WOMEN’S NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11248, 28 June 1922, Page 8

WOMEN’S NOTES

FASHION HINTS Interesting developments are taking place in luinted. dresse?. In Paris quite a semaatioo lias been made by tne new rnodois introduced by a modiste who waa one of the firt-t to embroider knitted material*. biie is doing wonderful thiuijs with grey ®iik embroidered in rusty copper aud black, and with skirts ami Russian biou-es of b)a<’k jersey enlivened with t.'hinece embroideries. Pearls and j«*t mixed —that is the latest cry. if you want to be smart wea** a ten-row collar of «maU pearls, linked here and there by slabs* of jet, and fasten it undor your chin w:th a jet and platiuum ornament. Match your hat to your costume-coat. That is the new idea. The smart Tarioiqnne is wearing a short «*oat ©i black Russian satin, with a skirt of cloth or knitted fabric, and a black satin or ficiielle hat. An alluring millinery novelty ie the hat of “mohair"—a lustrous material reminiscent of silver tissue, but of much closer texture and better wearing qualities. The intrinsic beauty of this new fabric renders any trimming unnecc*©ary, though the accepted vogue is to throw over the mohair hat one of the gorgeous new veil©—very 'spency, but very lovely—with Oriental floral borders that must be seen if their beauty is to be properly appreciated. Mere words cannot adequately express these poems of cOloiu, nor their effect in alliance with the silver or old gold mohair. These hats aro made in the Ituasianr coronal style, in the large shapes with drooping side brims, and in fascinating Napoleonic tricorners Roads are used in every conceivabl wav to adorn evening frocks. They may be large or email, round, square or long, in fact anything that can be threaded and used a a a bead. Anyone who has in their store box beads of an unusual description should look out for them now, and make use of them. Bead embroidery of eveiy style is used, worked with tiny beads, small and large beads combined, or quite large beads. Then there are bands or rows of beads, taesels, or clusters, and, lastly, ropes ot beads just banging in festoons, or else in straight-down at rings, while there are all kinds of bead-fringee omployea. The cloth overdress is one of the most useful sartorial standbys imaginable, for it permits us to wear out all the odd blouses and jumpers of which we are a little tired, but whose familiar outlines take on new charms in alliance with a well-cut over-dress. The new style has the apron-bib front and back. Instead of a mere trifle of blouse showing at the deck, and the sleeves, by way of relief note, the latter is accentuated by the openings at the eidee, back and front) from shoulder-strap to waistline. The waist itself is neatly finished off by a fold of the material brought round: to each side from the back and fastening just above each hip with a single button. Such a frock, in a discreet, non-limiting shade like navy or nigger, is the wisest possible investment for the woman with a limited drew allowance. Moreover, it is pre-eminently fashionables in no wieo to d© regarded as a makeshift that must be worn furtively, with an apologetic airl The newest trinket takes the form of combination ear-ring and necklet. Made of pearls or diamonds, it fixes to the ear at each side and descends in flexible beauty to a becoming point below the chin, where it terminates in a pearshaped pendant. It is particularly charming when combined with a pointed bead* dress, the two giving a wonderful Cleopatraesque effect. Many are the original and exceedingly pretty blouses being shown just now. A well-known dressmaker of the Bue de la Paix makes a simple, semi-fitted blouse of silver tissue collared with an inchwide black velvet ribbon, from wbico rises or flares a frill of pleated black tulle and fashions, another blouse of Sold -tissue, oollared with black ostrich. [any blouse* might be described a* semi-fitted chemises, that is, they fall straight from shoulder to hilh curved to the figure ever ®o slightly, ana are finished at the hips with turned-back "cuffs'* of embroidered or plain ti«BUs. _ Occasionally a blouse, Aong-oleeved, is fitted with a “chocker" collar, but usually they are open at the neck, and generally short-sleeved or pagoda-sleeved. Here and there we see a blouee of silk jersey, but as a rule the material employed is crepe-de-chin« or eoft aatin. The low waistline— or absence of all W£sisthne— <»lla imperatively for girdlee. The call is being answered by literally thousands of novel designs. As most girl© nowadays make their , own lingerie, many will be interested in the remark© of a writer in "Woman's Life,” who says that what struck her most forcibly when in the shops was the absence of lace as a trimming, except in the ooso of those costly white linen lawn confections, which it is the craze to adorn with real Irish crochet or filet. But tho “au dessous" of crepe de chine, marooiin, and eoft silk are being decoiatod by hand-embroidered spots, fine drawn-thread work, fagot-stitchiqg. a neat over-work ctitch, narrow bindings of ribben, and fancy buttonhole embroidery. Tha simplicity and neatness of all the 6ilken underwear is surprising, while for sound practicability it could scarcely be beaten, since there is nothing to tear or get out of order. The one and only ephemeral deooration that seems to find favour is washing net, which is invariably used double. There is a particular quality of net used for this purpose that waenes well and, used doubled, doos not stretch or shrink. Marocain, referred to zn the above list of silks, is the latest recruit to lingerie, and is of a lighter, finer quality than that employed for frocks, and consequently cheaper; it is about the same price as a good crepe de chine. As the waistline has altered women'* figures so much, there has come about the “battle of the skirts." Obviously you cannot wear a long waist with a verv short skirt. Paris is for the longer skirt. Though even, there there are ieactionist6 who want the skirt as short as ever New York professes to ignore the question. “A plague upon both your houses." she says, and goes on solidly for “knicker suits." Worn with a long coat. “The cutest thing for games and exercises ever known." The newest idea in knitting is to knit the coat and skirt separate, with a whits waist coat underneath, or one of a contrasting colour, or one to match the revers and collar of the costume and the hat. Girls who have knitted costumes tell mo that enre must be exercised to keep the stitches firm and tight or tho skirt will fall in ugly loops after a little while. A good plan is to mount the costume on a silk slip, just tacked on, of course; the lining makes the dress warmer, and keeps it from dragging. A clever knitter with a fair amount of time to spare oan knit a useful and becoming frock for herself In a fortnight.