FASHIONS’ TESTING

Taranaki Daily News, 5 January 1935, Page 14 (Supplement)

FASHIONS’ TESTING

SHIRT-WAIST DRESSES SATIN YOKES POPULAR LAME COATS IN NEW STYLES.

The few weeks which follow the dress shows might well be called the testingtime for fashions, for it is then that we see how women are re-acting to the new styles which they have been shown by the mannequins, says the London correspondent of the News. New coats, dresses and hats are making their appearance out of doors, and it is possible to note that yokes have made a big appeal, that the high neck seems to have “caught on,” and that there are many smart little hats with brims to compete with the forage caps and the exaggeratedly draped berets. Indoors, the frocks have a note of elegance. Even the light woollen dresses possess yokes of gleaming satin and, although shoulders are smoother and free from fussiness, beeves flow out 'attractively from below and above the elbows and give a decorative note. Satin a Favourite.

Black satin and navy satin are tremendous favourites for afternoon wear, and as the new satins are soft in texture they are made up with attractive little draperies and have sleeves which fall gracefully in pretty folds. One which impressed me very much had the most charming bodice. Quite plain at the back, which is unusual this season, and without a collar, the fronts had slight fullness but this was almost entirely concealed by wide jabots beginning at the shoulders and falling to the waist. Their edges were scalloped with ash pink—the satin was navy blue in tone—they were gathered on to the fronts so that they should drape attractively, and across the centre each spread out until it reached the armhole. The sleeves, of the new three-quarter length, were narrow at the tops, and provided with a good deal of fullness at the elbows, this being gathered into lines which gave the effect of stitched cuffs. The little wool frocks are extremely trim, but they give the impression of dignity and smartness just the same. The extreme filminess of the material makes this possible in many cases, for, truth to tell, it is difficult to say which is the lighter in both weight and appearance this season—wool or silk. The threads of woollen crepes are so slender and woven with such attention to smooth finish that I have seen visitors to dress shows look incredulously at mannequins when they have insisted that the frocks they were wearing were of wool, and not silk crepe. Like a Shirt Blouse.

Every wardrobe, according to the smart dressmakers, must have its black frock. This bears out what I said last ■week in regard to our growing affection for black as a result •of French influence. On some of these little black frocks one gets the satin yoke which I have mentioned previously, but some of the smartest collections include what is known as the shirt-waist model—a frock with a reasonably plain skirt and a top which resembles the one-time shirt blouse.

I liked best, among an array of these models one which left an impression of squarish lines. The skirt, ten inches from the ground—the correct line this season—had a set of three pleats at each side, stitched across the top of the fullness and for a few inches down at either side of the group, the stitchery suggesting the four sides of a box. Higher up there were two large patch pockets with stitching to emphasise again the square effect. The bodice was in the real shirt blouse style, with square shoulder yokes, the fullness below gathered. into them, a straight front panel, and sensible sleeves ending in buttoned cuffs.

Then in the ballroom and restaurant there are evening frocks cut on long lines with gracefully trailing skirts, wreaths of flowers to outline rounded corsages, amusing frilly collar-capes with the backless bodices, and the demure little dfince frocks to which I have referred before, each complete with its charming fichu.

VINEGAR FOR BEAUTY OLD-FASHIONED REMEDY. A bottle of vinegar should be in every beauty cabinet and on every bathroom shelf, for its beautifying uses are manifold. It is very cheap, yet it will deputise successfully for beauty lotions and toilet waters which cost three times as much.

Two cupsful of vinegar added to a hot bath will remove fatigue and tone up the skin. It will also take away stiffness and is therefore a good bath to have after violent exercise. One cupful added to a footbath of very hot water will reduce swollen ankles and soothe tired and aching feet. Equal parts of vinegar and water rubbed into the hands will make them soft and white, while the most obstinate of warts will gradually disappear if treated with vinegar night and morning. White wine vinegar is an old-fashioned but excellent remedy for freckles. There are two standard recipes for their removal. The first is one part vinegar mixed with three parts of distilled water. This is applied to the freckled skin and allowed to dry on. The other remedy is made by mixing equal parts of _ white wine vinegar with the fresh juice of the horse radish. To prevent stickiness and make the hair bright, glossy and easy to set, there is nothing better than ordinary malt vinegar. One teaspoonful should be added to the last rinsing water of the shampoo. One tablespoonful of vinegar added to a glass of water makes a good antiseptic gargle and refreshing mouth wash, while even the worst of headaches will be greatly relieved if a handkerchief saturated with equal parts of vinegar and water is laid upon the forehead.