The World of Fashion.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXII, Issue XV, 15 April 1899, Page 502

The World of Fashion.

By

MARGUERITE.

When attired in silks, satins and laces of evening toilette chivalry and romance awake, and the dream of fair women is far nearer being realised than seems possible during morning hours. There is now a crispness in the evening air that warns us we stand on the threshold of winter, and that balls, and dances of less pretention, at homes, euchre parties, and all sorts of frivolities, dear to the heart of women, are on the eve of realisation. At such time 1 suspect that 1 should obtain but indifferent attention did 1 worthily discourse of sober, useful garments for everyday wear and ordinary occasion. In anticipation of the Northern Club Ball, which is to be given this month in honour of the Governor, who is at present in Auckland, onr inclinations turn with the tide of festivity to fascinating chiffons galore for evening wear. The capricious Madame Fashion will be busy, of course, with evening frocks, the calls for sueh at this period of festivities making no small demands on her creative powers; and that she will be perfectly equal to the strain one is assured. If the ‘scenes of revelry by night’ this season are not exceptionally brilliant it will certainly not be for want of lovely fabrics, designs or decoration in the feminine toilette. The ball gowns of this season promise to be glittering fairy garments. Light-tinted silks will be as much in favour for dance gowns as those composed of muslin and lace. The bodices are to be cut square or else round shape off the shoulders. I give this week a few suggestions for evening toilettes.

During the last season in London and Paris there were no distinctively evening fabrics. The most filmy tissues were seen in dresses for day time use. Tlie richest brocades formed a part of street attire and afternoon

costumes, while fur, velvet, and cloth were in demand for theatre, ball and evening reception wear. And as it was with textiles, so it was in the methods of combining and making them up. The low corsage was strictly confined to festivities by gaslight and the entertainments that belong to the wee stna’ hours. Even this most conspicuous fashion has been the subject of more or less discussion. because of the efforts of extremists to revive for day use the low bodice that has been the rule for dressy wear in the evening only.

THE DEBUTANTE. Aside from her wedding robes the dainty dress of the debutante is probaly the most interesting toilet of her entire society career. The ideal model for the debutante is made of some white diaphanous tissue, and is made up over white silk or satin. It must be simple, but the simplicity is a work of art. It must be plain and almost without ornament, depending for its effectiveness on the exquisite quality of the materials which enter into its composition. I give to-day an illustration of a perfect ball dress for a debutante. The foundation is a glove-fitting princess gown of white satin, thick and lustrous. The skirt is dancing length, and finished at the hem with a very full ruching' of white silk muslin. An a e eord ebit pleated skirt; of the finest crepe de chine is-draped over the satin, the fewer edge spreading over the. thick ruchlng. The top of # the bodice is cut out in square yoke

shape, and filled in with the accordeon pleated material. The remainder of the bodice is covered with the pleated crepe drawn down a.< smoothly as possible beneath a white satin ribbon belt.

The sleeves are full puffs of the crepe, with frills of pleating falling to the elbows, where they are met by the long gloves. The collar is of satin ribbon and pleatings. Less expensive gowns and exceedingly pretty ones are made of white chiffon over white taffeta. If there are reasons why the cost of an outfit should be considered, any of the simpler thin textiles may be utilised with excellent effect by taking a little time and pains. A charming costume is made of net laee over taffeta. The lace skirt is finished at the lower edge with a hem, and a band of narrow tucks run in with white floss silk. The band is ten inches wide, and the tucks are about a quarter of an inch wide. The waist and sleeve caps are made entirely of tucks in vertical lines. The sleeve flounces have round and round rows of tucks. The collar and belt are of white taffeta ribbon.

There is quite a new notion shown in the dress that is worn by the standing figure depicted below. With a spotted mousseline or grenadine slip banded at the edge with two rows of satin ribbon, comes a short tablier fashioned entirely of large tucks or folds of glace silk. These and the folds on the bodice should be of the same silk that forms the slip veiled by the net. A very soft

green might be chosen; a cerise would lie a la mode, or the new corn-yellow, which is at once a full colour, and yet by no means nearly so garish as orange. The other toilet has a shawl drapery, and would be useful for the mother or chaperone of the young lady. Supposing this gown were carried out in turquoise blue poplin or the ever-useful bengaline silk, it would be trimmed with insertions and a full flounce of ficelle laee, the same making the pretty little epaulette sleeves and trimming the back of the bodice in a V shaped fichu form. A drapery on the front of this dress of cream, white or coloured mousseline de soie would trim it nicely, and there might be- a corsage bouquet of forget-me-nots and pink roses to give a finish to the picture. Tall slender wings, such as the ones shown, are to be worn very much in the hair, but young girls will resort to riblion fillets rather than to plumes, which they will leave to matrons of mature vears.

