PARIS LETTER.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 July 1925, Page 16

PARIS LETTER.

THE LATEST FASHIONS. (From Pauline Courlander.) Fashions are very merciful in their moderation this year, and we have reason to look forward to wearing becoming clothes. The long slim, waist to the hips is seen on almost every frock, but it is saved from monotony by all sorts of diversions that break the rather flat lines. BREAKING THE LINE. There is the narrow inverted pleat from shoulder to hip, partly fastened down by a row of buttons on each side, but left open towards the hip to reveal a lining of a contrasting colour. There is the deep, open decolletage, with small revers, which leaves room for a blouse or waistcoat that can be varied according to the climate. This naturally encourages the blouse or waistcoat, and so we get a great variety, from the most gossamer of muslins with tiny tucks and frills of Valenciennes, or lace with needlework embroidery, to quite substantial silken brocade ones. One sees hardly any low necks on outdoor frocks. A double turnover collar with a ribbon tie is a favourite and looks almost rfs neat as the high choker. Most of the collarless frocks are worn with narrow scarves to match either the hat or frock. COLOURS AND CLOAKS FOR THE EVENING. Fewer hats than ever are worn in the evening. Formerly it* was considered necessary to have hats especially designed to go with evening dresses, both on the Riviera and in Paris. To-day we leave out the hat, but we have, instead, a coat or cloak that has the appearance of being specially designed for the dress which it accompanies. Very often a satin or crepe satin frock will have a very simply made coat or cape of its own material. Soft colours are more worn than robust ones in the eveningmauve, almond green, peach bloom pink and hyacinth blue are there in lovely shades.

MATCHING FOOTWEAR. Shoes are exquisitely made, but much more inconspicuous than they have •been for some time. The gorgeous brocade and tinsel sandals are going out of favour, and we now have satin or soft kid shoes and silk -stockings to match the frocks in colour. ‘Small paste buckles are still allowed, and these contribute to the general harmony, for diamonds are once more the favourite jewel, and are set in platinum of almost invisible fineness. Pearls are

always worn bv Frenchwomen, though the beauty of real pearls has been rather clouded by ‘the exaggerated and very unbecoming choker collars of ‘■dressmaker’s pearls.” These are not quite extinct even now, and one may still buy—and apparently one does—strings of phenomenally large beads tinted the exact shade of one’s frock. Flowers are less copious for evening frocks than they have been. Masses •and masses of glowing, real flowers make a trail of clematis or roses on the hip of a lace or brocade frock look | rather faded and decidedly artificial, (All Rights Reserved.) - 1 THE ARTIST AND THE WEDDING. Not long ago we heard of a wedding cortege whose dresses, head-dresses, bouquets and golden Bibles had been devised by one of our most eminent artists. Now we hear that an artist of an entirely different school is to design the toilettes for -another society bride and her attendants. Where is it going to end? . Artists who design stage dresses are already beginning to notice the tendency of ’modern brides to enlist their aid in securing '“something different’’ in the way of bridal toilettes. We are, in fact, rapidly making the. up-to-date wedding almost as theatrical as any stage production. Soon the wedding invitations will bear in a corner the words “Dresses by So-and-So,” and we shall find ourselves discussing, not the beauty of the bride nor the charm of her bridesmaids, but the ability of the artist concerned to adopt his methods to marriage ceremonials. There w", of course, be many girls i who will be unable to enlist the aid of an eminent artist and who will have to rely on their dressmakers to copy the style of one of the leading lights in art. A scrutiny of the pictures in our own Galleries, or a visit- to Luxemburg to see what the modern Frenchman is doing in regard to dress, might be useful ■here! •But the white wedding gown of old was a symbol of purity and innocence and unaffectedness. Shall we not, after a -surfeit of artificiality and staginess, take it to our hearts again, and wear it simply—as befits a bride?

NEW WAYS OF SLIMMING. The “slimming” mode of the moment is electrical. The too-solid woman sits on a chair, beneath which are passed currents of electricity. These affect the body of tlie patient by causing freer circulation of the blood through the tissues, a condition which is speedily followed by the dissipation of superfluous fat. Half an hour’s treatment every day for a week, followed bv a fortnight's treatment every other day, and then by a onee-a-week treatment will, it is claimed, cope with even the most obstinate case. Then comes the potatoes-and-milk diet. For tiiree days a week boiled potatoes and warm milk form the sole diet; for the other four days the menu may proceed on ordinary lines. A couple of months of this diet is regarded as being necessary for the average case. The important part of these cures is knowing when to cease them! Many women- continue them too long, so that ■they produce the effect of actual unsightliness. Necks become scraggy and cheeks hollow, a condition which clearly indicates that the system lias been tried beyond its appropriate limits. The great art is to slow down when the cure is complete. BRACELET “EN FLEUR.” It is a charming but somewhat “spensy” notion of La Mode’s to tuck one single exquisite flower—preferably a perfect rose, into one’s bracelet for evening wear. Or, pour ehanger, into one’s pearl necklace. A camellia or gardenia looks very well in the same setting, especially in a jade bracelet or one of the newest diamond and onyx circlets.