MEN’S FASHIONS

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20843, 29 June 1939, Page 15

MEN’S FASHIONS

MORE COMFORT AND COLOUR NEW COUNCIL FORMED (From a Correspondent.) LONDON, May 11. Men’s clothes are to be brighter, better, and more comfortable. To this end a Men’s Wear Council has been formed, and the slovenly male who dares to delight in baggy trousers. no hat, sloppy shoes and a “general carelessness in attire” may expect the finger of scorn to be pointed at him. The council was started at the beginning of the year, and it has the co-operation of the International Wool Secretariat, the Association of London Master Tailors, and the British Colour Council. It declares its main objective to be the creation of “due appreciation of the importance of welldressing among men.” Other objectives include the emphasising of “the beneficial effects upon the wearer of the right clothes for each and every occasion,” and stressing “the important part that i clothes play in forming the character i and the disposition of every man, with ! the resultant effect they have upon j his business and social success.” First Attack J A first attack upon baggy trousers 1 and drab colours was launched this week by the council when it gave an exhibition of the latest trends in men’s wear, and as a violent contrast, displayed the lurid flannel underwear of the ’sixties, demoralising stiff collars and a gaudy array of toppers. Lord Barnby, chairman of the council’s organising committee, declared the exhibition open, and made no attempt to hide the fact that in making men clothes-conscious the council was hoping to help trade. ‘ We do not consider ourselves, and never will be, dictators of fashion, because fashion for men is an evenes:*ent thing, and we would rather be •onsidered advisers on style and the ■orrect thing for every occasion,” ho said. Britain, he added, led the world

in men’s clothes to-day, and set the style for men’s clothing. The chief point made by the exhibition was that the trend in men’s clothes is for more comfort and brighter colours. Gone are the “dark” and “drab” days of the last century, when black or grey held sway. The “conventional” period is also declared past and over, and to-day there is a “sparkle” in the male’s attire. A La Mode It was shown that green pyjamas, a wine dressing gown, and blue and wine slippers are quite in order; so is shell pink underwear! Socks may include a shepherd check design in jungle red, and there are beach gowns of Aztec designs. W T oollen manufacturers have perfected a stiffen collar for their shirts, and the latest mode is a white collar with a brown, blue or white shirt. A zipp fastener is cleverly fitted to the collar. Hats are lighter, and “can be styled to suit any personality,” and the double-breasted coat or jacket is back in fashion for informal wear. There is a new golfing jacket with leather on the shoulders and special zippfastening pockets. Sweaters are wind and waterproof. New suits are in checks, blue chalk striped flannel, grey with a red stripe, and fawn worsted. Conservative cloths include ranges of grey, black stripe, plain black and blue. Men are invited to “note that it is desirable to wear bold shirts, ties, etc., with quiet coloured suitings, and vice versa.” In case it is suggested that, with brighter clothing, mere man may tend to resemble something in the. floral world, it is pointed out that “until the beginning of the industrial revolution man was a colourful creature,” and that in times when men took care and delight in the colours they wore, the period was remarkable for its virility. A return to brighter colours may, of course, even stop the downward swing of the “degenerate, democracies”!