Dresses of the Week

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18339, 16 December 1927, Page 10

Dresses of the Week

Written by

“STELLA"

It is one of the truisms of modern dress that it isn’t what you spend that matters, but how you spend, it. This is very comforting for people who like dress but lack pennies; but the powder in the jam is that a little money won’t go a long way, unless it is accompanied by good taste and an infinite capacity for taking pains. But both these can be acquired, and the learning process is great fun if you take it in the right spirit, like any other sport. Summer is a good season for hard-ups, especially nowadays when inexpensive fabrics are made in such lovely patterns and colours. Whereas it is an economy to pay a good price for winter coats and suits and dresses, if they are to look smart and wear well for months on end, it is silly to be extravagant over summer dresses in a climate like ours. There are many days, even in a bad summer, when we don’t feel that we want to wear a coat, and the question arises, “What is the best dress to choose for these occasions?” At this time of the year we aren’t anxious to buy anything that will be useless when summer is over. Holiday garments, of course, are different, but for ordinary daily wear the only frock worth getting now is one that will go on into the autumn. If you live out of town the sleeveless cotton frock, with a coat to wear over it, is your great summer stand-by, but I never think these frocks are much good for town wear or seaside wear. For the latter a pleated white skirt, white silk sleeveless jumper, white felt hat, and short coloured coat form a perfect outfit. Your hat-band should match your coat, and if you have more than one coat, you change your hat-band accord-

ingly. If you find white skirts too expensive for every day, have one to wear on special occasions, and another to match your short coat. These skirts need not have small or all-round pleating—they can be wrap-over, or have a few large pleats, which you can press yourself from time to time. Blue and white always looks delightful at the seaside —can you imagine a naval officer, for instance, dressed in any other colours?—and it is what is going to be worn this year by all the bestdressed women, so my first choice for the coat and hat band would be dark blue.

Speaking of useful frocks and holiday suits, the new soft tweeds take pride of place. Green seems likely to remain a favourite colour, but it is rumoured that a certain purple plum shade is running it close for popularity. In the new mixtures, both these colours are successful; and, of course, the inevitable brown-gold-heige alliance is well to the fore. Kasha is used for long coats, which are worn over frocks of crepella or crepe, while natural-coloured kasha is attractively worn over tennis or anv light frock. A charming bolero dress of black crepe de chine worn by a young bride at a recent party was very much admired. The front of the bodice had an attractive inlet vest and joined to the skirt, while the bolero fronts were added, and the back waistline was slifehtly pouched. One of the most fashionable afternoon frocks I have seen this season was made of closely patterned crepe de chine and had three finely pleated flounces set on to a short foundation skirt. It was so simple, and most

effective beneath a coat for afternoon wear. The low waist-line had a narrow swathed band of plain dark blue satin with a bow at one side, one end hanging in a long point. When shall we return to the unbroken shoulder-line? There seems very little prospect of it just now. The flowers that are added to our evening frocks grow more and more startling. Many of the new shoulder posies are large, and poised on stalks, instead of nestling against the figure, so that they sway with every movement of the wearer. But instead of flowers you may have a shoulder knot! I saw a wellknown Fendalton lady, who has recently returned from abroad, patronising this fashion. Her gown of the new metallic brocade in pink and silver, had a bow on the shoulder of the same material, with two long ends, one reaching to the waist, and the other to the hem of her frock. The ends were bordered with red and black bands. An evening gown worn by the hostess at a dance held during the week was of heavy black satin. The bodice was cut sleeveless, and semi-fitting, and the whole length of the skirt was veiled with a fine black fringe. A touch of colour was given with a flower motif one side of the waistline, and a long strap of the material with fringed end, was arranged from the shoulder, the long end falling down the front side of the frock.

The “dolman” design has caught on wonderfully for informal house-dresses, and can be used to good effect with two materials. The main part of one model I saw was in fine wool fabric, with the tie collar and sleeves in harmonising voile.