LONDON FASHION NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13745, 9 May 1908, Page 6 (Supplement)

LONDON FASHION NOTES.

(raou OUR OWN CORRESrO-N'DENT.j 5 -. • London, March 27. * The French modistes aro ' preparing some 3 dainty little capes- or mantlets for weal- I ing between the seasons. Some, for morning walks, are made of cloth to match the dress, others are of velvet which look well i with skirts of cloth. Smartest of all, * however, are the capes made in shot-glace t silk, bordered at the edge with a key- | 5 pattern design of narrow velvet; these I £ capes of shot-silk look less sombre than j i do any of a plain material. .Raised cm- ; i broideries , are seen also for trimming i them, while under the arms the folds of silk are lightly, caught together to give the effect of a sleeve, this effect being! further' emphasised by deep frills of cream j. lace which fall gracefully ovei the arms. j Then, too, taffetas—shot and plain—will t be used for coats Ito accompany the skirt , of cloth. Two shades of one colour is i preferable; for this .'toilette, the skirt, as I a rule, ' being » few tones paler than the , coat; light and dark prune will be effec- :• tive thus represented, while two shades of i green furnish another example, and "canard" blue treated in this manner is very "fetching." * Any amount of ingenuity and elaboration can be bestowed upon the I coat r but as a contrast the skirt should j be kept fairly plain. Green in all shadings is decidedly oneV of the most prominent of the spying . colourings, but mal- " maison pink and peacock greens and blues , tire evidently going;to be the most popular of all. Ninon de scic seems to be the I coming material—the one which will at length.oust the popular and useful , voile s from the position which ;it has long held. ' Ninon, de soie. is, of course, a far more 1 . effective fabric than; is voile, and its latest 3 colourings; include striking shades,of red— Indian, flamingo, ; geranium, coral, pomegranate, malmaison, toning ='-. off .to the faintest . blush -/pink.;- its . sweeping silky > folds are fascinating and difficult to resist when a dainty dress is desired. These, , red and pink shadings are, as a rule, seen j j, to the best advantage made up over a x foundation of white or cream, and worked j in an embroidery "just half a ton© deeper in colouring. A model; gown of pure 3 white ninon de soie patterned with a'splen- ' did - border 'of shaded pink geraniums, , shown up by a faint black trellis "work, ' was the scheme worked upon by a French modiste, who nrovided an accompanying toque massed "with, velvet geraniums to match, bordered with a thick ruche of light green .geranium foliage. 3 Silk cashmere .; is a novelty, and in 1 Paris just now it is one of the most-used 3 materials in " the' -Construction'' of / model ' dresses it is to be had in - all the new * colourings, and for the classical style, of i gown its exquisite softness a;ad draping r qualities make it in considerable demand, !' ,

The newest- coiffures, more. especially those which are intended for evening wear, arc of the most elaborate description, with quantities of little curls and masses of way-, eel hair .gathered lip loosely and dressed in such a way as to' give a curiously wide effect to the appearance of the head, while ,' at the top the hair is also arranged with many coils and puffs. We give an illustration of one of the newest forms 'of-evening coiffure, in which the, hair-is arranged in front with many" waves and undulations, and adorned inV the - centre by a comb of very quaint shape made in real tortoise--5 she'll and . surmounted by large balls. At the back the hair is draped in Greek fashion, with a scarf of gold gauze t while a wide, heavy plait is wound round the head with a number- of puffs and curls in the centre. Long ear-rings, as shown in our sketch, look particularly well with a coiffure of this ; description.,

' One of the ! latest ideas for the tasteful , arrangement of a double skirt, in (.lie case of ail evening frock, -may be seen in our illustration of a dainty roserpetal gown, , which "is arranged in such a novel way, ' with an over-skirt of white chiffon, shower- ! Ed with single pale pink rose leaves and a i petticoat of white net, crossed and recrossi ed with heavy silver threads. The skirt, by the way, is lined with Oriental satin in a pale shade of rose-pink, which lends • a soft flush of warm colour tc the ivory- ■ white ol the net and chiffon draperies, through which it may be seen now and again as the wearer moves. Where the over-skirt is cut up to show 1 the. petticoat of silver and white net, '(he. soft draperies are bordered with cascaded frills of ivory-white Alencon lace, and finished round the hem with a flounce, of the same lace, but in a wider width, head-, ed along the upper part by a band of black velvet -ibbon. The panels are cut square at the top, and outlined there with a little wreath of roses,, shading from palest pink to deepest crimson. -.''At the waist, there #is a. baud of black velvet ribbon. The bodice is of white chiffon, covered buck and ( front, with two" fully-gathered flounces of Alencon lace, and bordered along the decolletage with rather a formal wreath of roses, arranged with one large blossom in the centre and, smaller flowers on either side, shading from pink to crimson. This idea might be very prettily carried out with, the roses.in pale shades of. yellow, instead .of the . more ordinary pink- and crimson, and in this .case, of • course, • the lining would have to be of pale yellow satin.