Fashion Notes from Paris.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVIII, Issue 2, 10 July 1912, Page 70

Fashion Notes from Paris.

(By a Parisian Expert.) PARIS, April, 1912. The Black Curtain. Have you ever taken heed to you? appearance at a time when you hated the image of yourself in the glass, not for the sake of those who saw you. but for one who did not see? A poor woman I once knew, who suffered every now and then from attacks Of some form of brain trouble, always knew when they were coming on, for there fell slowly between her and the. bright world, down, down, till it was almost blotted out. a black curtain. We are not all mad —but, between us and the sunshine, the blaek curtain has come down. .To write of dress now, when the whole world is moved with horror pver the awful tragedy of the Titanic, sgems a mockery, and yet a necessity, like many mockeries! It is not necessary for those of us who have not had the misfortune of losing a dear one in the catastrophe, but who are full of sympathy for those who have lost their relatives and friends, that we should mourn in sackcloth and ashes. But if we jdiow in our dress the same spirit we feel in our grief, we shall nut make many mistakes. Concerning the Wearing of Black. A blaek dress is always a useful possession. But black can l>e so very chic, and so very dowdy. The sable, gown, which stands out among a host of coloured fellows, depends largely upon those Other dresses for its success of contrast. It is always not easy f o do much with dead black, and very little contrast can got out of several blacks! The only jvay out of the trouble is to deal with varying materials, and with Wacks that are brighj. against blacks that are dull. A little black frock which took my anJ made with the utmost simplicity, consisted simply of a tunic of tjinon, soft and dull, embroidered all pver with large ring dots, in dull blaek cable silk, the border edged with a fringe of the same table silk; the under- > "‘i** of bright -Mirfaced Matin with on incomparable in it* surface. Itierc wa«» a honpeon of trimming in the jhape of jetted rings in bright and dull Jet, which formed a belt and caught up the imlesci ibably |»ieturesqtie draperies, dnl a very high but very transparent dollar of tucked tulle rose above a quaint little tie of black bugles finished with a dasae) of the same long nnroy tubular la-ads. Black Ckamienae Suit. The chdrmeiise suit Is always a useful • 'ljlinvt to the modern toilette. > have da affection, too, for black Sicilian alpaca.

A tailor made of black cotton, pin-dotted with white, is a serviceable choice for warm days. For smarter wear, we must not forget the coat and skirt of dull Hack moire, with a small amount of watering in its design. Never trim moire more than you can help; and that rule applies to all our tailor coats and skirts. Nothing is in better taste than a spirit of simplicity where blaek is concerned. Our Sketch.

A chic little black and white costum? will ibe found illustrated on this page. Here we have a simple little black pekine satin suit made with the slender silhouette so much in vogue. Izio flicirt i»

fashioned with an over-drapery, and is trimmed with branJcboiirgs and buttons. The wide revers in white satine, which adorn the corsage and the cull’s to the half-length sleeves, are very novel and uncommon.

Vogue for White Blouses. White blouses are coming back into vogue; their disappearance could only be of short duration, for no bodice is more practical, graceful and becoming. Does not a pretty lingerie chemisette, with a dainty pleated ruftie, embellish a tailor suit, giving it a neat and’truly Parisian aspect? White and blaek combined giysome lovely effects. A blouse in white ninon-veil, crossed with a wide garland of black carnations embroidered in silk, was a marvel of good taste. Another in black mousseline-de-soie, with shoulder straps and bouffant of wide black insertion, in which were introduced lozange designs of white net lace, was chic. Dressy blouses of lace or embroidery have mostly their sleeves slwivt, reaching down to the elbow and falling straight, without fitting the arm. Many have square or round decollete necks, which make them appear very seductive. For wear with these are added giiimps of very thin double tiille, hemmed at the top with a white ribbon in order to stiffen their edges.

Guipure and embroidery are used together more than ever, and very seldom, is a blouse composed of a single material. The most favoured of all combinations consists in making the shoulder straps and lower part of the bodice of the same guipure, filling in the intervals of the lace which forms the sleeves