DRESS AND FASHION NOTES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3711, 21 December 1912, Page 3

DRESS AND FASHION NOTES.

LONDON AND PARISIAN

New Fabrics.—. There is little that is new in this world, and this applies to materials which repeat themselves year by .year with a new face. This season our familiar friend the sponge has suggest M most new notions, in-cluding-tissu > sponge and ratine for summer, and stuffs woven like Turkish to wellin''. These are the most direct novel as. All were known in Paris last y car, and now are to be had in many colorings. The ratine of curious white hues with colored borders, will not be passed over. Wool ratine is fashionable for coats and skirts, but. they have not ousted whipcord. '! hero is a fashionable cloth that in coir and even to the touch resembles cl amois leather. Voiles rejoice in m ,y names, but-are always charming, useful, and well wearing. Some arc ■ -ocaded, and many are worn in dr. : colorings The newest is the voile with velvet stripes. Silk and wool poplins have the merit of good wear. Fleur do soie has an Oriental bordering, and these borders are just as wide as the material. Shot effects obtain in nearly all the fabrics. Satin frisette is a supple satin, made in peach, pink, gold, dark blue, and apple green. Foulards would seem to be assertive as to color. Wo are veering towards small conventional flower designs, notwithstanding the borderings.

The Flounce.—lt is coming back to us, but often in such novel guise we scarcely realise it. It is useful in breaking the severity of line which beginning to pall in the modern gown. Louis XVI. styles are being adapted in lace flounces, three, one above another forming often the front of the dress, but most of the flounces are so slim and have so little fulness they add little to the apparent breadth of the skirt. Some of the evening dresses exhibit a very pretty ment; a flounce fifteen inches wide." starting in front above the knees and carried round to the bac-k, forming a point in the centre of the- slight train. This saves the inelegant- tightness at- the knee which spoils so many skirts; but as these continue scanty the flounces cannot he full. On many of the fashionable taffeta frocks we see several- flounces laid on, with barely any fulness at all, but scalloped out like the petals of a flower. There is a. certain elegance about this; there is no doubt that a skirt that has.no superfluous fulness and is not heavy is ideal from a useful standpoint. Diaphanous materials show off lace flounc-

iligs to the greatest perfection, such ■as the rainbow effects in chiffons and the like, with thread lace over the top. Round many skirts for girls’ ball use roses made in chiffon catch up the flouiicings in festoons. Alany dancing gowns are made short enough for the ankles to show, and then the stockings match exactly; but this does not conduce to elegance. Flounces of thick materials have no fulness at all.

Yet another toilette accessory that can be readily' brought under the heading of home production is the cache corset entirely composed of Valenciennes lace, and which adds so materialy to the appearance of the transparent blouse. No wardrobe of any pretension lacks a choice of these dainty dessous to-day, which reveals on _ close inspection all that same delicacy of handling and .finish which marks the whole difference between the simple fastidiously turned out garment and its would-be prototype that attempts to cover up a multitude of sartorial deficiencies under a busy aspect.

Another notable recruit to the blouse world is the gathered net frill. This plays its part in several ways, sometimes merely as a falling Toby collar about a very decollete throat. To such as cultivate any artistic style of dress this will make a. very direct appeal. It matters little of winch the actual body part lie composed—taffeta, satin, crepe de Chine, or some pretty cottonthere is .the hallmark of La, Alode’s latest mood in the fichu line taken by the net frill, the hiatus filled by hv a perfectly flat, clear guimpe of the same net scooped out in a round and hemmed over a narrow colored ribbon, which may be made to serve as a draw thread.' Net frills also finish the extremely long, closefitting sleeves, and are shaped to drop deep over the hack of the hand.

