PARIS FASHIONS

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 97, 30 May 1914, Page 6

PARIS FASHIONS

THE PERIL OF ECCENTRICITY i ! PARIS, April 10. Fashions, if we are honest enough to own it, always tutve been a medium in which women express the lighter ' side of fheir nature; one may even say they have often I pxoved a safety valve for much foolishness; and if ' women ceased to be foolish; the world would be wanting in charm. Life would become stale and unprofitable indeed'; and it is an abiding comfort to know that any such disaster is not likely to happen yet at any rate. If proof were needed, we have only to remember what we saw women v wearing and suffering with complete self-satisfaction at Longchamps on Sunday. - There were' skirts so tight that -walking was out of I the question, and their-wearers-just shuffled along; '. amiably, but not with any grace. , Oyer the skirt flowed j a tunic so full that a ballet daneer, would not have ' despised it.'" :''.'■'-.. ,•--■••'•-•'■■■■•- ■■-,;. ~.•„,.•.■.■.,...■: , l"" : . .' There' were,also Turkish trousers worn with a short •*. jacket bodice, buttoned • closely; from throat to waist,'i where a sash girdled the hips,', and, thrown open with a certain swagger; w T as.a' w l tn the skirt slightly stiffened round the edges id emphasise the evas 6 movement. There were-narrow, straight, brightly striped skirts worn with short, shapeless .little boleros fastening oh the left shoulder and-crossways to the waist, with- limp lingerie collars 'tickling"the ears '" and almost meeting the -close-fitting littletoque wkich *' dipped over the left" ear : high;-above' the " Ttight one, • with a sheaf of prickly leaves like those of the artichoke. * ' " ' 'f There was a charming person with over-bright eyes in red cloth with a huge mousmebow of black ribbon in the middle of her a small black straw hat *haped like the sea shell "that,ls supposed to sing to one, and which was, apparently, fixed to the head by a row *- of enormous cherries across the brow. White stockings, black shoes, white gloves and black* stitching carried on ' the black and white notes, and the cut of the coat and skirt was of the most fantastic kind: a skirt slit high at the back, a tunic which dipped in front and ran up. behind, and "a coat which, had double basques behind and was cut away in front from a soft white pique j waistcoat fastened with black and red stone buttons. An Amazing Creation. Another amazing creation was in banana gabardine 1 with a tunic of closely kilted red and yellow tartan, a bolero trimmed with tartan, and a tartan toque trimmed with banana straw bands. A yard or two away from this apparition was an exaggeration of a .Victorian maiden as Leach might have drawn her. A frilly petticoat which looked like trousers clipped the ankles, a flounced dress of bright green taffetas, flounced sleeves, _ a full bodice with a round, low neck, and; surmounting all, a tiny little hat,, tilted oyer the nose, trimmed with a weird mixture of fruit, flowers, and leaves. I forget ' if the gloves had only one button, but it is probable. ' Quite another story is tliaib of the woman who understands true style/ She may;wear plainest tailor- - made imaginable, indeed she often does at the races in ' these days, but it will be put on so well and the details of her toilette will be so perfect that it is a pleasure to look at her. Navy blue is as popular as ever, and a touch of dark tartan is often used to trim it; the tops of the shoes may also be in tartan, but none should be■used on the hat, which is more often than not of plain ' /straw with a simple trimming of flowers, ribbon, or feathers, and either in blue or black. Such scrupulous neatness is an art, and one which it takes time and trouble to develop. A Thing of Moods and Caprice. In her more ceremonious garb the well-dressed woman who understands the importance of ultra-dainti-ness is even more attractive than when in a tailor-made. She wears a liberty or a taffetas dress of some dark, dull shade, simply draped in panier fashion, with soft white folds of net at her throat, and one big, bright flower at her waist perhaps. Over this she will have a mantle of velvet or silk, exquisitely lined and thrown open to show her-laces, and; her hat will be a shapely thing of straw and roses, tulle and satin, or sorAe other '7 clever creation of one of the first modistes. "There is aothing more feminine,than a of this '•'-'-"■ kind, with, a seasonable/coafe;or|cloak sufih. as ean^nly; - be found at the really big and even with ;-".thei choice that they can'offer, it is not easy to get just the, right thing; for volume, 'whether in silk, cloth, velvet, or. fur, needs the most masterly treatment to '" look graceful and"smart. "":.;.;". - • - - Nevertheless, the Parisienne manages to achieve Buceess this, season where race cloaks are concerned; and ~- it seems impossible to imagine a woman who has the intelligence to dress as well as this ever allowing herself to\be led away into foolish fashions which are hopelessly unbecoming, and yet one has to confess that she is not to be relied on. She is so much a thing of moods caprice that she seems' to enjoy "looking her worst now and then, maybe for the sheer pleasure of proving afterwards that she can look lovelier than ever. We Shall never understand her, so we must try to accept her as she is, and when we cannot admire her we must be satisfied to smile, ironically if we will, and wait for the time when we can "once more say that she is good to look upon.— " Times" correspondent.