FASHION NOTES FROM LONDON.

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 73

FASHION NOTES FROM LONDON.

(From Omi Own Correspondent.) IvONDON, February 23.

—Spring's Catchword. — From now onward we shall again find one fabric thrust forward for special patronage. This will be taffetas. Despite a host of other delightful materials, taffetas will by a very long way come in first. Milliners already cannot have enough of it, dressmakers want it for dresses for every occasion, tailors have made a big raid on supplies. Silk wrap coats will be worn as a change from coats of satin. Fichus and fiohu capes will bo made chiefly of taffetas, and so will the small bolero coats which are returning to favour, made as fancifully as possible, and occasionally having crossedover fronts. It would be a mistake to imagino l3iat tunics have had their day. because they haven't. There will often bo a change of style in their treatment, for over and over again thoir chief characteristic will be fulness, looped up to fall in a sort of puff over a confining band'. On many important occasions the taffetas overdress will be a prominent and attractive feature, draped and looped and fulled over a dress of ephemeral-looking lace or net. Such an overdress is pretty sure to be open all the way dOwn the sides from under the arms to the edge of the skirt, thus displaying the dainty under-robe, which will probably have several modified flounces as a finish. As I mentioned only last week, there is really no limit to the dimensions and shape likely to be achieved from a simple-looking cape front made of the 6ilk. Taffetas ruches will be a very usual variety of trimming for dross, wrap, and hat. Artificial millinery flowers and foliage made of shot taffeta 9, each petal and _ leaf carefully machined to shape, are all in readiness tobe used, and novelty-seekers will ask for these in preference to the flowers made of satin ribbon; in addition to being newer, the silk flowers are very real-looking. Trails of them are to bo worn to fasten the latest neck ruffle, itself made of taffetas. Some of these neck ruffles, which are far less expensive than those of ostrich, have pinked-out edges; some have the edges machined, some are made to look soft and fluffy by a finish all round of very narrow silk fringe, which in the distance looks like a border of ostrich; button-hole stitching is a very usual finish for the neck ruffle, which is cut out in points suggestive of a collection of flower petals. From any one of these ruffles a pendant cluster of artificial flowers, made of taffetas or velvet, falls with easy grace and looks very smart. Indeed, much of the most becoming neckwear will be found to be made of the modern taffetas, a fabric so soft and pliable woven in shots covering a marvellous colour range. Not all of the colour blende would bo becoming for the ruffle, but there should be no trouble in making a judicious choice For immediate wear black shot with red is considered suitable, light blue shot with gold 16 more youthful, and there is rather a fancy for a becoming violet tint crossed with green, the floral trail in such a case to be of double Parma violets with careen leaves, all made of silk. Taffetas will bo used .for many of the cape tippets reminiscent of the cape worn by the coachman, very smart being the model which fa.~U?ns at one side on the shoulder, and is cut shorter in froat than at the back. Incoming large on the horizon is the petermc—a scarf of unlimited length and width, often wound round the figure with a one-sided effect as might be selected for a fancy sash drapery. The pelerine scarf of shot silk has a lining of colour contrast, and a houillonne border of perhaps a third colour; this trim-

