SPRING FEVER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22539, 2 October 1936, Page 4

SPRING FEVER

NEW AND LOVELY FASHIONS THE VOGUE FOR COLOUR nv nauuaua Sydney shops arc now a blaze of spring finery All that is newest and most lovely of these new and lovely fashions lias been put before our desiring eyes. So gay and enchanting are the window displays that to walk along the street is to expose oneself to a thousand temptations, while to enter a department store is certain perdition. As if in league with the shopkeepers, spring lias come early this year and wo have bright, junshiny days, violets, daliodils and hyacinths in their plenty combined with that glorious heady sensation that inevitably means a new hat.

Here are a few haphazard impressions gleaned from a morning oi window gazing. One's iirst reaction is to the riotous colour, the slickly successful combinations of most flagrantly incombinablo shades and the bold bids for a single vivid ono. We have the Mexican colours —tan. emerald green, straw, purple, red and blue. We have vegetable shades of pale green, yellow, carrot red, brown and off-white. Then there is a whole rango of exquisite pastels —lilacs mauves, pinks, blues and beiges. And there are prints which combine them all —splashing, dashing prints that make divine dinner frocks, entrancing dance frocks and in the daytime provide the spice for many a trottour. There are innumerable model frocks featuring hand-printed prints and there are subject prints inspired by modern masters. For instance, Van Gogh's famous sunflowers have beon triumphantly incorporated in a burning floral design used for a dance frock. Then there are the new accessories They come in the same gay colours. We have handbags of every hue and shoes, gloves and hats to match them. The most dashing of the new bags are made of patent leather in overy one of the new bright colours. There are belts to go with them too, and often these are linked with the hat trimming. For if hats are plain coloured, and they mostly are, they have the most inspired decoration wo have seen in seasons. Veils (sometimes chenille spotted in striped ribbons, flowers, berries, birds on the wing—anything that is gay—a little nonsensical but decorative, is acceptable. Pineapple straw at its shiniest is used for a series of hats in vegetable colours. One amusing display showed two marionette mannequins wearing organza frocks of doll-like simplicity. An emerald green organza with very wide skirt was corded in rings round the skirt, and bouffant sleeves and a do-up-the-front bodico with turn-down collar. A slightly more sophisticated affair was a French blue organza hand painted with flower sprays and worn over a taffetas slip.

The smartest outfit shown in a leading store was a light-weight black wool frock—very slim and straight with a soft pique girdle and worn under a voluminous three-quarter length swingback pique coat with wide sleeves and generous rovers. Three white buttons fastened the frock at the skirt side.

With this was a black hat with white piquo trim, black gloves and black shoes. The model was striding briskly and being led by an enchanting black poodle dog.

To got back to the practical. When buying your first spring outfit it is necessary to think as far ahead as possible You wunt to get something which is going to synchronise with anything else you may want to buy later. A good idea is to begin with a coat —something which you can wear now and will be useful over your print frocks all summer long. There is the coat shown in my sketch for instance Schiaparelli designed it in navy wool. It has her favourite high waist emphasised in Empire fashion by quilted bands which also make collar and cuffs The buttons are composition tassels and tho hat has caught spring fever in the shape of three naturalistic marguerites.

Quilting is again used on the sheer short-jacketed ensemble, also sketched. A quilted jackot covers an adorable frock with a finely pleated muslin vestee. The same motif is repeated at the frock hem; We find quilting on many drossy ensembles—for afternoon, for cocktails and in the evening. Prints often have their pattern quilted to give them prominence. The ensemble sketched is in a favourite colour scheme —dark blue and pink, the frock and jacket of dusky pink and the cravat and accessories of dark, misty bluo. Very wide hats are going to bo definitely the thing from quite early in the spring Wido brotons, shady straws with floral trim and 1900 Italian straws which feature veils and bows under the back brim are right with anything, but especially with prints.