FASHION NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 6 August 1932, Page 5 (Supplement)

FASHION NOTES

THE BLOUSE COLLECTOR. STRAW AND WOOL POSIES. (By Colline Rouff.—Special to News.) How many blouses and pullrovers do you possess! Recently I met a woman who owns thirty-seven I The blouses are made, variously, of satin, crepe de chine, pique, muslin, lace, flowered and spotted voile, striped and spotted crepe, Shantung,' and flowered chiffon. Ihe pull-overs are soft white wool worked in Irish crochet stitch, white and natural thread Irish crochet lace, cashmere and angora wool. Some of the wool ones are worked in stripes, and others in wide zigzags. One or two of the blouses and jumpers were bought from expensive shops, but most were home-made with the aid of good patterns and original materials. Perhaps you think this woman has many other clothes too? Not at all. She has two complete suits, one of line black wool and one of navy blue. Also she has a flared skirt of dark brown wool, and a little jacket, of white angelskin satin, and ‘ with these and her blouses she rings plenty of changes in her daytime toilettes. . Again, the plainly tailored angel-skin jacket looks very well with, a semi-evening gown of black silk marocain. But I am afraid few of us could afford thirty-seven blouses. Seven seems a lot nowadays.

TAFFETAS AND CHIFFON.

A blouse of plaid taffetas, in blues, reds or greens, is one of the smartest ideas at the moment. Another blouse is made like the top of an evening dress, in soft flowered chiffon, with a low neck at the back. This blouse can be worn with a long satin skirt for dinner and theatre parties, as well as with a “best” \ two-piece suit. , Another suggestion is a blouse of thick white crepe de chine, with a loose scarf collar of striped crepe de !. chine and small puff sleeves to match the scarf. This makes .a very pretty finish to a suit. Navy blue silk can be used instead of white. A novel idea for a scarf to wear with silk blouses is half a plain colour and half striped or spotted silk. When the two ends are knotted jn front, the effect is charming and more original than the one-colour scarf. UP-TO-DATE DETAILS. A frock of plain navy blue crepe de chine had the hem' faced to the deptn of a foot with striped blue and white crepe, and the epaulette sleeves also Were lined with the fancy material. Coats were shown with quilted collars and cuffs of the same material. The quilting is done by tacking a design to the material on the under-side, running thick Berlin wool along the pattern, and finally stitching the tracing round the wool lines. When the quilting is done on thick crepe or maroeain, the effect is most attractive. I have seen also a coat of brown frieze quilted on collar, pockets and cuffs, and it looked very ■ well with a little hat of fine brown cloth quilted to match. The newest buttonhole is made of fine straw like the hat. If the hat is blue, the buttonhole will be blue and red. If black, the buttonhole will be black and red, or black, red and white. Gay woollen flowers are used to trim light-coloured frocks. A model in pale cream mouse was plainly made, with a flared skirt, a little pouched bodice, and a. small cape cut on circular lines with, one end shaved away to a mere point. This point fastened under three flat ci diet flowers in red, white and blue. Three more flowers were at the front of the'waist, and three more were laid at one side of a small-brimmed hat. BATH SACHETS AND POWDERS. THE PRACTICE OF BEAUTY. •The daily bath can be a grim affair of cheap soap and hard water, or it can be a rest cure and a beauty treatment combined. Bathing for beauty has been practised in every age. In the days of Haroun-al-Raschid bath powders made of barley meal and rice flour were used in the magnificent bath-houses where the ladies of the harem spent many hours a day. In Nero’s time the rich and powerful bathed in wine of roses. We even read of one extravagant noble who had the public swimming bath filled with wine mixed with absinthe. Mary Queen of Scots batlied in white wine, and Ninon de I’Ehclos used three quarts of milk and three pounds of honey in her bath in order to preserve her beauty. Baths like these are not for us, but sachets which give delicious and beautifying baths can be made quite cheaply and easily. One sachet is made by mixing equal parts of oatmeal and bran. Another calls for equal parts of oatmeal, powdered orris root, and Epsom salts. A good verbena bath powder can be made by shaking up a pound of borax in a bottle with half a drachm of oil of verbena. A table-spoonful of this should be added to the bath water. And a novel effervescent powder can be made from these ingredients: Tartaric acid 10 parts, carbonate of soda 9 parts, rice flour 6 parts, oil of lavender 10 drops. Mix well, and stir a few spoonsful into the bath water. If bath crystals are preferred, shaki up a pound of borax crystals with half a drachm of oil of lavender or oil of verbena, and add one tablespoonful to the bath. A “reducing” recipe is to buy a packet of Epsom salts, and use some in the bath once a week. Sea salt makes an invigorating bath, which is splendid for checking undue perspiration. A cold can be nipped in the bud if a mustard bath is taken, and a handful of washing soda thrown into the bath will often take away rheumatic pains. _ For removing stiffness and muscle fatigue, few thin o s are better than a tea-cupful of malt vinegar added to the bath.