ming does not contain an excess of fulness, but just enough to suggest that it is a bouil- | lonne. So far the same scope has not been found j for taffetas as for velvet, but its list of ! duties is by no means complete with the catalogue above suggested. Girdles to finish ; the waist are not yet out of date, and padded taffetas will be found useful, made i in the form of links, as a'chain; this is j loosely knotted at the waist, two long ends i fall almost to the c<\ge of the skirt, in any , position desired, though one side of the I front will still have the preference, each ! end being finished with a tassel of silk I fringe. Not only is taffetas successful in assooiaI tion wii-h transparencies such, as lace and | net, but is just as tasteful when used with i velvet, wide ruches of this silk, with panels I of heavy lace, looking remarkably we?; as a | trimming to a house gown of velvet. TafI fetas and voile, too, will be an association I well liked, the latter fabric now having been still more refined until it is nearly ■ as transparent as tulle. No matter what other fabrics we may have to choose from, and no matter what their colours, taffetas : is the catchword of the spring, some of it embroidered, much of it without pattern, most of it shot. The silk possesses one ! advantage over velvet in that it is so suitable for f/he en-tout-cas and the sunsihade—velvet was tried, but it looked very clumsy. On the other hand, velvet is responsible for much of the very smart footwear, and in this department one hardly expects taffetas to present itself as a rival. But one never knows. Inappropriate as it may seem, shot taffetas has taken possession of the children's departments already, and is made up into frocks, coats, and hats with ruchincrs when required. When making skirts of taffetas, the dressmaker tries to keep them as narrow as possible, for the day of the straight silhouette is not over; when using transparent fabrics such- as lace and net and ninon and mousseline greater width is encouraged. As for i t;ie tailpr, two yards is the utmost width measurement 'he will allow at the foot of the skirt, whether he is using taffetas or hopsack or serge or satin. —Some Other Materials. — Daily does the catalogue grow in length. Patrons of reversible stuffs may add yet ai other variety to their wardrobe. For tailoring and for wrap ooats there is now satin reversed -with moire, the two being of colour contrast. As the moire side is usually the attraction, this is worn outside, the satin forming the lining and any trimj ming. Some of the very new French) tailormades are of satin moire, the water-lino being quite moderate. Whipcord is a sensible fabric for the tailor-made, woven in useful shades and in a range of greenish-yellows and many tints of brown varying from the deep red to a species of orange and apricot. Bpong-e (the new towelling stuff) seems more like a towel than ever in its unbleached hue, which is one of the fashionable varieties of brown, and an additional suggestion of tho bath is made when there is a collar of white touched with lines of red, with cuffs and rever to correspond. A loosely-woven hopsack and a species of oatmeal cloth, made in pale tints of cream, find favour with the tailor who is using a great deal of black velvet' to trim thorn. No one has ever been very enthusiastic about the wearing qualities of silk-serge, yet thig material, often being patterned with-a hair-line of colour contrast, is shown in much variety. For our spring tailor-mades, at anyrato, we are promised ample choice, and even vet no

mention has been made of the always-re-quired navy serge woven with a very fine diagonal twill, in a tone so dark as to be a near relation to black. Trimmings of white or of bright-coloured embroideries and buttons are called in to relievo what might constitute a uniform of dinginesß The coats are made in a groat variety of stj js, and over and over again one notices that whereas the tailor is rather niggardly about, the quantity of stuff ho pats into fno skirt, he seems to err in generosity where the coat is concerned, for, providing the material offers no objection, the coat is made with quite a lot of fulness, the short bodice portion being gathered into a basque which itself is quite lavishly "eased" onto the top part But tailored sleeves are still quite compact and without fulness, though when well cut they never suggest tightness. ft "Will Cost You Mere."— The outlook is gloomv—everything is dearer and -is likely to get more expensive. In ample time we are warned that our dress during the coming year is tacked to thejone list of things that "will cost you more Pnc</? began to rise as the quantity of material used diminished; it was possible to get five years ago a well-mado dress with lots of fulness, mounted over a silk-flounced foundation, for less money than the prices that have been charged within the past year for the scraggy frock made of a minimum of stuff and minus lining I rices, once they go up, nevor decrease. One might have thought that as more stuff will in future bo used bv the dressmaker, the bill would bo less." to counterbalance the aU-round rise. But not a bit of it. The statement is made authentically that because skirts are to be a little fuller, with the possible addition of moderate panniers, and consequently requiring a little more fabric, the dresses 'for 1912 must of necessity cost moro than the prim, narrow tube jrown. " The more elaborate the skirt the more expensive it becomes. A pannier dress, in which exoert labour is required to perfect the fall of the skirt, would naturally cost more than the simple, straight-down costume. In actual figures the increased cost would be at least two or three guineas. If a woman insists upon

the latest fashions, her clothes will certainly cost her more." Of course, all this reads very rationally, but one has never been able to reconcile enhanced prices and a minimum of stuff. Then the cry went forth that none but the skilled couki with success cut the demure-looking Quaker dress; therefore it must be dearer. Now the announcement is made that none but the most highly-ykilled can make a pannier; therefore the price must go on increasing. The lovely materials in modern use ale, of course, very expensive, and as they grow richer and more wonderful, so the price will mount. And in the West End no one thinks of reokoning other than in guineas. Every little suggestion for improvement seems to let the suggestor in for another guinea.

