LONDON AND PARIS FASHIONS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVI, Issue XII, 21 March 1896, Page 333

LONDON AND PARIS FASHIONS.

IE winter is upon you, I suppose, and with it the gloomy fogs. One of the greatest mistakes made is to think that because the atmosphere is grey and dim it is necessary we should don the dingiest and most neutral of garments. In my opinion, on the other hand, it seems as if luscious reds, in all the tones and semitones of crimson, terra-cotta.

and glowing ruby, together with the whole scale of rich greens and deep strong blues, with more grey than green in their composition, were the right nuances to adopt in artistic contrast to the dull weather. Why, either, should we revel in the morbid delights of a gloomvlooking hat when there is delicate lace and velvet flowers that Fashion now- decrees may be employed on demisai*on ? Quite up to date in style is the delightful wire

shape covered with closely-gathered black lace, ami trimmed with frills and fan bows of the same, which I herewith present to my readers. Some vivid crimson roses, slightly shaded, are perched on the hat en couronne, and suit this species of confection much better than would anything heavier in the way of trimming. This is a charming half-season chapeau, and just the right thing for smart afternoon visiting.

My second sketch is a uery new kind of hat, eminently

suitable for a wedding or a smart garden fete. It is made in chamois-coloured straw, wreathed with white silk flowers with black hearts and three red poppies. Louis XVI. bow of chine ribbon, with a large chou on the right side under the brim. Every season seems to bring in its train some entirely new art shade. This winter, one of the latest and, at the same time, m >st delicate tints grouped amongst the aenus terra cotti is a certain soft melting hue. which hovers between •■haudron, a mellow tone of apricot, and russet brown. Tnis colour, sufficiently indefinite to suit every style of b.'auty, appears especially adapted for

those jaunty little elbow long capes, cut very full to fail all round en godet s. The third sketch supplies a firstrate model for one of these charming mantles that are essentially convenient just because they can be donned so easily, and thev possess the excellent quality of immediately brightening up the appearance of a dingv gown The tippet under discussion is made of verv smooth habit cloth of the new shade in question, with applications of black satin, worked in with seed jets. A very original style of yoke, built in corduroy velvet, of

the same art nuance. is bordered with Mongolian fur. very thick, fluffy, and altogether winter-like in texture. Just underneath the fashionable Medici collar is a smart bow of satin, matching the velours. It seems as if this season Madame Modus can hardly be sufficiently lavish in the building of the stylish arrangements which are to encircle our throats, and supply our faces with that background deemed by painters as so essential in enhancing the beauty and softness of the features. But to pursue the question of our cape ; it is snuggly wadded throughout, and lined with a satin Duchesse, in which the black and the new tint are repeated in the shape of a coloured background, patterned with faint broken lines.

For those who fight shy of the Directoire skirt with its front panel cut in a fan shape, and for those who cannot become reconciled either to the jupcs slit up on each side to reveal insertions of another material, there is a new mode which, securing all the artistic lines of the simplyhung gown, supplies at the same time something essentially novel in the way of treatment. This new fashion consists in braiding the skirt vertically on one side so as to form a kind of long blade, in some cases, of comse, the cording being supnlanted bv a shaped application of

plush, velvet, or satin. The gown sketched as the finale of this column illustrates the novelty. Here we have a delightful afternoon frock made of livery-coloured woollen satin, the jupe being braided with fine silk cord of a rich chestnut shade. To carry out the folded band and drawn

arrangements about the shoulders, velvet of the same deep tnarron shade is pressed into service. At the back the soft dark material is folded in a similar manner, onlv behind the woollen satin is cut quite simply and flatly, and not after the style of the front, where we find a gathered * pinafore ’ corselet duly braided and laid on a finelv pleated yoke. These sleeves with their long, tight cuffs appear'to be more popular than the ‘Bishop,’ which has quite failed in ‘catching on 'in Paris. Round the throat there is a note of vivid colouring in tbe shape of a folded turquoise blue velvet ribbon enframing the neck under the mollified Medici collar. This, like the cuffs, is braided with the brown cord. R ELOISE.