Woman's World.

Observer, Volume 9, Issue 549, 6 July 1889, Page 4

Woman's World.

Fashion Notes, Social Gossip, Etc.

(By "Gladys.") —The cornflower design on red or navy grounds is very pretty, and on grey, terra cotta and blue we see the now much run on scroll design.

—Surah silks in fast colours, having printed designs, are pretty and popular for Empire fronts, blouses and other favoured designs in berthas.

— "Marriage," says John Selden, "is a desperate thing ; the frogs in iEsop were extremely wise; they had a great mind to some water, but they would not leap into the well because they ceuld not get out again."

— One of the new fancies in millinery at Home is made-ol openwork straw, with threads of gold running in and out of the holes. This novelty comes from Nice, and is trimmed with flowers on the brim, an aigrette turning up the back.

—A new idea is the wearing of Medici collars in the street. They are in fur, and also of lace, and jet, and embroideries!. The higher the collar the better style the dress or coat. As necks have not been able to telescope, the collar reaches half way, in some instances three-quarter way up the back of the head.

Young ladies wear the hair dressed on the top of the head, sofdy and fleecily arranged, and totally without ornament. The coiffure is very little decoro'^d no Z~y unless if. be with the Grecian bandelets jj.ated en Madame on the top of the head, the ends disappearing beneath the knot of hair at the back, and upholding an ornament on the top of the head.

A decidedly sensible woman writes as follows to a contemporary :- "Do for goodness sake say something about the silly way that women have of kissing each other every time they get together. If twenty women were to meet in the street every last one would have to kiss the other nineteen, and there would be— let me see— 3Bo kisses worse than' thrown away, for probably in ten minutes the whole party would separate into squads, and go off talking about each other. When you see one of these very violent miscellaneous kiss-every-thing-within-sight kind of women, it is safe to set her down as a fraud, which she generally is."

—The round turban, with its low crown and deep brim, which we imagine looks 90 antiquated in the photographs of 20 years agp, is the most fashionable shape this antumn. Certainly a new method of trimming has been devised, with upstanding loops of ribbon and lace, .placed far back to the side, which lends the height which the crown lacks. The brim has a hard velvet bind, and altogether the turban hat .promises to look very smart when seen surmounting a pretty face : but it is not a shape that will suit all types of beauty, as for anyone with at all projecting features it renders the outline of the profile too distinct.

Cowslip green, which so exactly represented the shade of that pedicular flower's stalk, is ,too vivid a color for winter wear. But green promises to hold its own both for .dresses and mantles all through the winter ; and the favorite mixture of red and blue is giving place to a blend of red and green, which is wonderfully effective when the colors selected are of a rich poppy shade, and a dark bronze tone. Vivid red, dull green, and a beautiful shade of golden brown are the three chosen for the new mantles and dresses ; and for evening wear a charming shade of rnauvish pink, which is neither vieuwrose nor lavender, but a delightful mixture of the two tones.

— A Paripian novelty is the floral umbrella, under which the bride and bridegroom stand to receive the guests at the "At Home" after the wedding. It is of enormous size, and composed of white silk, the fringe being formed of deep hanging ferns, and the whole of the centre covered with white roses, lilies, gardenia, etc. The idea is more likely to find favour with French than with English folks, I fancy, for I am certain the men would protest here, as they always seem to have an idea that a bridegroom has rather a trying time of it anyhow, and if he had to stand and receive under a floral canopy he would feel more awkward than before, and there is no need for that.

— A well-known lady of title in England has propagated a fresh scheme whereby women may earn their own living. She intends shortly to launch a " guild," the members of which are to devote their energies to the mysteries of clearstarching, ironing, dressing linen, and generally "getting up" articles of under- wear. Lady Evelina St. Clair might present a very pretty picture in a costume de blanchisseuse, with her sleeves tucked up to her vaccination marks, and her arms immersed in soapsuds ; while the Hon. Veronica Vere de Vere, wielding a flat-iron, and intent' on giving an extra gloss to the shirt-fronts of her customers - we mean, clients, would be a charming sight. But we fear (saya a London paper) the scheme is impracticable, simply because it would involve a good deal of hard work, a thing which Mesdemoiselles St. Clair and Vere de Vere utterly abominate. Still the idea might be utilised in another fashion. Why not start washing establishments at the West-end, where linen would be purified and cleansed a VJEoossaise ? Lady Evelina arid the Hon. Veronica have no scruples about displaying those charms which compose the upper part of their fair forms ; so why should they hesitate to " tuck up their skirts," and dance in a tub on the linen confided to their care ? If it is not wrong for the daughters of a rigid Presbyterian to expose " legs an' a ): ' while washing clothes in the open " yards," surely it would not be wrong for thp daughters of Mayfair to do ditto in the seclusion of a well-built wash-house. Or they might oharge-a fee for admission, to view their — we'll say their "ageelity." It would pay, depend upon it.

