MY LADY'S DRESS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23362, 30 November 1937, Page 17

MY LADY'S DRESS

A LETTER FROM LONDON Dear Phillida, —Black is the all-per-vading colour of the new collections. London shops, London streets, and London drawing rooms are full of it. Morning, noon, and night, for lunching, shopping, dining, and dancing; for frocks, coats, suits, bags, hats, gloves, shoes, and sometimes even stockings, black is the thing. The leading stores feature it in their window displays, and behind the select doors of the great couturiers, mannequins with the figures of angels parade in black before the world's most chic women. Yet this predominant blackness is no whit sombre. It is not a black of mourning, but a subtle, seductive, alluring black, with a sparkle to it. It is as though after a long period of

aloof amusement Paris had decided to show the world (and Holly wood) just what glamour really is. First of all she puts us into foundation garments that emphasise our natural lines—that curve in at the waist, out at the bust and hips. Then she decrees a line that will show up these new feminine undulations, revealing them subtly and giving them added allure. Next she chooses fabrics that will most naturally mould themselves to the new silhouette. She makes clinging elastic jerseys, gleaming satins and velvets and pearly crepes. Lastly, and inevitably, she picks the perfect colour —black—and uses it with abandon for everything. The result is an array of clothes matchless in their appeal—clothes that the men will like.

One London store has a particularly attractive window, display of practically unrelieved black. Against a background of white studded and cushioned satin, black clothes are postured on hidden wires. Some are

placed in baroque white frames appearing to be worn by ghost mannequins, others draped on stands.

A black tulle dance frock has an enormously full skirt, with the bodice made entirely of turquoise paillettes. Another frock has paillettes outlining its brassiere top, and yet another has a river of glistening black sequins running down the centre front. Black taffeta is also made with completely circular skirt and a puffed brassier bodice. For afternoon, a black silk jersey is draped by Alix in fluid folds that come round the neck, meet across the diaphragm, and are pulled round to the back. There is lots of side drapery and skirts that have all tho fullness pulled to the side-front give the new line without exaggerating the size of the tummy. Black sheers such as lace, chiffon, and tulle are " naturals" of this new mode. For you they can make exquisite afternoon frocks —their elegance increased by subtle tucking, shirring, and pleating. You can go for an afternoon's shopping in a shirtmaker frock of black chiffon, your wide Leghorn hat banded and bowed in black velvet, or you can tailor blacK lace for your cocktail suit. Autumn London wears sheers for the ball gowns and negligees—to-day these two are sometimes indistinguishable. A masterly chiffon dance frock by Alix is in two shades, half black and half claret, with the dividing line down the centre front. It has a halter neck and is draped over the bust to the waist, where it falls in folds to the floor.

My sketches this week show two cocktail frocks which I saw last night at a party given by the artist Christopher Perkins, who recently spent some years in New Zealand, in honour of the French painter Kisling, whose current one-man show at the Leicester Galleries is an artistic event of some importance. On the left is a black crepe frock with the new draped throat and lower hipline. Mammoth velvet bows accent both throat and waist, and are matched by a tall black beret of stitched velvet. The other ensemble is extremely chic with its backless crepe frock covered by a fitted velvet jacket. Incrustations of gold braid on the jacket front indicate an important new trend. Gold on black has even stronger fashion significance this year than last, and many accessories are a combination of the two. A black suede belt that ties round the waist like a sash has gold metal bells dangling from its two ends and a black suede bag that goes with it had a gold bell clasp. Gold thread stitches black gloves and decorates chiffon blouses. Very transparent black lace makes the most elegant of blouses to be worn with a black velvet cocktail suit. Another black chiffon blouse is banded vertically with wide stripes of cerise and royal blue velvet ribbon, and then embroidered heavily on the chest <in black and gold threads—reminiscent of a mediaeval page's jerkin. Scrolls of gold or colour on black frocks are a favourite form of decoration. Always they are placed to accent the prevalent silhouette. A black jersey dress has dark red scrolls round its high Empire waistline and coming up between the breasts to the throat in front. Another black crepe frock has horizontal bands of irridescent blue and green seauin embroidery. This colour contrast that is part of the frock itself tends to eliminate the • gSJBy.* much JOcUhlMim