Fashion News From Parisian Designers

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 109, 11 May 1939, Page 14

Fashion News From Parisian Designers

Fronts and Waistcoats The “front” of pique, muslin, linen, or lace has been revived at Paris. It may be worn with almost everything except a tweed frock, and even with that sometimes it takes the form of a severe white bow, something like a man’s dress tie but a little larger, worn at the neck with a smaller bow on either wrist. Smart little white pique waistcoats with narrow upstanding collars are worn with cardigans and if the knitted jumper is open at the neck the gap is filled by a white muslin “dicky” which has a small snug turned-down collar, fastened with a narrow velvet bow the same colour as the jumper. Cashmere jumpers of all kinds are transformed into afternoon frocks by the addition of close-fitting velvet skirts in the same shade, the jumpers have little frilly fronts and smart belts, this type of front is made of fine tucked muslin, lace, pique, with crystal buttons, or it may take the form of a plastron like a man’s soft dress shirt, in which case studs are used.

Flat plastrons with small upstanding collars of the military type, fastening at the baqk, look very attractive with the tailor-made house suit, an unlined coat and skirt of soft wool material or velvet. The fronts may be of linen decorated with drawn thread work, narrow lace insertion and organdie, or pique on which coloured spots are embroidered. Women who have not time to embroider the spots use spotted muslin. With the white pique front a white pique belt is worn, if the waist is slender, otherwise the belt matches the suit, and is about an inch to an inch and a-half wide. Soft leather belts are also in order. “Ham frills” have appeared again at

the throat, but not at the wrists, and hardly any of the dresses are worn open at the neck.

The so-called “dressmaker’s necklace,” made of braid or cord, is worn with the tweed frock. There is something Egyptian about it, and many psople are making their own. Three strands of different lengths of gold cord, for instance, are held together at the back and on the shoulders with strips of coloured ribbon sewn under the cord, which hangs loose in front. Bone rings may .be used at intervals instead of the ribbon.

A severe black dress can be finished with several strands of silver cords of different lengths attached to a fairly wide purple ribbon which ties at the back of the neck and stands out stiffly. Cord necklaces finished with bows of ribbon, made to match, or in contrast with the tweed dresses are quite new and very becoming. They are useful, too, for furbishing up a dress a little the worse for wear. The bow should be attached with a little safety pin to the back of the dress, otherwise it tends .to slip down and spoil the effect. When the hair is dressed high the ends of the bows are pulled straight up to follow the line, when it is dressed low, the bow is stretched out like a butterfly with spread wings.

In bathing baby let baby sit on a napkin in the bath and there will be no slipping.

Sew an iron-holder to a discarded leather glove, which is easily slipped on and prevents the fingers being burned.

Restore colour to ivory handles of knives by rubbing with half a lemon dipped in salt. Then wash in warm water.