— All coat bodices are short on the hips and at the back, and a new fancy is to have the vest trimmed differently to the coat, tinsel mixed with galon generally appearing on the former.

— Ladies with small waists and large busts patronise a coat which goes right up to tha throat, and which, although open, meets to the bust line, from where it slips. back, to reveal the waistcoat, the device tending to give a straight appearance to the figure.

The Princess of Wales has recorded in a " Confession " album belonging to the late Duke of Rutland that her favourite artist is Rubens, her favourite author Dickens, her favourite dish Yorkshire pudding, and her favourite ambition non-interference in other people's business.

—So many of the fashionable corsages are made with open fronts that special pains have been taken to design some pretty plastrons and chemisettes to be worn with them. They are made of all manner of fabrics — leather, linen and the finest gauze— some quite simple and others extravagantly decorated.

— Old fashioned bead fancy work is coming in again. The tints are mostly light and bright, and the designs, instead of trying to reproduce impossible landscapes or figures, are principally confined to flowers or more conventional patterns. Of course the ground work is still generally of wool, as of yore, but I have seen some really pretty txamples in mantel borders, brackets or tea cosies.

Many of this year's materials — indeed, most of the newest — have been woven on the Jacquard loom, and some are very cheap, with wide and narrow stripes formed of scroll work, as well as conventionalised floral designs. Merino has been made with bold floral borders and interlaced Empire wreaths, forming stripes. Paisley stripes in blue, red, and pine patterns make delightfully into useful and pretty tea gowns. Flecked grounds show up many of the brocades. The admixture of silk and wool is a good one ; it improves the wool, brightening the effect, and adding to its wearing qualities, Any admixture of cotton and wool avoid carefully. Satin Vigoureux is a good instance of a satin-faced cloth having satin stripes, and over the stripes and the plain ground light, airy designs of grasses in silk.

— We of our generation have so gone back to our grandmothers' ways of studying our skins.and adopting every kind of precaution against tan, sunburn, and the innumerable other enemies of our complexions, that it is not surprising to find the introduction of perfumed gloves. Their price is a little prohibitive at present, and they are not to be obtained everywhere, but the subtle aroma which the wearsr wafts, now here, now there, in a mysterious manner, is a delight to the senses ; and in the crowded atmosphere of a ball-room, a partner who wears perfumed gloves is bound to be an agreeable companion. In reality this is only another amongst the rr any revivals of 17th century customs. Catherine de Medici's perfumed gloves are matters of history, and even the way in which dressmakers introduce scent-powder into the bodies of gowns this year is merely a revival of a fashion which has been in abeyance.

— Here is a picture of the American girl of the period : — " She can flirt with another woman's husband and kiss the wife upon both cheeks for being such a dear, nice thing not to get offended. She is thoroughly English in her manners, talks with a rising inflection of the voice, says ' fawncy ' to almost anything, cultivates a rich red bloom of the skin through fresh air, and is forever talking of ' the men.' She believes implicitly in her ' set.' It's members could do nothing that is not thoroughly correct. They are reared to observe certain tenets, and if they do not know what is right and what is wrong, no one need tell them. A woman of that set may even have pronounced vices. She may play poker, drink with considerable regularity, smoke cigarettes, receive the marked attention of half a dozen men, and so long as she can command the necessities that the 4 set ' requires, she can stay in it and make herself quite as popular as though she wilted away in embarrassed timidity." I wonder if this does not correctly describe some '? fast " young ladies in Auckland fashionable circles.