PRACTICAL FASHIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21763, 31 March 1934, Page 6 (Supplement)

PRACTICAL FASHIONS

REVIVAL OF THE UNDERSKIRT black satin adds chic [special to N".Z. herald COPTRIGStI LONDON. Feb; 22 The earliest fashions now showing in Paris give promise of great variety of materials and modesj so that it should not be difficult for the most fastidious woman to adapt something to suit her own personality, and yet be quite a la mode. Naturally, some of the new models are extravagant in line and colour, particularly those designed for the evening. But these are only meant for the few, and to act as an indication or the lines for the rest to follow. If one watches a new collection carefully it 13 easy to find fashions which, while being very new, ai'e also extremely practical and which, when added to a simple dress or even included in. a renovation scheme, will give great chic to an otherwise undistinguished garment. The revival of the underskirt is one of these practical fashions. This I have already seen used for both day frocks and elaborate evening gowns with great success. One of the evening models consisted, of a dark blue organdie dress slit up the front over a paler blue underskirt through which were caught glimpses of a pink slip. The neckline

was cub low and square, and transparent elbow sleeves were slightly ruffled, giving a look of a Romney painting. Another black evening gown opened over an underskirt 01 white satin, and the bodice, high in front but low at the back, had a cluster of large satin flowers at the waistline at the centre back. Doesn't this suggest many ways for altering a much-worn evening frock ? The great thing to remember is that £he underslip must supply the chic, and so choose a colour combination and material with that object in view. But even more extensive are the daytime possibilities of the underskirt, for the season of the coat-frock and warmer dress for the street is fast approaching. One of the most attractive models I have seen was a dress of beige woollen fabric that opened down the front of the skirt and showed a Hack satin underslip. The black satin was repeated at the neck, where a wide, loose scarfeffect trimmed the bodice, and the three-quarter sleeves turned back just below the elbow and were faced with black satin. . _ This is the type of dress which I have seen with variations in many new collections and which can be adapted to almost any woollen frock. If you do not care for black satin use dark brown; it is enormously popular and is combined with many greens and reds as well as the usual beiges and greys. If you are clever with your needle make satin gauntlet gloves to match and a pochette bag, and you have an ideal outfit to wear when the clays are cooler but you still do not need a coat. Although these models; may suggest more material in the skirts, the general outline remains slim, especially for the daytime, when some of the more extreme designs have a suggestion of the "hobble." This, I feel sure, will die rapidly, for the modern girl will never submit to having her activity curbed by a fashionable skirt. But the effect should appear slim, with the fullness supplied by concealed inverted pleats from below the knees. Evening skirts should be slim to the knees, after which they can have as much or as little fullness as the individual wearer likes.

If you are looking for a lovely dress for a late summer function, why not choose dark brown lace? This morning I saw the ideal Ascot creation. Exquisite without being theatrical, the dress was of dark brown lace in a large leaf pattern and the top of the bodice of a pinky boige lace. Over this was a little shoulder cape of brown lace with a brown fox collar, through which one could see the light lace of the bodice top, and to complete there was a brown hat of Baku straw with a clump of beige ospreys. The dress without cape and hat was a perfect dinner dress, and would give endless satisfaction for bridge parties and other informal affairs.

New materials show a great' preference for jersey effects, although one often has to handle the fabric to be sure it is jersey. These may be plain, with an almost suede-like smoothness, or ribbed and patterned in self colours to look like diagonal broche silks. All these new jersey materials are excellent for moulding the figure, but they do not sag and stretch any more, and so keep their shape to the last thread. Glistening fabrics will be one of the features of the coming season. A gold or silver thread woven into a beige or grey woollen gives a beautiful effect. This idea is elaborated in the evening fabrics and we have satins and brocades and crepes that gleam with every movement, and yet are as soft and supple as chiffon. Sequins are also woven into materials, both for day and evening wear, and I saw an attractive spring ensemble with dress and hat made of moss-green wool with gold sequins almost buried in the fabric.