The World of Fashion.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 8, 23 August 1911, Page 69

The World of Fashion.

By

MARGUERITE.

gCCENTRIC and bizarre as may be some of the ideas in the newest millinery, there is still a certain picturesqueness in the form and the trimming employed that makes them irresistibly appealing to the woman who loves to strike an uncommon note in her headgear. The versatility of millinery is indeed its charm this season, and individual taste must perforce be pleased with the variety offered on all sides. Some of the latest novelties in millinery are Indeed sufficiently original and varied to wan rant the assertion that all types of faces can be fitted with some form of headgear which offers a distinct toucn or novelty either in its trimming or shape. ‘■FRUITARIAN” TRIMMING. The humanitarian, too, will be particularly pleased with one of tne most successful ideas in millinery that have been developed with great success this season. Plumes and feathers can well give way to what may be termed the “fruitarian”

millinery, in which every fruit of nature is pressed into the service of trimming. Frankly, there is often scant resemblance to the real thing, and a cynic may detect little difference between a bunch of apples and' tomatoes, but to the woman who loves variety and change the success of this millinery lies in the fact that the artificial colouring of the fruit has been brought to a pitch of high artistic excellence, and she may remark with truth that after all the colour and not the form is the most important thing in the accessories of millinery. Red, cerise, and yellow are the three most prominent shades in tne fruitarian trimming, and these are employed in peaches, apples, oranges, prams, small melons, and even grapes. A VIVID GLOW OF COLOUR. As berries may come under the nomenclature of fruit, it may also he mentioned that some of the most charming hats show rod berries that may be taken either for strawberries or cherries. •Strings and clusters of these vivid cerise or red berries dangle eoquettishly over the brim in front or are laid gracefully

in picturesque wreaths round the crown, giving a vivid glow of colour to an allwhite or an all-black hat. This fruitarian trimming is especially successful when employed in conjunction with the striped ribbon bows that are now so much used. The contrast of the fruit with black and white striped ribbon is always pleasing. The arrangement of the fruit depends on the shape of the hat. Sometimes it is laid in clusters at intervals round the crown as depicted in the sketch, which shows one of the newest hats with the outspreading brim slightly upturned at the left side. Here the fruit consists of small bunches of vivid r «•* prams laid on a narrow band of black velvet that outlines the base of the bowl crown. \\ hat connection there may be -between fruit and hat .-4. rings is somewhat dillicult to determine, but it is m.--..- the less true that much of the new fruitarian millinery is finished with strings or stieamers of velvet and lace that tie beneath the chin. No one disputes (he charm of the coquettish velvet strings that make so tolling a background for the right complexion, and this season there is to be a determined attempt to reintroduce them into general favour. LACE SCARF ON LARGE IT A IS. In the hat ju-t mentioned these velvet strings are seen outlining the *>rim and face and are fastened with a piquant loop and bow very much to the left side. The lace scarf as a trimming to the fruitarian hat also plays the part of an important accessory. A striking instance of its successful adoption is depicted in the illustration of another example of the immense hats with wide, sweeping brims that are to be so much in favour this season. In tills Tint the trimming consists of nuts and leaves coloured in pastel shades of blue aerophane, a pretty effect on a hat of biscuithued Tegal straw. The lace scarf, piped with narrow blue velvet and arranged in two flat bows at the right side, comes sweeping down over the brim, and can either be left gracefully hanging down on the shoulder or may lie carelessly twisted round the neck and fall in one long end behind. BOUQUETS OF FLOW ERS AND FRUIT. Bouquets 'of old-fashioned garden flowers are also combined with fruit, and the taller-stemmed blooms are arranged in an upright position, with the fruit nestling at the base. Toques of white and purple grapes are mixed wi/h clusters of pink roses, with an aigrette formed of tall grasses surmounted with a gorgeous butterfly painted on gauze. Another novelty is the toque or capote made of green cocoanut fibre, finishe in the front with a large cockade in red and pink cherries. Many of these cockades are composed of small red and green berries, which have something of the effect of large chenille beads, and these are employed by way c? finish to the front of the Napoleon or gendarme hat, and often act as a completing touch to the lancer feather that springs from its base. THE NEW SKIRT. Some of the newest tailored skirts are opened up on one side to show’ an underdress of finer material but in exactly the same colouring as the upper dress. The ■opening ru.is half-way up the skirt, and

the edges are bordered all round with a double row of buttons covered with the under dress material or with lines or military braiding. This is one of the concession.-* to the Turkish trouser fashion, ami skirts of this type win probably b<» worn by women who do not care to wear the •’ciilotte" skirt. The under dress is kilted in some casee, and in others it is embroidered with selfcoloured silk. For house gowns it is in mousseline inset with lace or embroidered motifs, and for evening dresses it is in filmy lace threaded with pink or blue bebe ribbons tied in bo a knots. The under dress dotes not show except when the wearer moves.