FASHION'S FROLICS.

Star (Christchurch), 30 September 1893, Page 3

F ASHION'S FROLICS.

The gowns and costumes of royalty are j always interesting. A London pßper describes a dinner dress made for the Princess of Wales. The material was white faille ! finely striped.with black, and on the skirt were three flounces of" Chantilly lace I shirred over flounces of white chiffon. The ! waist, cut low, had full elbow sleeves of ! silk finished with "sabot" ruffles of lace over chiffon, and a Marie Antoinette fichu of diaphanous material gracefully draped back and front, and held in at the waist by a ceintura of pearl-white aatin fastened : at the side with & large rosette. It appears from remarks on dress at a royal -garden party, that women bave mastered the art of dressing without any of the grotesque exaggeration of details whioh characterised tne gowns of recent date. Thi_ party waß the most artistically dressed daytime affair of the whole season. There were no voluminous skitta, no widely Btuck-out sleeves," and a pretty feature of the dress was the fichu of oilk niuslin, ch.ffon.'and face. One worn with a blue and white striped silk was of pale blue chiffon bordered with triple frills of aooordion-plaited chiffon. A garden party dreas for the Queen of Denmark was of buttercup silk en crepon ecattered with satin dots. The Bkirt was tight fitting to below the hips, whence a deep flounce of crepon, headed by a narrow bouillonne of material to match, falls to the feet, and is finished by a narrow flounce of Bruges lace. The waist is simply Bhirred back and: front, tied with yellow satin ribbon at the waist and heck, and adorned with a bolero jacket of lace. ..;___. At the University match between Oxford and Cambridge pretty . gowns were a noticeable feature of the entertainment, and nover before had there bean so fine a display of clothes at tbis match. Black and blue was the favourite combination of colour, yet tbere was the ÜBual variety of green— irrespective of complexions and a dainty sprinkling of white and yellow dresses. Qnite the latest fad in stationery is a tawny orange in colour, which is called! " gold of India," • and on tbis the truly | fashionable woman jnusb write zn green ink ' and secure her envelopes with green sealing wax. This greenery-yellowy combination has nothing to recommend it, so it can never become popu'ar with ladies of artistic taste. Moire antique, not watered silk, will be the feature of next winter's styles. The latest capea are already made of thiß handaome material, trimmed With Italian or Flemish lace, and lined throughout with white. eatin,in true Parisian elegance. The return of the Victorian co.ffuxe ia another abomination hovering in the air, and maay of the Parisian actresses are already wearing their bair drawn down, over the eyeß. The clown sleeve, which is much newer than the bulging Btyle of the early season, ia composed entirely of ruffles from the elbow to the shoulder. The puffed sleeve is diminishing upwa rd, and every fresh touch, of fashion reveals a little more of the tight undersleeve. Although hata are worn by young girls, bonnets are in the majority where ceremony of attire is required. Lace braces tasselled with jet are naed on evening dreaa as well as walking cdfttaipes. A popular fabric for 'capes and ruffles is j " Tulle" Gr'ecque," which ia a new. name for Bussian net. ■ Silk bodices in Paisley designs are coming.in.to favour, and .are very effective with braces of lace over the shoulders. The newest idea in hata is the sunburnt color, and white satiu ribbon and Mercury wings are used.for trimming. An easy way of making a lace trimming distiuot. from the dreas, to slip on as required, is a simple yoke of piece lace with six-inch edging fulled around it and a lace collar to finiah the neck, or a Spanish jacket; of lace with a deep turndown frill all around the top. Toke collars, or pointed collarettes, are made of lace insertion, the strips of insertion meeting in a Vandyke seam in the back and a lace ruffle finishing the edge of the collar. Embroidery is usedalso, and coloured ribbons may be run through the open work and tied in bits of bows on the seam behind' and in larger bows in front, or one wide ribbon may be rnohed at the neck, under lace, and knotted to fall far down the front of the skirt. Theße ' collars are useful in wearing with last year's muslins and lawns .that have nob been remodelled to the present, degree of flutterby-butterfly airiness. In trimming, cotton gowns the white washable passementerie ia serviceable and ornamental.- It is especially effective oh white pique ' and heavy duck, and very striking on the same goods in colours. The creß cent trimming of cords used on Princess May's going- away gown is likely to be imitated. In Marseilles corda on pique costumeß it would prove a handsome addition to the trimming ideas, and perhapß help to crowd out the detestable hoop trimming. Some of the most effective cotton gowns owe much to the use of white braid. This ib employed in various widths and put on in a wonderful variety of ways. A blue-and-white striped cotton had a wide band of the stripes around the skirt some distance from the foot. The Btripes, which wera narrow and alternating, ran up and down in th 9 skirt and horizontally in the band. Three rows of narrow white braid, Btitched olose together, zigzagged the band from edge to edge. The belt and the bodice trimmings were made in the same way. This is only one of any number of devices. There seems to be a special affinity between the white braid and the j blue or blue-and-wbite frocks. The blue I gown? triwowc- witk wi_itp braid are

legion, and, almost all are prettuv, though Home are rather startling. Urtder this head may be classed the gowns having the yoke trimmed with row upon row of white braid laid on in circular lines. When the lower sleeve is similarly decorated i\h ere is an unpleasant suggestion of penitentiary or workhouse garb. White Hercules braid is shown $o\ m use on cotton or wool gowns. This is nob close woven, as the braid of this name uEually is, but quite opeu. A grey wool of light silvery tint is prettily trimmed with it. Some of the new black braids brought out for autumn are woven with open centres and close edges. The black mohair braid re3embling black elastic has been need considerably through the summer.