Ladies' Column.

Lake County Press, Issue 2176, 4 July 1907, Page 2

Ladies' Column.

Latest London & Paris Fashions. BY MISS ADA MELLER, [An Eights Reserved.] a pr my MOUSE-frock. FASHIONS for the early winter season taken on the whole avoid extremes. Costumes are smart, but simple, skirts—even those that are close-fitting—are not overtight, but fall easily over the hips, and are cut with a becoming flow from the knees downwards, blouses remain as pretty and wayward as ever, coats are varied and charming, and sleeves are cut on most becoming lines, with just sufficient fulness and width on the shoulders to be pleasing to the outline of the figure. The extreme shoulder-slope that was fashionable a year or two ago is happily avoided on present fashions, which strike a pkasant medium between this and the absurd elevation of shoulder that also came into vogue during the days that arc not long past. The pinafore effect is carried into a large number of autumn and early winter blouses and bodices, the simple character of the pinafore suiting well with the present taste for youth-ful-looking styles. Women arc fain to effect the pinafore blouse on the score that it is ut

variance with old age, and is a mode essentially liliert for the young. It is expressed in fine cashmere, cloth, voile, silk, and velvet for the present season, and is sometimes associated with a chemisette and

short sleeves of lace or einboridery, or with achemisette only of transparent fabric, the sleeves being of the 'pinafore' material. The pretty house-dress sketched in the accompanying figure, has a charming blousebodice, cut with a pinafore neck. T' lC toilette is effective in old-rose or pale blue cashmere frilled round Hie ruffs, yokecollar, and skirt-band with silk to match, and finished with cashmere or velvet buttons frilled with silk. The buttons might be settcoloured or black velvet, and the three tttue velvet bows up the front of the blouse should correspond in colour with the buttons. Should the latter be of cashmere the bows should be of silk instead of vclvoC. The neck is filed in with a vest and high collar of lace. The design illustrated also works out very well in voile, with silk frills. Tho cross-cut band on the skirt is about four or five inches deep and the yoke-collar is equal in depth. If the toilette*were made of voile, the skirt should be gathered into the waistband, rather than fitted, in materials always looking better for being gathered. \K Sfrt 6.RT YitLYET HAT. While fashions in costumes arc distinguished by moderateness of character, the same cannot be said of millinery Fashionmakers, it seems, find it impossible to avoid breaking out into extremes here and there, and this season it is hats that are the targets for their arrows of eccentricity. Extravagances of fancy are liberally expressed m the new millinery, sometimes taking the form of extreme size, sometimes of umttual diminutiveness, while the height and trimming of the bandeau also offer opportunities for originality and daring ideas, and vulture and other feathers new to the millinery world are used in various showy ways, to say nothing of the novel methods adopted in the disposing of long ostrich plumes of mixed colouring. Originality of idea has no limit, apparently, in the placing of feathers or tying of bows; and there is much art in tying a bow smartly and well. It is, m fact, one of the most difficult tilings to accomplish without proper training. It is worth while for any girl who trims her own hats have a few lessons in millinery-making —especially in the matter of bow-tying and adjustment of feathers. Velvet hats with straight or mushroom brims take an mi-

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portant place in fashions of the day, and a touch of gold galon, tissue, or braid is considered very smart, ar d is signiCcant of ' the last word.' It is especially effective on a black velvet hat. Plaid ribbons and galons also distinguish the latest millinery, and a handful of uncurled feathers is apt to take the place of the usual aigrette. Tho bat sketched represents a typical mode of the moment. Carried out in black velvet, bound with dull gold galon, and having a band of the same round the crown, tied in a bow at the left side, whence spring a bunch of uncui'lcd feathers in emerald-green and a stiff made-up feather-ornament in black and white or black and green, it is useful and smart. The crown, it will be observed, is high, and the brim is tilted by a bandeau trimmed with tulle. Green plaid ribbon might replace gold galon in the event of tbo hat being of green velvet. Tl e tulle used on bandcaus is very often brown to match the hair (when the latter happens to be brown) no matter what tho colour of the hat may be. On the other hand, it is usual for the tulle to agree with the tint of tho hat or its trimming, a royal blue hat being allied to blue tulle, and so on. A BLOUSE OF fcEYRES-BLUE TAFFETAS. Although blouses of white, cream and various coburs continue to be worn with black skirts, the correct mode ordains that blouse and skirt shall agree in colour if not in material. The exception is in the case of the lace or spotted net blouse, which, usually cream, may ally itself in all good taste with a skirt of any colour. Lace is a privileged fabric, and one which ta'ces a more and mere prominent place in the world of dress as seasons go by. Soft taffetas silk and the new satin, thin in substance but bearing a wonderful gloss, are among the most fashionable materials for smart blouses. Some of the new models arc ' tailor-made' in effect — these mostly being of taffetas or line _ cloth, strapped or pleated and stitched and trimmed with buttons. The tailor-made blouse of pale Sevres-blue taffetas, sketched, has a

band of silk ho) dcring the round neck, and a wide, arik'hed bos-pleat in front, this and tlie band of silk above being trimmed with small blaek velvet buttons, which likewise decorate the turned back cuffs to the elbow sleeves, cuffs and neck-band having pipings of velvet. On either side of the box-plcaled front is a wide, single tuck, neatly stitched along the edge. A jabot of lace softens the centre box-pleat and is of the same fine char* actcr as the lace of the round yoke and long tight-fitting under-sleeves ; and a blue silk or kid belt, buckled with enamel to match, trims the waist. The skirt, if of cashmere or doth to match the blouse, might be trimmed above the hem with a lew rows of ScTrcsblue ribbon, or (hushed with fold* of its own material.