CORONATION ROBES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22618, 5 January 1937, Page 3

CORONATION ROBES

DRESS SHOWS IN LONDON Although the Coronation is still far away, dress shows arc considerably influenced by it. At a recent one held in London a wool frock had an enormous coat of arms embroidered across the front, and another was fastened with large oblong crowns of copper. The fashion for bars of music on buttons or complete tunes with the words embroidered on borders suggests another idea which might be used for Coronation dresses. The show did not include anything with this touch except perhaps the cruise suit of royal blues with its basqued sleeveless waistcoat of cream covered with flying pennants. But at the end was shown an authentic Coronation robe for a countess. This was of crimson velvet opening down the front to show the frock beneath, the sides scalloped and bordered with ermine, and clasped together at the waist with two half-circles of gold and pearl. The elbow sleeves were also scalloped and banded with two rows of ermine. A long red velvet train, also ermine bordered and lined with white satin, fell from the shoulders below a square capo of miniver. Two frocks were shown for this same robe. One of white satin was embroidered up the front and at the hem with gold sequins, each sewn on with a pearl, and one was also of white satin, hand embroidered with sloping fern leaves in diamante all over the gown. There were other sumptuous gowns, including a deep sapphire blue velvet dinner gown with a full flounce to the .skirt of silver fox worn with a silver fox cape and an evening coat of black satin, long and straight, with a white front of satin buttoning from the throat to the ground with also a generous use of silver fox on the sleeves. Interesting colour schemes included rust used with lime green, lacquer red worn viith vivid royal blue completed with turquoise blue bracelets, and a Chinese cluck-egg blue united to a deep Parma violet shade.