly in association with worry and overstrain. Treatment consists in improving the sufferer’s general healtn, and. where possible, remove the element of worry and overstrain. For the actual occurrence of sleep-walking, it is best not to waken the individual, but to lend him quietly buck to bed. It is sometimes found that the simpla plan of putting a piece of cold metal or waxcloth at. tho side of the bed will prevent the individual from carrying the act further when he brings his feet in contact with this cold surface. The state of hypnotism I: regarded as an artificially produced somnambulism, and certainly jp m i-.’ respects the two closely agree.