French Fashions in Dancing.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11, 17 March 1906, Page 4

French Fashions in Dancing.

When French girls go to a dance, they dance; so do the men—there is no other course open to them, for tete-a-tetes are not encouraged. The unfortunate man must invite her ehaperon, too—and in France a chaperon is generally a person of weight, physically and morally. There is no deceiving the French Mrs Grundy. She will have none of the

young married women chaperons, who wear their responsibilities so lightly in England: consequently, no girl ev;r dances more than three times with one man. and the only ehance she gets for conversation is during a cotillion, which lasts more than an hour, and is followed by supper, to which her partner may invite her and her chaperon. The girl marks her own engagements on her dancing programme, as it is not considered wise to put temptation in the way of the man. who. thong on the “liste des danseur=.” might use the card as a means of private communication with some unsuspecting maiden, and so imneril her reputation. The young married women have a better time. Thev may take refreshments with their partners without a third person to guard the proprieties, ami conversation is not restricted to replies merelv. Tn fact, in this, as in all social functions, the married women have the advantage of the unmarried ones, and it is easy to understand whv the "arduous profession of marriage” is looked nt with such favour by voung French girls. Only on the occasion of a dance, a ceremonious dinner party, or a first night at one of the theatres, do Frenchwomen wear decolette gowns, and it must he confessed that thev look remarkably well in them. Their invariaoiv strai••’>t hacks and well-carried shoulders give the frocks "cachet.” and make the simplest toilette look distinguished. Thev have an exouisite sense of colour, and rarely wear bright, crude tints, so that a ballroom scene is one of the most harmonious of society shows. The men wear ordinarv evening dress, with sometimes an elaborately tucked shirtfront, and thev always carry their crush hats in their hands while they dance—a most uncomfortable custom, one would imagine, and it speaks well for their natural grace that they do it with apparent ease. A Frenchman’s manners are always more decorative than an Englishman’s, and though it is the fashion for the Britisher to laugh at his neighbour’s antics, as he calls them, it is really a very pleasant sight to see a man how gracefully and know what to do with his hands. The waltz and the eoumon. with an occasional lancers, are the most popular dances in France just now. 'l’he “Boston” is our conception of a waltz, and the “cake walk” was merely the fancy of a moment. The various figures of a cotlillion change according to the ideas of the leaders; some of them are very graceful, and others amusing.

The presents for this dance, though trivial, are pretty, as some of the big shops make specialities of them. This year, as well as fans, bonbonnieres, an I dainty toilette necessaries. 1 noticed charming little pots of flowers, chiefly violets, in which were hidden bottles of scent.

Costume balls have always been greatly in favour in France, and nowadays some very charming e..ects are arranged by clever hostesses. “Bals blancs"’ are the particular rendezvous of youth. Young girls—with their chaperons—and young men, wearing “white flower of a blameless life”

in their buttonholes, meet together to make one another's acquaintance with a view to marriage. "Bals roses” are supposed to be for young married people, where the women dress in pink of all shades, and the “jeune fille” may not enter. The most elegant are the fancy-dress

balls, where a certain historical period rules, and one lives again in the Court of Louis XIV. or Marie Antoinette; and yet another fashion is to choose a province where the peasant costume is particularly picturesque, ami ask one's guests to wear it in different styles for • lie evening.