The tunic is bound to remain in favour in some of its many forms despite the draperies that are on the whole newer. The ends of some of the latest tunics are suggestive of panniers, for they are now lightly puffed and fulled, and held in position by a retaining band of embroidery at each end which also acts as a weight; this tunicpannier falls at each side ot the skirt, quite covering each hip and hiding a good deal of the middle bac and middle front, leaving panel spaces to bo filled in with a different material; in their lengthening course the pannier attachment grows Borrower, each side being finally restricted by a band about 6Ln in length. Tunica mad-e of voile.and ninon are much fuller at the edge than they have been, for thp pleats and gathers; bulge over the confining embroidery band. Bulging draperies are placed high as well as low on the newest dresses, and they are considered 1 to bo the forerunners of the pannier prcper. Here is the description of quite a new dress which roads rather attractively:—Tho material was taffetas in a delicate shade of rosepink shot with dull gold; the skirt had three small scalloped flounces, cut on tho cross. These were not gathered, but were edged with a narrow silk fringe of the same shade as the taffetas. The frock was completed with a tunic suggestive of panniers, being rounded at the sides and at the lowest point where it foil almost .to the knees. The sleeve reached to a little below the elbow, and was open all the way down showing cream Mechlin net as a slashing, the net also forming the guirnpe. The tunic was brought up on to the bust above the waist, ending on the shoulder in a round liko that at tho knee, while the fringe formed an edging everywhere. This dress emphasised many of the details which go to make up a distinctive and fashionable gown.

—Feathered Feet.— It was only in the middle of last year that it Boud strest shoeman of great repute made an immense sensation by showing a single shoe made of the iridescent breast plumage of the microscopic humming-bird—-two ol such shoes could be made for something like £SOO, read an attached card. The public was wroth at the spectacle, and the shop-window is no longer used as a s-hoo exhibition. One hoped, therefore, that plumage for footwear would be just a momentary sensation. But it seems that the idea is more likely to develop than, to decrease. For this is what a writer in Paris teds us: "The very latest note of elegance in footwear is declared to be shoes covered with bird plumage of the most elegant hues gummed on to the leather. No colour effect will be too gaudy for the coming season's shoes, and the iridescent plumage of the golden pheasant and the bird of pnradise will decorate the low cut high-heeled shoes which are to be worn. Ibis plumage will also be employed. Buckles of paste will be worn with these plumagcd shoes, but the very chic will replace the buckles by little nivots of aigrettes or feathers. Seal and crocodile-skin shoes have been seen in Paris during the winter as well as shoes covered witli fur, but the new feather shoe will, it is said, surpass all other fantastic footwear both in elegance and price." One hopes that the price will be very high, and that it will therefore be a deterrent to general purchase. But in these days there are so many nouvcauxriches who like to make displav of their wealth, and nothing pleases them moro than to buy the most expensive and outre of clothing. To the use of pheasant plumage, of course, one cannot take the same objection as one did t othe possible wholesale slaughter of the humming-bird to obtain the ?nicroscopic portions of the breast that alone were wante dto carry out an extravagant idea. If people wish to have feathered feet, it is quite easy to obtain brocades woven to look like feathers, without having recourse to the actual plumage. Desperate effort saro still made by the humane tc prevent the wholesale slaughter of birds providing: aigrettes, but complete success is a Ion? lime coming. —A Mixed Reception.— There will be no moro short evening frocks —every gown will have a train, and only the youngest of the jeunes filles will escape. This is news from Paris ; some l>eople will like it, others will not. We are told that at recent smart gatherings in Paris not a sinj'e short frock has been seen. Smart women clad in supple tissues have trailed softly curving and rippling trains, "without dignity, perhaps, but with a charming grace which made up for the importance given by a train in a stiffer fabric." Most of these trains seem to be made *c, spring at one side, being- the continuation of an overdress, which prefers after awhile to start off on its own account. Most of the Casino dresses taken to the South of France are mad© with a pointed train at one side, always of material different from the dress, and usually of a colour contrast; the point at the tip is accentuated bv the presence of a sinuous tassel which trail along the floor. These trains are made of fabrics of varying tes-

