OUR PARIS LETTER.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 June 1926, Page 18

OUR PARIS LETTER.

THE LATEST

((From Pauline Courlander.') (All Rights reserved.)

Now that the fashions for the season have settled down into the proper stride, such trifles as shoes, stockings, gloves and bags cease to .be trifles and become every important items in our general appearance as well as in our budget. Incredible luxury is this year

spread before us so quietly that only the discerning, or the inquisitive who enquire into prices realise it to the full. There are gloves, for instance. The very softest and supplest kid or suede alone no longer suffices. Extra beauty (and expense) is added by really fine work in the way of stitching a n d embroidery. Some new gloves, instead of the three conventional lines on the back of the hand, have embroidered on them three branches of tiny leaves and flowers. The narrow, turned-back cuff is worn again, and it too is decorated with exquisite tiny stitchery.

CLOX AGAIN. Some of the most expensive silk stockings also have a narrow branch up the side, and a still more sophisticated, pair has a painted design where one expects a Alrawn-thread or embroidery one. Black patent leather shoes with one strap are being worn. A shoe that is having a particular success is made of grey patent leather and lizard skin, the lizard being used for the toecaps and strapping. POPULAR COURT SHOES. For satin and brocade slippers, the court shape is liked with rather short vamps, and either no ornament at all, or a tiny paste star or buckle. Very fine grey silk -stockings and grey shoes to match them exactly are worn with day and evening frocks. For walking or sports wear, there are the very finest, flimsiest, chine wool stockings. They are for the time being considered smarter and more suitable than silk for such occasions. 'Sensiblelooking low-heeled brogues go with them; they are made of such wonderful leather and cut and sewn by such marvellous workmen that they weigh hardly more than a dancing slipper—yet the soles are strong enough for walking and golfing. BEAUTIFUL BAGS. I don’t know which is the more beautiful —the modern bead bag or its clasp. Both are the work of artists of the finest taste. The bead work is as lovely and flexible as ever it was in early Victorian times, with the same deliciously coloured bunches of flowers, little landscapes and sampler patterns. The clasps are often the work of the silversmith at his bust; semi-precious stones are set in gold, silver or platinum; ivory is studded with jet and paste or inlaid with metal; tortoiseshell is edged with tiny rims of gold or silver; and even carved jade, precious as it is, is used for bags that reflect its colours in green beads. - LINGERIE NOTES. Luxury in lingerie is every bit as rampant as in every other dress detail. Some of the “great houses” now have a lingerie saloon and insist upon fitting

out their clients with such minute care that they provide underclothes specially designed for each frock and fitted to the figure of each client. Luckily one wears so few undergarments. The soutien gorge, or corselet, is generally worn next to the skin, and the only other article is the combinaison, or at most a two-piece set of the shortest chemise and the skimpiest of pants, the latter being generally worn over the former. Only ready-made knickers are made with elastic at the waist. Those that are specially cut are made with a narrow yolie or band and adjustable buttons. They are a miracle of fit; every superfluous centimetre is eliminated, and the lines of the frock are closely followed. The combinaison for the waistless frock is cut princess-shape; that for a lowwaisted frock, has the waistline marked by a little drawn-thread work, and the one for an apron-fronted frock has a tiny short apron front. POPULAR FABRICS. Linen lawn is still Being used; the well-dressed Parisienne never quite neglects it. But by far the greater number of underclothes is made of crepe de chine and triple voile. These are less crushable and clean better. The really luxurious one has all her underclothes dry-cleaned ' instead of washed —well aware that it. Is not the wearing but the washing that shortens their delicate life. All the loveliest thipgs are made in pale shades. Orange or magenta or Empire green are considered quite wrong. One very famous house specialises in three shades of rose —pale, medium and dark, and in a soft yellow and white. Their designer is very fond of using tiny shadow lace insertions, fairy-like hems and seams, and very little embroidery; just a dainty spray or medallion here and there, or the narrowest of Valenciennes edging. SOME ATTRACTIVE GARMENTS. A nightgown of pale rose triple voile has a series of geometrical designs down the front done in drawn-thread work. Another, a sleeveless one, has perpendicular lines of different length in hemstitching from the neck to the waist. The neck and armholes are hemmed with pale yellow of the same shade as the nightgown. A short little shift which is meant to be worn over the pants and under a rather full frock, has fulness inserted into its skirt by godets and cobwebby hemstitching. The neck and hem are

edged with equally cobwebby Valenciennes. The difficulty of keeping in place the shoulder-ribbons is overcome by the jeweller who makes its tiny gold and silver chains with a little paste clasp that nips the dainty shoulder-straps together. •• Other, chains have a bar like a watch guard at each e.nd, and this is passed through a loop worked on the chemise.