LADIES' COLUMN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9823, 18 May 1895, Page 4 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

WINTER FASHIONS.

Winter garments (writes " Queen Be®" in the Australasian) are slowly but surely making their appearance, and at two recent smart weddings some of the dresses attracted a good deal of attention, giving an excellent indication in the way of styles and colours to be worn this season. All kinds of woollens And cropons in brown and fawn will be favourites. Blue has been the colour of the season at home, but it has hardly taken here yet; no doubt we shall see more of it later on. Some of the tones are most becoming and stylish, especially the shade known as faded cornflower. Black will have a large share of popularity, but it must be made up well, with good jet, steel, fancy passementeries, and fur. Figured and spotted silks of the glac6 and chene kinds are being largoly used for trimmings, and, indeed, no smart gown will be considered quite perfect without it. These usually form deep collars which fall over the shoulders in frill fashion, yokes, and full blouse or box-plaited fronts. Mirofr velvet, veined or watered velvet, and fretwork cloth, silk or satin, are also much used for ornamentations. The mirofr velvet is often used for the entire bodice, but it is seen to greater advantage when used, like the silks, in smaller quantities. The fretwork materials are generally seen in subdued colours over brighter ones. For instance, a plain skirt of grey crepon has a white silk bodice covered with grpy fretwork cloth, through which the white silk is shown with very stylish effect. At the waist is a band of steel and silver passementerie. The sleeves are large and full, and are also of the fretwork cloth over white silk, finished with turned-back cuffs of grey velvet, headed by a narrow band of steel and silver passementerie. Dresses themselves retain their characteristics of plain skirts, with trimmings, if any, confined to tho edge ; but the bodices are as elaborate as the skirts are simple. Many are taking the form of a basque jackot, made very short in front and finished at the back with a fan plait that stands away from tho figure with stylish effect. Many of these are very ornate, with revers and button. The revers are usually large and pronouncod, being covered with rich guipure, braid, or passementeries. These, as a rule, show a vest of fancy silk or brocade, and aro finished with a real lace jabot. Such bodices look best on tall women of good bearing, as they are large, and give the greatest importance to a good figure. Other bodices aro full, back and front, and end at the waist. The beauty of these is often marked by the entire shoulders being covered with a cape of velvet or satin, with rich guipure or gold and jet embroidery. A good example in this style is of brown crepon, the bodice having a bodice of lime-green velvet, embroidered with gold and edged with bands of sable fur. A belt of lime-green velvet is folded round the waist; the sleeves aro very large and full, finishing at the wrist with a cuff-like tightness. Some very good effects are obtained with brightlytinted glacii or chene silk blouses, under bolero or garcon jackets. A black crGpon, for instance, is worn with a pale-blue chene silk blouse. The garcon jacket of black satin is bordered with a narrow band and fringe of jet, and a jewelled galon belt holds the blouse in at the waist. Tho sleeves have the upper puff part of satin, and the lower, tight-fitting, of the crepon edged with jet. » The large high-shoulder sleeves have had a good time, but are now giving place to those that are set into a long shoulder seam, and hence droop downwards towards the elbow. Many will regret the return of the long shoulder seam, as it always makes a broad back. For the present, however, it has a redeeming feature, as it is covered by the bodice ornamentation, invariably a deep collar or cape of some kind. A great run is being made on large and small artistic button?, and those who are fortunate enough to have old ones lying by are in luck's way. Some of these are set with eighteenth - century miniatures, mounted in gold or paste frames. Wedgwood, Sevres, and Dresden china are often seen mounted in paste. Less expensive are mother-o'-pearl, set in steel or silver. These make a particularly smart and uncommon finish when set down either side of the bodice below the revers or cape. Muffs for this winter seem to be constructed more for ornament than use. In the first place, they are large, and often measure quite half a yard across, although they only admit the finger tips inside. They are constructed of kilted chiffon, velvet, or satin, which iu very much ruflled, and made to stand out fan fashion. In the centre is a large bow, caught with a paste buckle. Others have the head and tail of the sable nestling in a told of chiffon, Quito the newest idea in muffs for bridesmaids are long chatel bouquets of real flowers, nestling in the materials they are made of. The newest boas are also curiosities, being formed chiefly ot chiffon, so closely pleated about the neck that it takes two dozen yards of material to mako one boa. It is tied with long tails of black satin ribbon that almost touch the hem of the skirt. Dress capes are more popular than ever, but they are daily becoming decidedly shorter, and no longer consist of two or more tiers. They are very wide at the lower edge, growing narrower as they reach the shoulders. Into the neck they are sot almost quite plainly, and on the uppermost pari is laid a handsome Louis XV. collar covered with rich guipure or sequin and jet passementerie. A very pretty finish is seen in the form of a narrow ruche of chiffon or tulle placed round the edge of the collar or upper cape. Very stylish capes of this description are formed of black or coloured fretwork velvet or cloth showing through a bright-coloured silk lining. The most convenient and ever-useful garment, the driving-cape, is much longer, and is made of the roughest and thickest tweed or cloth, finished with a silk lining and fur trimmings. HINTS UPON HAIRDRESSING. \ The fashion of dressing the hair changes so frequently that only a few general rules can be recorded here. Ladies who study the art of beauty as well as of fashion adapt each new style to their particular cast of face and feature. A perfectly beautiful face, with a head whose symmetry is irreproachable, may just wear the hair in whatever fashion happens to be the fancy of the moment, and cannot fail to look charming. But such heads and faces are rare, and moat of us have to consider the best mode of heightening the little beauty nature has provided us with. A high forehead should be shaded with a few light curls, and the hair loosely arranged from tho roots at the top. If the forehead be narrow as well as high, and the temples bare, the hair should always be waved at the sides, and loosely drawn back. Full temples, on the contrary, should have the hair drawn back somewhat tightly, and height given by having the air drawn up to the top alone. A head long from forehead to crown at the back should have the hair dressed low in the neck as well as on the immediate top, but should not have the protuberance at the neck in the least degree emphasised. Thin-necked people should cut a little hair quite in the nape of the neck, and curl it so as to give apparent width from the back ; while ladies who possess a round white neck should draw the hair away towards the crown of the head. HOW TO TRAIN GIRLS. The Young Woman for April contains the following message from Florence Nightingale, reproduced in fac simile " My message to girls would be—l. Train yourselves to your work, to your life. The last twenty-five or thirty years has recognised beyond everything this necessity of training. 2. Hare a higher object than the mere undertaking in all you undertake. If we know of nothing better and higher and truer than ourselves, when wo fail or are disappointed we lose heart, and perhaps ' strike work.' Bub if we have recognised ourselves as (I will nob say only) a wheel or a tool in the hands of that Almighty highest and truest and best, we have that blessing of being part of the whole, and, whatever our own failure, are never cast down. 3. As one of the best women workers of our day says, ' The talk now is of rights, not right.' Let that not be our case. lam myself always a pris oner from illness and overwork, but all the more I wish you God-speed."

An Extreme.—" Mrs. Gocdeense is going to start a dress reform movement ..here. What do you thin& of it?" '' Mercy, had never noticed that her figure was so bad as aUthat!" ;•