LADIES' COLUMN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11692, 29 June 1901, Page 4 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

FOR THOSE ABOUT TO MARRY. in' you the good fortune to have become engaged, and are you looking forward to a wedding? ' Then read these hint's: — Do not begin to call his father and mother by parental titles before you are married. It is more respectful to your own parents to reserve those names for them, and, moreover, a broken engagement would leave you with an embarrassing stock of relatives on hand. - Do not tell him all your petty trials -at home, or confide in him your momentary rages against your sister Polly or your mother. He will remind you of them six years later, when Polly or your mother is about to visit you. Don't snub and ignore your friends while in the first absorption of the engagement-. You will long for them in the boredom that follows upon the heels of the honeymoon. Don't make yourself a nuisance to the community by discoursing upon " him" whenever you can find a listener. In the first place, it is tiresome to the victim; and in the second place, the old-fashioned notion that some subjects are too sacred for general conversation still has much to commend it.

FASHION MODES. Madame La Mode had elected that bright colourings were to be our portion this season, and her faithful followers were only too glad to carry out her dictates. It was such a change from the greys and fawns that have been so extensively patronised for the past two or three years; so the advent of red, strawberry, turquoise, and mulberry has been received with acclamation and approval. Whether or not the gold craze wild '•'catch on" is rather too soon to decide. The complimentary mourning has been responsible for its non-appearance, but perhaps a little later on it may shine forth in all its glitter. Gold roses will no""doubt be extensively in evidence for evening wear, but the expensiveness will keep them far above the reach of the woman who possesses but a short purse. . Still, if she is clever, and wishes to become the owner of one of these delightful additions to her toilette, great results many be achieved with a large white rose and a small bottle of gold paint. This hint is worth remembering. Friezs seems, after all, to be one of the most popular fabrics of the season, but I notice that many shoppers are persuaded into the purchase of quite another material, which is perhaps ; suitable for their requirements, but which is really a species of rough serge or Cheviot, and really not a frieze at all. The latter makes up most becomingly, and just now my fancy has wandered towards a powder-blue dotted over the entire, surface with short white hairs. I was also much interested in the " building," which boasted a triple skirt, each edged with rows of black machine stitching. The bolero was also triple, lined and piqued with black glacc, and stitched to correspond with the skirt. It was finished with a deep sailor collar of the frieze over which was mounted a smaller one of Honiton lace, the edge bound with black glace to the depth of about two inches. Tea jackets are always popular, and I was fascinated by a very smart one which some days ago was brought before my notice, fashioned from Orient satin. The fronts fell quite loose ' from the shoulders, and were very, narrow, while the back had the fulness drawn into the waist by a slot and a string on the inside. Then from the shoulders fell a tucked muslin and lace collar, the edge cut into a series of Vandykes, and from beneath this collar on either side came a broad scarf of chiffon, the ends crossing over the centre of the figure, and eventually disappearing into the slot at the back. It was finished by a soft belt of the material. The colour of the satin was a soft pink, while the scarfs were of art equally soft shade of mauve, and the lace and muslin of a deep ecru tint. Gloves are rarely worn for dinner or theatre, but for dances they are still considered quite the correct thing. Black lace mittens are sometimes seen in the evening, and mitten sleeves are still fashionable. For the former I cannot say that I have unbounded admiration, but consider them most becoming even to a pretty hand. Mitten . sleen'ija, though still up-to-date, are not often seen here, probably owing to the difficulty of their manufacture. They are very pretty, and the fact of the thumb slipping through the long sleeve as it does aids in keeping, the sleeve in its place. Some of these sleeves if not well-cut have ail unhappy knack of wrinkling up. Black lace is considered smarter than cream lace, except in the case of elbow sleeves, when it then becomes a matter of taste on the part of the wearer.— Housewife/' in Svdney Mail.