Dresses of the Week

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18208, 15 July 1927, Page 15

Dresses of the Week

Written by

“STELLA"

Miss “Stock Size” finds it an easy i enough manner these days to dress be-1 coinjngly, but the tall and short bri-! gade often need a little guidance to 1 make the best of themselves. Height, J properly regarded, is an asset; but so j many tall women have the wrong mental attitude They regard themselves as quite ridiculously out of size, J instead of normal ones among a race. 1 of pigmies. They hold themselves j badly and apologetically, and become clumsy because they let themselves feel j So first of all the right attitude of j mind is necessary and then the right j clothes. When the tall woman wears a j straight frock—that is, one that's un ; broken from line to hem (and she will ! wear one sometimes, for they are still 1 very much the fashion), she must be careful to break the line somewhere j by means of pockets, a belt set rather ; low, a touch of embroidery, etc., etc. i Fashion at the moment is kinder to j her than it has been for some time, i Flounces, pleats, draped sashes, espe- j dally with the ends elongated to fall below the skirt hem, drapery brought! to one side of the figure, all become her j particular style of beauty. She must, however, eschew the ultra \ short skirt, for it will tend to make her look—not skittish, but would-be skittish, which is even worse. She must avoid like the plague the high-waisted j styles, for it will make her legs look j abnormally long. Very bright colours • and violent contrasts must be avoided, | lor these exaggerate and unduly de- j fine the outline, and black, since it j 1 makes every woman look taller than ' she really is, she should not wear, if 1 she can help it. A medium hat, medium heels to her : shoes, nothing fussy or “kittenish.” a : shingled—not a bobbed—head, and it 1 is to be hoped that the girl "of inches” * will be described, like Tennyson’s heroine. as “tall and most divinely fair.” j 1 Funnily enough, some of the advice 1 ; given to the tall girl applies to the petite girl, too- -that of not wearing a ; skirt that’s so short that it’s practical'}- 1 a kilt, for instance! These really only ; suit medium figures, and not then un- ■ less they are perfectly proportioned, j « and they will make the small girl look i smaller than ever. On the whole. ! straight styles suit her best, and she j' should never break the long line, which j will lend her height as nothing else ! - can, with a belt or other trimming. If i «' she fancies a waist, she will find ai .

frock with a tight-fitting bodice (only in her' case it must" not be too tight) and a full, gathered skirt, more becoming than a draped frock. The decolletage that is high in front and low at the back will suit her; -o will all pleated effects, likewise collars of the Peter Pan and Eton variety. If she chooses a tunic frock, the tunic should cither be very short or very long, the in-between length being apt to cut the figure; this applies, too, t<* the coats that belong to “three pieces” and tailor ! suits. I Her sleeves should be either iionj existent, very short or close-fitting and I waist-length; the three-quarter length [ should be avoided. ! Lines that run downwards will add to her height. But, like the tall girl, she must avoid contrasts, such as a suit with a plain coat and a checked skirt. Above all, she must avoid being overweighted, llighish heels, of course, but not jo high as to pitch her forward, and never a cartwheel hat. Thanks to the infinite variety of pleats, practically any of the materials now being worn will conform to one j or other of the many expressions. These j range from wide box-pleats to tiny i crystal ones that are scarcely visible unless criss-crossed. to form a pattern. {Then there are pleats that are flat, j others that are round,, and a few cori rugated. Indeed, it is safe to say 116 possible handling has been overlooked. And so long as the silhouette remains .slim, the fancy is bound to continue fashionable, the more so as pleats provide for so much comfortable freedom of movement. The modern girl and woman are quite firm on that point. They have found the ease and elegance resulting from free movement, and are quite prepared to sacrifice even smartness, if necessary, to retain this desirable condition of things. Diligent home workers are, I suppose, quite capable of managing the fiat variety of pleats, and doubtless know that for washing three tackings carried across horizontally keep them in place. |One of the chief secrets, of course, in arranging home-made pleats is to keep 1 a scrupulously straight line; the least deviation in one sets the whole lot j I wrong. Another point is to never ! stint material. A shallow pleat is a j very transitory, unsatisfactory thing. , When fixing up a dress, the success of which depends on pleats, it should always be borne in mind that in many ] instances a cheap quality of material I

will suffice. The pleats not only intensify in the colour, but also the thick ness. This holds good especially for chif fon, georgette, and crepe de chine • though a certain amount of discreiio has to be used when there are mail) plain spaces. Although line flat pleat are the distinguishing feature of a frock one must take into account the. plain unrelieved spaces, which wouli. not wear satisfactorily in an inferior quality.

A cnarmfrig frock of navy blue crepe de chine which relied on its pleating for trimming was worn at an afternoon gathering at Papanui yesterday. The wearer, who was tall and slim, had cer tainly chosen wisely and well. The frock was cut in one from the shoulders, and hung straight, in front and inset were long panels falling from high on the bodice to the skirt hem. The pleats in the panels were fine and flat, and a new note was developed by carrying them round to the back under the belt only.

Another dainty frock which favoured pleating for its trimming was worn by one of the guests at the same party, a tall dark young matron from Timaru, who is at present in Christchurch. The frock was carried out in hyacinth blue crepe de chine, and the frock made straight from the shoulders had flat boxpleats forming inset Tde panels on the skirt and the oval shaped inset vest of deep cream georgete was crvstal pleated and finished at the neck with a narrow turn-over collar.

A -handsome evening gown worn by the hostess at a dance during the week was of mignonette green georgette. The long bodice of silver metallic lace was veiled with the geofgettje, revealing the lace in a V shaped panel back and front. The skirt gathered fully on the bodice, had a wide hem of the silver lace inset with long points and the low waistline was defined with a swathed sash of corded silk and arranged in a wide bow at one side with touches of small pink French Mowers. A charming little gown of japonica pink georgette. I noticed during the week was made with a bodice corded low at the waistline and the full skirt was in two tiers finished with deep small scallops, each scallop being outlined with a double row of crystal beads, and in the centre of each scal'op was a flower design ill dainty pastel shades. A large posy of shaded flowers and silver leave 3 was worn on one shoulder, giving an effective finish to a dainty gown.