, tares, for heavy brocades of thick silk shot , wich metallic thread are just as much en evidence as is brocaded crepe do chine, or the attractive fabric of alternate stripe of ninon and satin carrying an effective pattern of flowers in gold tinsel thread. There is rather a liking for brilliance in colour, and, if uncovered, any particular piece of brocaded stuff would strike as garish, then recourse is immediately had to veiling with some transparency; very frequently are the wefts of distinctive design and brilliant I colour covered up with chiffon or ninon. As trimming, there are magnificent effectg I in heavy embroidery worked on net of the ! coarsest mesh, no colour being too bright to find a place and no contrast too daring Ito please; when completed, the work usuI ally is found to havo had its origin in some gorgeous piece of Orientalism. —Merely Trifles.— Running very close in favour to the small garden posy button-holes of mixed flowers of the cottage garden are small bouqueU of violets in two shades of mauve —the lighter Parma variety is placed in i the middle circled with a border of single i blooms of the Russian type; leaves of light j green encircle each bunch. Real violets ' are so plentiful this winter, and so reasonj able in price, that there is not the same j occasion to buy artificial violets. . j Nearly everyone knows the comfort of ; having a wool motor-bonnet or a wool hood for the evening—pretty, soft, and . fluffy. Now there appears in sight a hat, !in crochet, made of thick wool; its crown is tall and tapering as the hat of a witch, and the brim, is a straight-round one; a crochet cable of wool in colour-contrast is th© trimming, knitted at one side. It is hardly likely to have the same popularity as the cosy hood which can be worn on so many occasions.

Novel notions are frequently placed in London. One practically assured of success is the ornamental fastener for the veil, and as Fashion has decreed that the veil must in future be fastened at the nape of the nock, the ornament is there fixed. All kinds of material are used —tortoise-shell, horn, coloured pearl, gold and jewels,—and consequently there is a great range in the price. Enamel fasteners are rather attractive, coloured to represent some variety of flower. The fastening at the back of the neck was suggested to avoid the lumpy ball which has always been screwed up under the chin to get rid of excess fulness. Now, with the aid of- a drawstring along the top, and the ornamental clip fastener or slide at the nape of the neck, the veil is guaranteed to fit snugly and becomingly and comfortably, never irritating the face and always fitting without any trouble the more compactly-shaped millinery which is one of the great features of the majority of the millinery models designed for the early spring.

In spite of an immense variety in the way of trimmings—in which silk and cheniilo and beads and bugles all have a part,— there is rather a surprising preference very frequently for embroideries of woolwork; the pattern is a large one or a small one according to the space available. Vivid woollen flowers are made to outline any bretelle trimming, and they are thrown into relief by a border of black satin, this curious style of trimming being attached to the Magyar blouse of white or colour. Ooat collars and revers are often the victims of the rather unattractive trimming, though even the most prejudiced must admit that there are occasions when flower and fruit sprays, worked in wool of the finest desonption, and in the best-suited colours, look quite pleasing. For instance, a litt'.o outlining of a rounded guimpe worked in woollen red currants, with the leaves in green, tapering off to a point down the middle of the plain bodice, is a very attractive touch of colour on a dress of black velvet. The effect is well worth trying, though there is hardly a doubt that the same pattern carried out in shaded silks would be preferable. The strawberry and its foliage, with a little white flower here and there, is another good design suited for the front of a bodice.

One of the popular veils is woven in a silk mesh, wide and loose, and is something liko Tosca not. It is not a particularlybecoming- variety, but most modern veils leavo a good deal to be desired, in this respect. More attractive than the lace voil is a new arrival of pale-rose open mesh dotted with black cheniile. Coloured veils are still much worn, but they are frequently unbecoming, notably certain shades of violet and green. Quito attractive are some of the new vcil.s of white tulle and net, worked • with motifs that are light. Spotted nets aro returning to favour after having been abandoned in favour of he heavily-patterned veils through which it is next to impossible to recognise the wearer. The mosaic-patterned veil is one of these extinguishers, and the tulle veil heavily patterned with leaves and flowers in velvet U equally successful in hiding the features. The occulist usually warns ladies against wearing veils that are not of the clearest plain net, but this wise advice has been unheeded for a long while. One wonders how the wearers of the thickly-natterned scrolly veils manage to see anything that is happening in the world outside. "The Modern Yashmak" is the designation of the fashionable "veil of mystery."