COLD DAYS IN ENGLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20426, 30 November 1929, Page 6 (Supplement)

COLD DAYS IN ENGLAND.

NO MORE DOWDINESS.

FLOUNCES POPULAR.

[SPECIAL TO X.Z. HEIIALD.—COPYIIIfi 11T. ]

LONDON, October IS.

The break-up of the drought seems to have plunged Europe suddenly into autumn. The wind has almost an Arctic quality, which makes the enormous fur collars decreed by fashion as comforting as they are smart. Everyone is thinking of clothes in terms of wool, and, fortunately, the woollen materials grow lovelier each season. It is no longer necessary to be either dull or dowdy when one desires to be warmly clad.

There is a new woollen hopsack that is as light and pliable as crepe, and yet beautifully warm, which comes in many lovely colours. ft makes very graceful frocks, and-is flounced, pleated, and tied exactly in the same way that one would handle a silken fabric.

The new jersey cloths are a perfect joy for the average woman. Soft and supple, with almost a suede-like finish, they even are used as linings to light-weight tweed coats so that the two woollen fabrics give the desired warmth without anyj suspicion of bulk or weight. Somo of the fancy jerseys make tie mendously smart ensembles, particularly one with a black ground spotted all over with white.

I have seen this made into a beautifully cut coat frock with touches of white at the beck and wrists of pleated jersey frills. ' Again, in the jersey coat and dress ensemble I have sketched this week, the long, tied scarf was of jersey as fine as crepe. This particular sketch is a good model for your spring silhouette. The full skirt and slim three-quarter coat will be quite correct in any material you care to choose.

Spotted effects are the smartest among the printed materials for day wear, and besides the jerseys we have spotted crepella and spotted velvet used for many of the afternoon frocks to be worn under a plain coloured coat. Spotted net is new and smart for even ing wear, and a black net frock with silver dots all over it, and a filigree silver belt round a tiny waist pleased everyone at a recent show. Coarse, filet net is one of the newest materials for evening wear. It sounds perishable, but is in reality an economical and practical fabric, being strong and uncrushable, and invaluable for travelling, for it packs so successfully. If choosing one of the new dark shades for evening, .filet net is an ideal fabric. In bottle green, wine red, mulberry, or smoke grey, it makes a charming evening frock, particularly if the model chosen has two or three flounces bound with the tiniest rouleau of satin to match. Everything seems to be cut with a flounce this season, and even the slimmest looking garments have fullness concealed somewhere. At a recent dress show where most of the models seemed designed for the more youthful members of society it semed as though every second dress was made with a double flounce skirt. Coats had flounced capo collars, even the hats having little flounces of felt down the back on the neck. Sashes are fashionable once more, usually twisted loosely rather low 011 the hips and tied with a large bow and one long trailing end. . An evening dress in flounced black filet net had one of these sashes in wide china blue faille ribbon fastened 011 the trailing end was a full blown silk rose of a delicate shade of pink. . The new coloured gloves which appeared at the early snows 111 Paris have now arrived in London. Long gauntlet gloves in all shades of beige and brown, bottle green, wine red, and even blue. Many of these have insets of contrasting coloured kids, and while they are extremely new, I am very doubtful 0) their ever becoming very popular.

This also applies to somo very new street shoes shown at the shoe and leather fair, made of coloured leathers. One needs an unlimited dress allowance to indulge in wine red, bottle green, and deep purple shoes, for surely they can only be worn with suits or coats to match! On the other hand, coloured shoes will bo very popular for evening, sometimes matching the gown, at others supplying a bright note of contrast.