The World of Fashion

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 12, 16 September 1908, Page 70

The World of Fashion

<By

MARGUERITE.)

'Among very many dresses were b Worn at a fashionable ‘*at home” retent ly in Paris, were several very pretty linen .gowns for summer, a good many tussores, and not a few fine navy blue cloths. All the skirts were tight fitting round the hips and very long, worn without under pettieoats, and in the majority of eases either embroidered or soutache round the feet or round the knee? to imitate the tunic. The waists were all dfaped high and the sleeves close fitting, the width of the shoulders being given by some kind of shoulder cape either in little or large; also the sleeves were all Jong, except in the tailor-made coats a la Directoire. In this instance they reached the elbow, thus showing the long poignee of the chemisette. Linen gowns are already being carefully considered in relation to the new summer schemes, and this season one of the favourite colours where the linen gown is concerned is a warm and attractive russet, a little redder than the sailcloth linen of whilom fame, but very nearly approaching its lint. These linen gowns will be t'ashioned in the simplest manner possible, the coat bodices opening over gilets of oatmeal-coloured toile powdered with large russet spots, or trimbied with soft thick white cords or with soutache to match. The hats designed to In* worn with them are carried .out in a rustic straw, loosely woven in rush fashion, and trimmed with rus-set-coloured Shantung or velvet ribbon, and masses of. huge purple plums covered with,a soft bloom, or, in place of this, witl( clumps of crab apples, bunches of huge whiteheart cherries, or wreaths of ripe strawberries.

|. The revival of bengaline for the construction of pelisses and outdoor coats for children is a nursery sensation which deserves to be chronicled, this particular Silk lieing good for quite an extended period of hard' weary < While it may be handed over to the ministrations of the cleaner without any fear of its coming to grief during the process of cleaning. Are the long; clinging skirts graceful and is the fashion to become permanent and absolute? are questions that are seriously agitating the minds of all women who are fond of clothes and want to look their best. In its perfection the fashion is most charming and becoming to a graceful figure. In its failures there has rarely been a fashion more hideous or unbecoming. It is not economical, for in order to secure the desired long lines and effects the material must be most carefully and at the same time most recklessly cut, and the cheaper fabrics are not, as a rule, so satisfactory to work with as the more expensive. In, other words, to carry! out to the fullest this fashion, it will, for the present at all events, be. well to realise that it is quite expensive, in • spite of its appearance of severe simplicity. Once the knowledge of lines has been attained the style can be copied for a third the price, especially if care be taken in buying the material and the trimmings. Then, with a perfect fitting lining, and, incidentally, a perfect figure, the very latest fashion can be safely attained. Trimmings are to be carefully considered in these latest fashions. Braiding and embroidery are all-important items to be considered. The narrow soutache braid, being still the most popular, is

used in many different designs in straight lines and in intricate patterns. The same shade of colour,, or qn.e shade lighter or darker gives the smartest effect—a contrast in colour between braid and material not being popular. A tan pongee of the heavy quality is extremely smart braided elaborately with the same colour soutache. A queer shade of raspberry pink has bands of plain taffeta or linen with an elaborate braiding in soutache of the same shade, but the trimming is only seen on the sleeves and the front of the coat. The skirt is quite plain.

Borders.

Bordered materials are just now the fetish of the woman of fashion, the- borders usually representing a three-colour scheme, and especially roses piled in a solid mass, ns though waiting to be converted into fragrant pot-pourri. These are designed in soft pink, shading to the tone of the Outside petals, which have already begun to be tinged with brown, and are painted on a white or ivory ground with long strands of pink .ribbon, knotted at regular intervals, and hating the appearance of being oluug from tire waist. The little' cros-over corsage is almost invariable, the tulusss disappear-

iug under a long girdle of rosecolourod ribbon fastened at one side, while the almost inevitable guimpe of pin-tucked tulle is conspicuous among the race gowns, a narrow depassant of rose-colour-ed satin accentuating the square of th« decolletage. Masses of shaded Nattierblue marguerites on a snow-white ground, velvety wallflowers shading from pale ochre to chestnut, and green poppies in three or four different tones, are all favourites where the bordered materials are concerned, the charm of the toilette lying in the little coat or pelerine, which i> designed to wear with it, and which ia.

•arried out in cucumber green, chestnut, Jose, or Nattier-blue channeuse to match She deepest colour in the border. This is fashioned in a variety of different ways —Directoire examples with shqrt cutaway fronts vieing with Second Empire pelerines or tiny capes in the battle for ascendency. JI Naturally enough, lace coats are high in favour, and in the cohstruction of these real lace wellowed to a delicious creamy tint is eked out by means of panels of the coarsest filet imaginable, loosely woven like a fishing net, the coa£ in question .being wfa'ri' ovft a Drinceas frock of anow-whit# -handkerchief lawn, wonderfully hand-embroidered. which makes a decidedly piquant contrast

pinafore dtr«s of Oriental blue linen, with large white pattern, over Spft tthite muslin, which is tucked; shady hat of the same, with white tuualia.

This coat has small epaulettes, but is otherwise sleeveless, and a very pretty, effect is gained by the long, close-fitting sleeves of the blouse worn with the white cloth Princess skirt. These sleeves arc of white net and Valenciennes lace, with a very pronounced ruche along the outer arm, running downwards from the shoulder, and soft ruffles of net at the wrist.