GAYER RUSSIA

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20503, 22 August 1936, Page 11

GAYER RUSSIA

“DRESS-WELL” CAMPAIGN Russia is a much gayer place than a few years ago—Moscow in particular. Vast new office and hotel buildings are changing the face of the city and jazz bands are popular and plentiful. A great “dress well” campaign is now in full swing. This is very popular with Russian women. At one time those of them who showed any special interest in clothes were looked on with scorn; now it is quite the opposite. Good Bolsheviks are expected to take a pride in their personal appearance, and mannequin parades are being held in many of the cities. Describing one she had attended in Moscow’s leading fashion house, an English visitor just back from Russia says: “It was a very grand affair. The room might have belonged to a fashionable London or New York dress designer. The mannequins were of the same order. “The first to appear was a tall, slender blonde who might have stepped straight out of a Cochran revue. Every detail was perfect. The flawless coiffure, pencilled eyebrows, and expert make-up could not have been improved upon in any capital in Europe. The others varied in type, but maintained this standard. "Most of the models —we were shown about thirty—were quite simple and becoming. The one disappointing

feature of the show was that there was nothing distinctively Russian about any of the designs. They might have been taken from any large department store in London, Manchester, or Glasgow. “Russia is going through a curious phase with regard to everything foreign. The politics of countries such as Britain and America are detested, but their goods are greatly admired. Western Fashions Preferred "Now that cloth is more plentiful, every Russian wants to have a suit or dress made in the foreign style. The old Russian costumes are rapidly vanishing. The new Soviet citizen prefers Western fashions. This is as true of men as of women. I know lots of Englishmen and still more Scotsmen and Welshmen who would dearly love not to have to wear stiff collars and ties. But Russian men are adopting this fashion with obvious relish. “Since Western fashions are so much in favour I wondered what had become of the famous Schiaparelli mode] specially designed for Russian women. No one seemed to know anything about it. Ultimately I unearthed it. The unfortunate Schiaparelli has been stuck in an obscure corner of an exhibition of French imports which is being held in the Chamber of Commerce, formerly the Stock Exchange.

"The Soviet fashion experts have rejected it as unsuitable for mass production. Probably they are right. But to the eye of an amateur it looks a heaven-sent inspiration for the streets of Russian cities. The three-quarter length coat in a beautiful shade of red, simply cut with wide raglan sleeves, is both gay and business like. The black dress worn underneath and the black trimmings on the coat prevent it from being too gaudy. I suspect that Russian women find it a bit too Russian-looking to suit their present taste. “It would be wrong to leave the impression that those factory girls who attended the mannequin parade were fashionably dressed. This cult of fine clothes is as yet only in its infancy. The struggle hitherto has been to get enough cloth to go round, no matter how shoddy the quality. Indeed, the drab, nondescript garments of the girls were in striking contrast to the elegance of their surroundings. But almost every one of them had had her fingernails carefully manicured and painted deep red. "I don’t admire nails that look like raw butcher meat whether worn by Russian factory girls or English duchesses, but that is merely a matter of taste. What is much more significant is that Russia, so recently struggling for bare daily bread now feels it can afford time and money for such inessentials."

LAVENDER BAGS

An attractive and unusual lavender bag may be made in the form of a miniature work-bag of the popular ring-handle type. A bag of organdie, georgette or crepe de chine is filled

about three-parts full of lavender and gathered on to a coloured ring. A fairly deep heading should be ria de, and a little extra trimming, >uch as a rosette of ribbon or a small posy, should be added. A cane ring covered with ribbon to match the bag may be used if a suitably coloured ring cannot be obtained. A glass s’ave-bangle serves the purpose well and adds to the distinctive style of the bag.