THE WORLD OF FASHION.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXV, Issue X, 8 September 1900, Page 468

THE WORLD OF FASHION.

By

MARGUERITE

There is beauty in each season, as it circles round the year, but perhaps the loveliest of all is early spring, when Mother Earth awakes from ner long winter’s sleep, ami clothes herself anew in robes of emerald. With its usual adaptability to circumstances feminine society seeks to aid and abet Mother Nature in her efforts by suiting itself to its sin roundings, and adopting gayer and fresher costumes. Dresses which have reposed undisturbed in our wardrobes for some months have their folds carefully shaken out. and are subjected to inspection with a view to possible alteration and improvement. The prevailing modes of the moment lend themselves kindly to remodelling, more particularly perhaps in the case of the bolero, as it does not require any great ingenuity to evolve a smart little coat of this style from a garment already fitted and finisheil to suit one’s figure. It is really wonderful to what a height or popularity this feature of dress has attained. Every kind of thin gown is made with a bolero if you like, ft will be seen everywhere this summer. A small

fichu frequently gives u very pieturesquee finish to this little jacket,oryou may have a soft scarf eaught at one side of the arm seam well up towaril the shoulder, carried across to the front and tied in one knot. Whether your gown is of heavy linen or softest mousseline it is made with a bolero. One of the daintiest little boleros to. a thin gown is made of tucked mousseline covered with lace and finished around the edge with narrow mousseline frill edged with laee. Tucked boleros of foulard silk are also finished with a frill of the siik over one of batiste edged with rows of ribbon on the edge. Some of the smart dressmakers are Iraki ng a specialty of little coloured boleros, pale pink and pale blue, to wear alternately with a white cloth skirt and ruffled muslin shirt. Bolero coats and skirts of sand colour and cinnamon are worn with gray-coloured blouses and fancy waistcoats. When black is worn some brilliant touch of colour appears to relieve Its sombreness. One costume consists of a black cloth skirt and a little coat of scarlet silk fastened with one enormous gold

filigree button, and finished at the throat with a big Directoire bow. Quite one of the leading features in summer gowns will be the-lace bolero which will figure on cotton, silken and woollen fabrics alike. ® ® © CONCERNING COATS. MANY LENGTHS IN SPRINGTIME WRAPS. Jackets for spring wear are still very short and simple in style, decorated with rows of stitching alone, or very narrow pipings with stitching above. Some of them are double breasted, with handsome buttons added for a finish, but the double breasted ones are of the sack persuasion, only excessively short. When a little deviation from ordinary fashions is required, the edges of the coat are taken and prettily moulded into scallops.

No longer are the round one or the square tab the only choice; the trefoil edge is one of the varieties that may be taken. It is nicely finished with little buttons, but not meaning-

less ones; they are large enough to n.ake a noticeable impression on the eye.

Silk lapels covered with braid or lace are new, even fresher than velvet or satin ones. The silk that is used Is a ribbed kind like bengaline, sometimes handsome enough in itself without any extra adornment to provide what is needed. Another kind of silk is peau de soie, which has a surface almost as fine and close as kid.

Long, straight backed jackets, with a barely perceptible sloping in of the seams under the arms, will continue to be worn late into the spring. All the loose coats that are pronounced to be so comfortable are looked upon with such indulgent favour that their being of the most ungainly shape passes apunobserved. They are trimmed with stitched strappings of the cloth of which they are made, and have no other trimming unless the jabot of lace that is sometimes allowed to fall Over the fastening at the neck be accounted such. The only note of extravagance that can be attributed to them is the elegance of their lining.

La Belle Otero, the well-known Spanish dancer, whose gowns are traditional for splendour, appeared at the Grand Prix races in a gown festooned with artificial strawberries an<l their ieaves.

