AFTERNOON FROCKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23259, 31 January 1939, Page 3

AFTERNOON FROCKS

DESIGNS FROM PARIS MANY NEW DRESS FABRICS BEACH FASHIONS IN FUTURE BY BARBAKA LONDON, Jan. 8 All the grace, charm, and undeniable femininity of to-day's afternoon frocks are embodied in the two which I liave drawn for you this week. Tliey originate, of course, from Paris —no other city could have achieved such delightful womanliness in such a simple manner. Both frocks are unquestionably of the moment —typical of the little black dross worn by every Parisienne —yet both possess a classic timelessness. The Parisienne, herself, wears them unadorned. For foreigners, however, they provide the perfect foil for presentday ostentation in rugged jewellery. Both are cut from slithery black silk jersey, then draped as slick.and supple as a second skin.

The frock on the right has raglan sleeves brought almost all the way across the bodice and shirred into two front coils of the material. The belt is draped, the neck very high indeed and the skirt gathered into graceful folds. Every bib as feminine, if not quite so sophisticated, is the frock on the left, its draped neckline, plain and draped bodice and hip fullness follow the natural lines of the body. Velvet and Moire A new competitor in the afternoon field is moire—often allied to velvet. A high-necked leg-o'-mutton-sleeved, tight-waisted, bell-skirted moire dress is the colour of a ripe plum and has round the skirt three narrow rings of velvet. Velvet also binds the high, round neckline. A black taffetas dress, also with a bell-shaped skirt and a small tight bodice, has its richness embellished by wide bands of black velvet which encircle it all the way up. These are the very frocks to wear on those embarrassing "don't dress" occasions which so often send one scurrying to the wardrobe only to return disappointingly empty-handed. Other "high dress" fabrics worn now for formal "undress" occasions are lame and brocade. Made with short skirts and sleeves they may have either high or low necks and are worn for cinema and bridge, for cocktail parties

and for dinners when the men are not in formal dress. They are often draped and gathered and treated in the same supple way as the silk jerseys in my sketches. Whispers from Paris tell of a new, p.nd even unseasonable, burst of colour. Yellow and green-yellow linings arc evcrvwhere, in coats and jackets and protruding as frill# edges to petticoats from plain black frocks. White pique has already made its appearance on navy blue day dresses and we have news of brilliantly coloured beach clothes too. Breton Hats On the beach next year grown women will parade as little girls. They will don short skirted dresses, really short, that are replicas of their daughters. Their shorts will be brief too, and yet unreservedlv feminine. Mostly they will look like children going to dancing class with their square-necked blouses or dresses made in naive juvenile prints and pastel colours. Other Paris news tolls of a strong revival of Breton fashions. For a long time the Breton sailor hat has been a first favourite and we are now to have hats like Bretonne coil Fes. Often made from embroidered muslin, snowvwhite, these hats arc at present worn for dinner only, but it is safe to say that when spring conies we slia 1 wear them during the day also. J liev go admirably with upswept hair , styles, providing just that mixture of severity and charm that they demand. Then there are the wide, white handmade lace collars beloved of every Breton peasant. They flute enchantingly on any plain little dress, lifting it out of the rut with one swirl of transparent whiteness. They are the complement, too, of the actual copies of Breton men's.hats that we will be wearing. The latter are fashioned from thick black felt and have long black gros.grairustreamers Jiangiiig.from'-the^back.