IN FASHION’S REALM.

Otago Witness, Issue 3994, 30 September 1930, Page 61

IN FASHION’S REALM.

UP-TO-DATE DRESS NOTES.

By

Marguerite.

(Special for the Otago Witness.)

With the summer season rapidly approaching, one’s thoughts turn to our lovely seaside resorts and the problem of suitable apparel. Already the shops are displaying the colourful and novel creations that soon will grace the beaches. Colours run riot, and the sands and surf will present a gayer and more interesting appearance than ever. A beach ensemble is a part of every summer wardrobe. This season smart women will wear many new designs, which are divided into two distinct classes —the real surf and swimming suit and the beach ensemble for the spectator. Never has the spectator been so bright in colour and varied in style. Truly, the carnival spirit is abroad, and one may masquerade in role of sailor. Scout, coolie, Spaniard, or

fisherman’ while beach balls and lacquered chairs add to beach gaity. Beach pyjamas are, as usual, very much to the fore. They may have the trousers fited to below the hips and fully flaring in a sailor type below, or made in the Spanish style flared at front and back, or long and slenderly flared in the Mexican style, or immensely wide and floppy, some pleated like long skirts. Fitted hip yokes of all designs, mock pockets, and buttons to fasten and as trimmings, and tightly draped sashes will be seen. The shirts and sleeveless jumpers are tuck-in, coats are bolero-type jackets, short Eton coats, or the practical three-quarter-length coat. Next in the lead are shorts (shorts with wide flaring legs), child-like rompers, and workman-like overalls. Materials for these different styles of beach attire include linen, gingham, woollen fabrics, cretonne, crepe de chine, shantung, and, most novel of all materials, canvas. These canvas suits are often

carried out, m very. gay colours, _ or n sand-coloured canvas is used then it must be adorned with strappings of some vivid shade. Farmer-boy styles of overalls arc often copied in canvas, which will certainly be found a hard-wearing material. Shantung will be a most favoured material, natural, coloured, and printed. Jersey is

a general favourite for part of the beach ensemble and the actual swimming suit. Basket weave jerseys and hand-knit suits are new.

Colours are all bright and gay. Green, blue and red are much favoured, and two new colours, brown and violet. White is popular as trimmings. When wearing shorts the jumper or shirt is generally carried out in a contrasting colour to the shorts, violet and white, red and white, brown and orange, and blue and white being some smart colour schemes. Green and black, flame and black, checked designs, jazzed bands, and gay cretonnes are other popular colour combinations. Sunray designs on swimmipg suits, varicoloured coin and half-circles on dark backgrounds will surf with plaincoloured bathing suits trimmed with white bands. The complete beach ensemble consists of the actual swimming suit with a pair of shorts to match or contrast, and beach pyjamas, with a coat or jacket to complete the suit. A coat may be of linen or silk in a plain bright colour or printed, and a small shoulder cape can be conveniently turned into a skirt (if the wearer desires to wear it that way and be “ different ”) for beach sports.

¥ -YThis illustrates a beach pqjama suit of printed linen or printed shantung. The short tuck-in jumper is a natural shantung, the trousers being wide to flop about the ankles. The embroidered motif on the jumper may be a yacht, seagulls, or a novel fish. Another suggested colour

scheme is natural-coloured shantung trousers and jumper with a coat of violet shantung. The hat has a shallow crown and a very wide brim, and should be made of the printed shantung or violet colour, lined with natural shantung and banded with ribbon or cord. Two-toned sandals should be worn to be smart.

Seaside hats are enormous, and all have shallow crowns. Brims are large and floppy, falling on the shoulders instead of being cut away at the back. They are made of coarse straw, panama, raffia, linen, shantung, pique, and gay cretonne. A novel idea is for the shallow crown to button on the wide brim; unbuttoned the crown appears as a beret.

A comfortable and becoming bathing suit ensemble is shown here, consisting of white linen shorts worn over a brown knit jersey swimming suit tightly belted at the waistline with a white belt. The pockets are trimmed with white or brown buttons and a centre fastening to match. The cape should be of brown silk or shantung lined with white ties at neckline. Cork beach sandals are also an added attraction. Another colour

scheme is a one-piece bathing suit in green jersey with natural-colour shantung shorts, a green shantung cape lined with the natural, and a green belt. Many of the swimming suits serve as a blouse top, both wtih snorts and pyjama trousers. They all have very short legs and are onepiece. Patch pockets, ornamental and for use, give a smart note. This is a boyish, practical ensemble for swimming and beaqh sport-

I saw several pyjama suits at a fashion parade. A hostess suit had green satin trousers very -wide and _ floppy around the ankles, a tucked-in white silk blouse piped in green, and a short coat of printed silk —white, green, and black, on a green background. Two practical e.uits for the average woman were a suit of pale blue heavy silk with trousers of moderate width, a jumper in a shirt style with a wide Peter Pan collar finished with a floppy bow of white silk, sleeves and trousers adorned with a striking motif of geometrical design in coral pink, and a hip-length coat lined with pink; and a royal blue linen suit intended for beach wear or travel, linen being the cotton material for this type of suit. The trousers of moderate width were mounted to a buttoned yoke, the jumper had a white linen sailor collar and short sleeves turned back with white, and the knee-length coat was of the royal blue linen faced with white.

Here is a frock for summer wear and holiday resort of navy and white printed silk or in a dusty violet shade of silk crepe. The skirt is mounted to a tiered yoke given by rows of piping. Note that the bottom part of the bodice is similar. The. skirt has a centre inverted pleat, stitched down, and sides flared.

A narrow tailored belt is of self material. The collar has a deep insert of plain navy, while bows finish the neckline and the short sleeves. The coat will be finger-tip length, of plain navy bordered with the printed silk, or of a fine wool jersey, navy and white novelty knit. It could also be a white Angora jacket.

With bathing suits we have had for some time rubber flowers, but the latest novelty abroad is a posy of varnished shavings in brown, yellow, and red. The shavings are in some way or other treated to stand immersion and come up smiling, and are worn on the shoulder.

For summer frocks tiny organdie posies in pastel shades will finish a “ V ” neckline, and a posy is tucked into the waist belt or carried in the hand. And as the season advances the evening fashion of real flowers will be seen on afternoon and street suits. One or two roses or carnations, fresh-looking, real flowers, are much to be preferred to artificial ones, and almost every home has flowers growing. A pretty and novel idea for bridesmaids is handbags made of flowers, with pastel-coloured ribbon handles. The bags are closely covered with small flowers, with a centre large flower to give the effect of a motif. The ribbons may match the centre flower.

Here are the fashionable beach bag and the beach sandal. The bag is both smart and useful, and, made of linen or cretonne, should match the beach ensemble in fabric and be simply made. There is a place for the linen umbrella, which is slipped under bands just where the envelope folds over. ; There are compartments for beauty kit, a book, and sewing, and when the envelope is folded over for carrying there is an outside pocket for small change. The latest beach shoes are of the sandal type, like the wooden shoes worn by the Dutch peasants. The shoe sketched has a flexible wooden sole and a striped canvas vamp. There are canvas sandals with canvas soles stitched with twine to match the linen parasol and the linen hat, and raffia sandals for the raffia hat. Wooden mules held to the foot by a band of kid or by

several strands of kid are gaily coloured k some being carved to add still further V

their charms. Green, red, and blue are seen mostly. A brown and white plaited style of sabot will be worn, as well as cork beach shoes.