THE LADIES’ WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2609, 17 September 1909, Page 3

THE LADIES’ WORLD.

: r' w " : ■■ >: LONDON FASHIONS

LONDON, July 30. The Queen has been wearing some lovely gowns a£ Goodwood. She appeared the first day in the color she is most fond of —a delicate mauve foulard gown With lace trimmings, toque to match of shaded sweet peas and a long cloth wrap of mauve cloth to match her gown. She likes a harmony of color in her clothes. You never see hor Majesty wearing any violent contrast of color. Yesterday the Queen wore an exceedingly beautiful black gauze gown covered all over with tiny steel beads; and, strange to say, for one who so persistently clings to a toque, she wore a large black hat, with long white ostrich plumes. Princess Victoria wore white, and a hat completely covered with flowers. Mrs George Keppel is always one of the most beautifully dressed woman in the Royal party. Yesterday she was in an embroidered white gown, with a long cloak over it of heliotrope satin. Cloaks, indeed, have been as much a matter of importance as gowns at all the race meetings this year. They grow more sumptuous as time goes on. As long as Directoire, Empire, and other such fanciful gowns are in fashion, so the need for a cloa'k will arise. The coat and skirt or coat and dress to match are generally of thick shantung, handsomely braided, and made in perfect tailor style, according to the fashion of the hour. With them the bodice is like the skirt. One sees more blouses with tweed or serge coats and skirts. THIS YEAR’S MODE. This year the lingerie blouse reigns supreme. There never has been anything like its success. The Peter Pan style of blouse, with its turn-down collar, is also built on these lineal Nothing is more noticeable than the transition from extreme “masculinity,” if I may coin an expression, to the more feminine methods in tailor-made gowns. The hard wearing tweed that used to last several seasons is no longer seen. Tailors can buy more suitable weight and coloring now for their lady clients. Indeed there are many firms who never make for men at all. They confine their attention to ladies’ tailor-made gowns. And the wholesale houses have suitable fabrics manufactured for ladies' wear. After all, it was the weight of tweed and serges that was so tiring in the old days o’f the severe make of gown, and it was never so becoming, really, as the beautifully designed costumes that are now our portion. Except on the golf links, one rarely secs any masculinelooking tweed, and then the short skirt is nearly always worn with a crocheted or knitted golf coat over some pretty, simple blouse.

They are making all the trottoir skirts much shorter and fuller about the feet. TVe have been seeing ladies who looked about the same width from the shoulders to the feet, with a narrow s'tip.ight-cv/b boat coming ’to within four inches of the skirt. With them a huge flat hat trimmed with a straight piece of ribbon and a bow. All very “slouchy” and odd. Supposed to be “French V The skirt will be shorter this winter, and coats longer, but more fullness will be shown from the knee downwards. So is the feeling for softer materials for coats and skirts that a special''make of cashmere lias been brought out for making ladies’ suits. In silk cashmeres there has been an immense vogue. The damp summer has, of course, brought about many changes in the recognised order of materials for dresses. I know several people who in duty bound had muslins and cottons made up in view of the country festivities and garden parties, and have not yet been able to wear them. Satin with wool back is also much sought after, while foulards have had a tremendous success. I saw a lovely foulard gown only yesterday. A lady wore a navyblue foulard with white spot; she had a lovely figure, and the gown fitted her to perfection. It had a square yoke of lace, and was trimmed with touches of copper and aluminium made up into bosses, and there was a belt of copper satin. I thought I had hardly seen anything so smart. The toque worn with it was of two slia-des of pastel blue straw filet, made into a large folded turban toque lightly handled with two peacocks’ ouills at one side. It is getting more and more difficult to forecast the styles of dress likely to he worn a little while ahead. In Paris the idea is to rummage amongst old portraits and old prints until something likely to- create a furore is found. The men ' milliners and designers of fashion are the most persistent hunters of design. They are to be found in all the great libraries looking over pictures. and taking notes when something suitable is found.. It is really a question of one period fitting on to another, and the most artistic use being made of •them, that constitutes fashion. Here we once more in the twentieth century again at the fishwife skirt, Worn rather differently from the style prevailing: in the eighties. The top part of the gown is made Princesse, with the turnover coming round, the knees and girt in tightly behind them—a very ugly essay at drapery. The old way was exceedingly smart, and suited a young girl with a good figure beautifully. Drapery is really a very difficult thing to- arrange gracefully, and should not- be attempted by any but a master hand.

The. last idea in Paris is “First Empire,” but not the short-waisted gown that we associate with Josephine. It is called now, as it was in her day, “un deshabille Pierrot.” It consists of a short Princess dress with a tunic having an ornament to mark the rather long waist. It has to be made in something light and soft. t The tunic is the thing to which I should advise you to devote your attention. Say you have a skirt of satin, made full long then the tunic could be of crepe-de-cliine or Ninon or some other lovely material. which fall well and .weigh little. This should be cut in one with the bodice, remembering to make it much longer at the sides than back or front. It is a little like the Greek peplum. It can be embroided all round the hem, and should be weighted at the four corners with heavy jet or bullion tossels, according to the character of the trimmings. It should, of course, be open down the sides from the hips, and should fall well. Then it is a graceful thing, and hanging straight gives no anxiety about' drapery. It would, I think, bo an ideal wedding gown carried out in white satin and crepe-re-chino embroidered in silver and white silks.