A FRENCHWOMAN’S NOTEBOOK

Matamata Record, Volume XIII, Issue 1109, 27 March 1930, Page 2

A FRENCHWOMAN’S NOTEBOOK

OUR FASHION LETTER. (By Colline Rouff) Soon wo shall be in the full swing of dress shows 'again. In the meantime, we visit as many designers as we can and take the opportunity to find out as much as possible about forthcoming fashions. n In Anticipation One thing we arc sure to find: although hem lines will be more even all the way round, frocks will be long — for the next few months at least. Twelve inches from the ground is the length adopted by all the big houses for day wear. I have seen the most delightful frocks for tennis, made of Shantung silk or very thick washing crepe de chine in, the most lovely colours: deep rose, lime-bud green, periwinkle-blue" and, of course, cream. Pure white is not becoming, even in the sunshine! It is strange how r banal the scarlet-and-white scheme looks now, after the more sophisticated green-and-yellow, and the most chic black-and-white. But I was going to tell you that all frocks made' for future days are five or six inches below the knees and, as they are pleated, they look very nice, indeed. Capes will be “In” Again Many of the new garments are to have capes. I am very glad to know this, for the consciousness of a cape floating from her shoulders always makes a woman walk in a queenly manner —a great advantage in these careless days. A very light tweed or lainage coat will have a small wing cape beginning under the collar and gradually sloping between the shoulders into a flared frill to the waist. Naturally, the waistline is well defined in such a coat, otherwise the silhouette would b rather clumsy. When the wrap is for travelling or motoring, the cape is of more useful j dimensions, and, although only waist length, is voluminous enough to cover (Continued in Next Column)

the tops of tlic arms and shoulders, ■which always feel chilly, even in the warmest climate, in the late hours. A New Cape Scarf A pretty now version, of the neck scarf, closely resembling a small cape, is being added to tweed coats and dresses. This cape looks as if it started out to be a triangle, but the corners are rounded off, and there are two long stole ends which tie in front or else hang down on either side. For sports and afternoon silk frocks, these charming little scarf-capes are made of two tones of thick crepe do chine in brilliant colours. They arc most useful, and much newer than cardigans and sweaters. But the pretty bright scarves wo have worn so much with our jersey suits and frocks, the long ones, the squares, and the triangles—alas! I do not think we shall see much of them this season. Why? Because they are being sold quite cheaply. On the other hand, those made in black and white, black and yellow, royal blue and rose and so on, with narrow pieces to go round the throat and ends made like closely pleated fans are not cheap!