The evening dress of black velvet shown below is made with a train, low corsage and short leseves. The dress is lined throughout with blue peau de soie. The train is finished at the edge with a twisted cord of velvet and satin ribbons. From the low-cut neck falls a veil of beaded lace so fine as to be little thicker than ordinary net. The bends are scarcely more than specks, so tiny are they. This drapery is caught 1111 on either shoulder by diamond clasps, and fulls almost to the waist line on either side of the front. Just over the bust it is again drawn up and secured with n diamond star about four inches across. The back of the waist is without other trimming than a flat band of passementerie in fine jet with a

lace niching above it, the niching extending around the top of the corsage. The front and sides of the skirt are thickly wrought with the finest jet beads.

SOME SIMPLER EVENING COSTUMES.

For the woman of simple tastes and moderate means, there are exceedingly pretty and becoming fabrics and styles. A young matron's dress for a small reception may be made of burnt orange taffet and white lace. The silk is made with waist and skirt separate, the latter quite plain but full at the lower portion. The skirt is entirely covered with a drapery of embroidered lace. The bodice has a square neck, which is filled in with shirred lace. There are bolero jacket fronts of shirred lace and full puffed sleeve tops, from which lace frills fall over the arms. A wide satin ribbon of orange and white is folded to outline a bodice slightly rounded in the back

and pointed in front. The collar is of folded ribbon and lace. The pretty evening frocks here demonstrated are intended to act as models. The one on the left charmingly mingles lace and a light material. whieh may be ns inexpensive as nun's veiling or as extravagant as satin, which is the dernier cri for evening wear. The pinafore bodice with the long stole front is a pretty feature, and the sleeves, who shall say are not economical? for they are scarcely sleeves at all. The other gown introduces the popular fur rouleau, and would express itself well if velveteen were the chosen material, softened with age-yellow lace. The drooping sleeves are eaught up

with jewelled chains, and the decolletage is charmingly bordered with the edge of the lace itself. Another ball gown is the spangleembroidered net over a silk or satin slip. A word of warning against the very eheap, and of advice to work it yourselves if you cannot afford a good one; for it is a vexation of spirit indeed to have your spangles scatterng right and left at your first dance in it. This figure reveals a pretty spangled ball gown in white and gold, chains of the spangles finishing bodice and lips.

Most evening sleeves are now conspicuous by their absence. The very long gloves worn in place are half of kid and half of laee, and white are much in favour again. Fans are small this year, and nearly all bespangled. Shoes are simply delightful, and of endless variety. One special feature is the red morocco shoe with glittering cut-jet buckle.

NEW EVENING WEAR. The dainty bodice illustrated in this figure is for wear with a pale green satin skirt. The under belie bodice is of white chiffon, headed by a thick ruche of the same. Over this comes a pale green satin bodice, open in front and pouched somewhat in immediate front over a belt of goldspangled embroidery. The shoulderstraps, heading to sleeves, and bordering to over-bodice—which is embroidered over wth small gold spangles—are also of gold embroidery or passementerie. A special note should be made of the sleeves, which are of drawn while chiffon finished by niching* of the same, and showing a portion of the upper arm. These sleeves are very modish, and a boon to women with thin arms.

While many women have no taste for dressy and fanciful outside garments, there are many others who think their wardrobes quite incomplete without one or more of these delightfully pretty affairs known as evening wraps.

For many years fur-lined wraps for evening wear were thought to be the most appropriate and desirable. Of

late fur linings have fallen into less request. Indeed, fiir, as a part of evening wraps, is quite subordinate to other materials. Brocades are for the time being most in demand, although silk, satin, velvet, cloth, and even lace, are used for making' these necessities. There is no reason why a. lace garment may not be as warm as one of any other fabric. There is occasionally an eccentricity or a caprice that has most allurng features, and for those who dress for effect such points are by no means to be ignored.