To* complete a home dinner gown the lace fichu blouse provides quite an interesting innovation. For this an allover Brussels applique lace is used, preferably pure white, which serves to throw into greater relief the border of black Chantilly, the folds of the fichu being caught in front beneath a great butterfly bow of black velvet. On the subject of little blouse accessories I could write a very tome. But I want particularly to invite attention to a certain embroidery carried out in colored bass. I first met this on a broad ribbon adorning some fascinating country or morning hats, and more recently it has been revealed to me doing decorative service on some linen belts. There was nothing in .the least degree ornate about the embroidery, which seemed to chiefly consist of a sort of darning stitch carried out in carefully harmonised colors. Worn with a white gown, the color in the belt gives a text for a like repetition in the hat of ribbon or flowers, which, can be subsequently picked up in a floral posy, sunshade, etc. The pleasing character of this bass embroidery leads one to believe that it will likely be turned to further account in the near future. The vogue of the lingerie frock was never more in the ascendant than now. And when it is a blend of hand embroidery, line laces, and delicate material it is somewhat of a costly matter too, though seemingly simplicity itself. For they are composed of not one, but several kinds of laces deftly mingled together. The laces most used are Cluny, Torchon, filet, and Honiton, Valenciennes, unless of the real genre, being out of favor, having been of necessity relegated to the background since its too lavish use on the cheap ready-made slip. ' There are one or two points to be noted in this year’s white frocks. They are nearly all cut away at the throat (filled in, if need bo, with an invisible tulle chemisette). The sleeves are mostly long, down to the wrist, oi modified bishop shape, and they generally have a touch of color introduced somewhere in the form of a soft satin ribbon at the waist or across the ligure. Moreover, they offer great opportunities for wearing the charming little taffetas or charmeuse coats in bright colorings which are a feature of the latest mode, for they give a little extra warmth if wanted, and impart an air of ceremonie to the simplest of lingerie frocks. Cravats.—There are so many kinds that it is Jnird to begin to talk of thorn at all. The plisse net rovers with a turned-buck collar of-lawn, which sits on the collar of the coat, are general; so is the same model all in lingerie. Then there is the black taffetas collar with rovers of creamy net veiled with black net or chiffon. There is also the round plisse net collar and the collar of plisse net, which falls in points back and front; with this there is no neckband, but sometimes a narrow velvet band is worn round the throat. Then there is the real Dau- . phin collar in soft lawn or lace, and j there are endless lace cravats of last year’s model trimmed with tiny black silk buttons, and a narrow bund near

the upper edge of the collar hand. The great thing is that one must have heaps of soft neck adornments this' season, as no tailor-made is worn without them, and afternoon dresses all have corsages trimmed with them.

The flat little how of black velvet or black taffeta is in favor, too, and some American girls are wearing big ribbon bows with their chemisettes. The black and white dresses which look very charming, are those which have a double lace tunic or drapery, or whatever one likes to call it. We

will say that the dress is in crcjie de Chine, quite narrow and long, over it a white Chantilly tunic, draped in long lines, with pointed train either at side or hack, and over that the

filmiest black Chantilly tunic following the same lines. The corsage will have the same draperies, with long, transparent sleeves, and open-neck with rolled-back lace collar and rovers; round the throat a band of black velvet, from which may hang a pendant. AATth a dress of this kind nothing looks better than one of the new wavybrimmed bats in peau de soie, trimmed with a bunch of priceless white aigrettes fastened with a lovely jewel. Quite young girls are wearing the big shepherdess liats with 'streaming ribbons, and 1 saw one sweet maiden of fourteen who had one in Leghorn with Nattier blue ribbons and pale pink roses. I thought she looked charming. Older women do not take kindly to flowers in Paris, for the very best milliners still insist upon aigrettes and paradise plumes, greatly to the distress of women who cannot easily pay twenty pounds for a hat trimming. Towelling coats and skirts for morning year are becoming quite popular, but this week wo have seen more of those very neat whipcord suits. I particular!}' like tlie grey and black ones and the fawn and black ones. They hang so well, and trimmed with glass or horn buttons, and worn with very good lingerie frills, and a neat tagol hat trimmed with a ribbon aigrette, perfect shoes and gloves to match,

they make up a very desirable little morning costume for a showery day.