A dressmaker, high up in the social scale, as well as the modistic, has

made the cherry her particular fancy, and a gown finished by her the other day for a great lady is sketched in this column. It has adornments of cherries done in velvet, with chenille stalks ana leaves fastened to it, and the adhering portions, while sufficient to keep the pretty knots of fruit in place, are independent from the dress, so that there is no effect of embroidery. Not only rich red cherries, but black ones and the pretty white hearts were constructed, and laid on a background of pearl-grey poplin. Will this vogue lay the. foundations of a new trimming? The effect of the strawberry garland was somewhat amazing, but the cherry knots were entirely pretty. ® ® ®

Here is a sketch of a spring coat which will do quite well for the summer as well, and which can be worn open or closed. I think the most useful colour would be a pale shade of biscuit cloth. The turned-back revers and high collar are faced in with tiny frills or guagings of cream chiffon. ® ® ® SUITS FOR SMALL BOYS. IN HONOUR OF “BOBS” AND OLD IRELAND. Little boys are somewhat conservative in their fashions, but just at this present moment there happens to be quite a new suit. It is appropriate and extremely bewitching for

a lad of from four to seven, for it is what is called the Irish Paddy model.

It has a rather short-waisted cutaway coat, a soft shirt, and tight breeches buttoned at the knee, and with it is worn a regular Paddy hat, high in the crown ami made of felt. In London lately it has been noticed that several little boys are WEARING THE KILT, and it has been said that a war always brings to the front this old dress, which is, by the way, one of the most handsome for small boys, and perhaps, also the most expensive. Another comfortable and becoming suit is made with a Rusisan blouse, a leather waistbelt, and short quite full knickerbockers, ending just below the knee. What with these models, sailor suits, and the picturesque Humpty Dumpty, the small men of the community have a very wide field of choice. ® ® ®

tine of the many new toques we have been recently interviewing is that, pictured in this figure. It is of very light materials, but then, for an unexplained reason, the toque of the moment is diaphanous, floral, and generally on “airy, fairy” lines excepting as to size, which in most of the models is considerable. The model in question is built of damask red aroephane arranged in a novel fashion in thick plaits of three, and dashed up in front towards the left side with a fan bow of the aroephane and a bunch of damask roses with their attendant leaves. Reverting to the increased

size of the toques, it is a great pity they have developed this tendency. For those to whom the larger style of headgear is more becoming, there is the big picture hat still in favour at the court of fashion: a thing of beauty ami a joy for ever to all but those who sit behind it at a matinee; and the toque has hitherto kept an individuality of its own by being smaller and more chic, which has made a pleasant variety in millinery. It is certainly now “swelling wisably”—as Mr Weller would say—and becoming a massive turban-like confection, losing all its grace and smartness in the pro-

cess. We are promised some very light ami pretty basket straw shapes, for which the correct trimming will be broad ribbon knotted in large artistic bows and chon on the one side or in front. These will be very welcome and will go delightfully with our spring tailor-made gowns and coats. ® ® ®

Satin and velvet, as we all know, rank very highly in popular estimation, and are much worn in the form

of stylish little coats and boleros and extremely elegant capes and cloaks. For a matron on the wrong side of forty nothing" could be more desirable than the handsome cape depicted in the sketch. It is carried out in black satin trimmed with lace applique intermingled with lines of very narrow black velvet ribbon, and trimmed with swathing of accordion pleated chiffon, which likewise forms a frill at the edge, and a decorative frontage of stole and of the same (diaphanous material caught at intervals by jewelled buckles. A smart toque and a pair of dainty pearl grey gloves form the other items of an exceedingly attractive tout ensemble. In direct contrast to the neglectful matron referred to above is the mother whose superabundant juvenility renders it a difficult task to distinguish her from her eldest daughter, and who is wont to affect tight fitting (or nearly so) coats and skirts, and natty ties, her weakness for mannish sailor hats verging on the border of a mania. Moderation

is to lie recommended, as extremes are sure to end in defeat, in the one instance plainly revealing the ravages of time, and in the other rendering the would-be-young mother an object of derision to all beholders. ® ® ® DECORATIVE HINTS. HOW GIRLS SHOI’LD ADORN THEIR DRESSES. Cloth bands on silk frocks provide evidence of the season's exotic fancies. Heavy lace, too, such as is used for an entire bodice, is decorated with these

same stitched bands of cloth, silk and panne; indeed, braid lace mingles quite amiably with stitchery, as the accompanying illustration makes plain.