Dresses of the Week

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18937, 6 December 1929, Page 12

Dresses of the Week

Written by '

"STELLA"

Now that we are having really summer weather and the womenfolk feel it is safe to venture forth in light frocks without overcoats and raincoats so many smart ensembles and attractive frocks are seen that it is difficult to choose particular ones to describe week by week. I noticed the wearer of the following suit waiting for a tram at the corner of Cashel Street, and immediately thought of this weekly chat on dresses. The jersey silk jumper suit consisted of a chocolate brown skirt made quite plainly. The attractiveness of the suit lay 'in the jumper, which was tomato red with two spaced bands of the brown finishing off the round neck and the jumper edge. On the left shoulder were three flowers of the silk, two blown and one tomato coloured, while a narrow gold belt was worn at the natural waist line. With th\e suit was worn a becoming brown hat of soft felt and suede shoes of the same shade. Talking of shoes, it has taken folk a long while to realise that there is romance in one’s footwear. People w’ere all agreed that neat shoes were an important accessory to the smart tout ensemble, but only now are they realising that shoes are an intrinsic part of the whole outfit. There is no reason on earth why the shoes shouldn’t be of the same colour as the frock or as the hat and parasol. I can hear someone moan, “But how extravagantly expensive!” Not at all. With the patterned materials so fashionable to-day it is possible to have two pairs of differ ent coloured shoes which will match or tone perfectly with the general colour scheme. And two such pairs, with the ordinary quota for street wear, are not

extravagance; for the rotation of shoes is as excellent an idea as the rotation of crops. Shoes wear not twice, but three times, as long when they are worn every other day instead of every day—and kept on shoe trees when not in use. And talking of shoes reminds me of stockings. These are universally dark er in colouring. After all, the pale greys, flesh colours, and paler fawns did make too sharp a break between the frock and the dark shoe—and were most uncomplimentary to the leg which was already inclined to thickness. Perhaps next summer will see black shoes and stockings with us once again, though I think not. In the meantime dark grey and deeper fawns are the colours you want. Needless to say white still holds its own in stockings for sports wear. They will never be ousted from their place on the tennis court and on the sea beach. Those are the places where sleeveless frocks are still in vogue. I often wonder how the girls of thirty and forty years ago played tennis—and it was good tennis, too—in their long, full skirts with tight waists and high, boned collars and long sleeves. It seems incredible that tennis could be played except in the ideal short, loosely fitting sleeveless frock of to-day. The sleeveless frock was worn in the street and to work a season or two ago, but it’s a different tale nowadays. There must be sleeves in the frock you wear to the office, unless you wear a hip-length coat for the office, over the sleeveless frock in which you will play your game of tennis when office hours are over. I still think pleats are better for the sports dress than flares. Pleats are

“light-headed” enough, but flares need scarcely the suggestion of a breeze to become obstreperous. And do have a pocket somewhere in your tennis frock, for you’ve no longer a sleeve where you can tuck away your handkerchief. Otherwise the plainer your tennis dress the better. The smartest ones I have seen this season have been very simple, with plain bodices and box pleats in the skirts. There have been belts at the natural waist line, and in some cases these belts matched the coloui which trimmed the shoes. The prettiest one of all had a skirt of pale green crepe de chine, accordeon-plated, with the lightest of woollen, sleeveless jumpi ers and a little jacket of the wool, with i long sleeves. Very charming and at- • tractive, but, after all, the white frocks for tennis and the beach are by far the most serviceable, and, in the long run, the most attractive. This is a frock which I saw on one : of our lady tennis players one day—and it struck me immediately as suggesting an admirable way for renovat- ; ing a last season’s frock. The cream fuji dress had a yoke of spotted fuji, and the spotted material was used, again in a broad band at the edge of the skirt, as a piping for the narrow ; belt. The idea is yours to make use of as you will. One more point while we are talking ; of tennis frocks —don’t make the necks ; too wide. I’ve known the appearance i of one of our prettiest young lady ten- : nis players entirely spoilt by too wide . a dress neck, which exposed to view untidy shoulder straps. Not only that. ! the closer fitting neck is more comforti able and gives a better fall to the ! dress.