ILLUSTRATED FASHIONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2525, 6 August 1902, Page 63

ILLUSTRATED FASHIONS.

Dear Emmeline, — Hovering as we do be•ween Easter and Whitauntide. our thoughes are- naturally much occupied with the contents of our wardrobes, and the- bright spring sunshine seems to permeate the feminine mind with a desire to don as gay afetire as ia feasible, and the exceedingly alluring and fascinating goods displayed in the shop windows only add fuel to the fiie of our desires. The old-fashioned plan wa« to replenish the contents of one's wardrobe half-yearly, in spring and autumn respec tively, with a supreme disregard of weather or temperature. This was simply an echo of the Spartan rule by which our grandmothers deprived themselves of the luxury of a fire at one particular date in spring, only to resume it in autumn, the customary "weather permitting" being viewed almost as sacrilege in their eyes. The younger and pre-aent generation of womankind are undoubtedly le.-s etrong-mindod than their progenitors, and, whether it be to their credit or not, comfort plays a more prominent part in the daily routine of their lives. Blouses are very pretty this season, and the protry sample sketched is no exception to the "rule. It is a delightfully soft intermingling of flowered pink muslin and lace. The hard linen collar bus not ye-t returned to adorn fie thread ot t!ie fashionable, and is still only belovod by the manivsh maiden. Kevertheless, there is something particularly

attractive in the smoothness of its shining clean surface which seems to add rather thau detract from a fresh, wholesome complexion, and- I fancy that Dame Fashion, with her usual iicklene*e, will again shortly tmile thereoi'. Still it must be confes-aed that after contracting the comfort of a transparent lace collar with two and a-half inches of gtarched (surface, one can auly wonder and- admire th© determination with which mankind braves out the hottest summer day behind the stifling restrictions of a perfectlydressed linen collar. Truly we must be the ■wcafsei sex. There are so many pretty tics and cravats this season, most of the cravats being nearly related to a stock). Some of the3e aro made 111 coloured lawn, and are about Bin in width. They are wound round the throat, the ends being crossed behind and brought back and pinned in front, the ends showing for the moat part a lace edge. Others, again, are not so wide and arc only passed once round the neck and crossed over in front, the edges being cut up into tabs edged with Valenciennes or 'onie other fine lace. The smart coat illustrated is

exceedingiy np-to-c\ite as to cut. and opens over a dainty wai-n-out It is owing very much to the introduction of the. newest loats thnt the-e l'neh v. .»i-Uoats or icsh have como into prr>m:i>'".ee, and n any of them in ricli ciMmy <,i t.nted <.ntin<- afford a splendid opportunity fo; the i-le\er woiker to display uc*r cuun.ng needlework, a ; expressed by wreaths and garlands of flowers •worked in natural colour*, interspersed in some instances with jewel work. Most of them are cut very much in the fashion of a man's waistcoat, «ho\iiiig an ninsr \ e^t of fine lace and nnit-lin. Other very cjinrmipe samples are executed m suede embellished with sprays of flowers in ribbon work. Thee© axe very soft-looking, and set off the figure to advantage, as they chug closely. Lace of all kinds appears in quantities on nearly ©very ve=t or front, and Irish guipure is much in vogue. "With the \ests of rich old-fashioned-looking brocade lace cravat-" are always worn, some of these being of such length that after they aro passed round the neck twice they are knotted once or twice and pulled through the waistcoat to reappear at the waist. There is something- at once fascinating and very picturesque in. these old new-fashioned vests which cannot fail to appeal to the artistic eye, especially when^they are worn, as is usually the cas?, in conjunction ivith a Louts XV coat.

Tho charming hat depicted Is made of a mushroom - tinted satin straw bent and

! shaded pink roses. Th© crown is surj rounded by a soft swathing of creamy lace t and pink silk intermingled, caught rather i to one sido of th© centr© back by a steel buckle. In regard to millinery it is impossible to say that any one shape is correct, for one can wear anything, provided it is smart and becoming — tr>o very different things, as "imo women fail altogether to realise. How to wear the- latest

chape-aux is a problem v. hich, although solved by our clover sisters across th© Channel, is at present much in the minds of tlie English girU. In older to successfully adjust a fashionable hat (which, of course, turns off the face) is to arrange it on the low-dressed coiffure so that the hat is not back on the head, but up from the head The brim must not inn with the line of the head, but up and away from it, allowing tho line of the forehead and tho hair to be seen. The brim may project well forward, but it projects at an upward angle, and it h in this cunning adjustment that the success of the dainty Parkienne lies, so far as her headgear is concerned. — Yours t'i:ly,

OOQU^TTE.