DRESS AND FASHION NOTES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3750, 8 February 1913, Page 4

DRESS AND FASHION NOTES.

LONDON AND PARISIAN. A Few Clothes and Good.—lt is wise advice to follow to have only the best material, the best style, and what you really require and for the occasion you need it. There are women who are always buying good clothes but seldom wear them. They put them away for great occasions,' which do not come in sufficient numbers to wear them out till they are old-fash-ioned. Then a great deal of money is frittered away in altering them, and while they ought to have been in wear their owner was not particularly well dressed. Appearance has so much to do with success in life that many women throw away their chances of getting the best out of existence by being dowdy. A really good gown looks distinguished to the end, while a second-rate gown is always a trouble. No one feels at her best when she is not so well dressed as other people, and in good truth, other people do not look upon her with the same favor. Few women can afford to ignore the potency of clothes, but it is not always spending money that is essential, though a certain sum must be expended. One must have opinions of one’s own and he neat and by no means careless. We are living in an age when Direetoire coats and collars and narrow skirts, trimmed in such a way as not to add to their width, dominate the modes. Long sleeves are more, really modish than the short ones, and fashion looks most kindly on the Empire waistline and the bodice opening in a V shape in the front. Fichus being particularly garments which depend on the individuality of the wearer, they want a great deal of putting on. Carefully arranged. they are singularly elegant, blit they can be assertively untidy and unbecoming. “Show’ 5 day at a smart modiste’s is a liberal education in fashions of to-day and to-morrow, for many exquisite toilettes are worn by the visitors. and the very latest mode’s are displayed for their approval. Take, for instance, a graceful afternoon gown of cacliemire de soi, the overdress cut-away in front to reveal the close-fitting skirt with triple rows of scalloped broderie, and sloping off into a trained back. This overslip, too, has some new features—viz., the Vcut hack and the short Magyar sleeves whk'h are supplemented by an embroidered undersleeve. The stylish ruffle with its high centre band of black satin gives the touch of:.black so essential in a light toilette. '

A lovely evening gown is very elegant in black cliarmeuse with draped scarves of Oriental embroidery on black net. the whole bordered with bands of turquoise satin. Neat and simple, the uress in the background might lie copied in dove-grey cashmere for morning wear, and worn with a daiiuv collar and cuffs of muslin and lace. *

There is a tendency to reinstate braiding as a fashionable trimming, and this will certainly find support among that very large class of women who like to feel that their clothes represent beautiful handiwork rather than extreme conceptions of fashion. A dress, that is finely braided can never lie ineffective, even though it is plain and unobtrusive in other respects. And it is a matter 'that should be made a note of that braiding is always more.effective on a dark than on a light color, ancl should be done cither in black or self-colored braid. White is the only possible exception. Color contrasts in braiding i)re almost invariably an error of judgment. In a very charming example of the latest development of "the braided dress the material is a smooth cloth in bottlegreen —a favorite shade at the moment. The skirt has two deep tucks, which are intended to give the effect of a triple skirt, and at either side there are panels of fine black silk braiding, which taper down to sharp points. The crossover bodice is braided on one side, while the other is a double rever of fine needle-run net, the chemisette and collar being of the same. The three-quarter sleeves are braided about half-way up, and are finished with a narrow fold of the net. A. girdle of green tasselled ends. A small close-fitting hat of green velvet, surrounded by ostrich feathers of the same shade, completes a costume which is in excellent taste and will commend itself to Englishwomen more than 'many of the extreme, though undoubtedly beautiful, designs which Paris sends us. PARISIAN.

Accordeon-pleated skirts are being made for girls’ evening dresses, with chiffon tunics trimmed with flower fringe, tiny dangling roses or forget-me-nots. and sometimes narrow bands of fur as a top edging. Most of the women one sees in the afternoon, shopping or drinking tea after a dress fitting, are wearing neat tailormades made with double skirts, rather short coats trimmed with very big buttons in some sort of stone to match the costume, a velvet or beaver hat spiked with aigrettes, and furs, either short neck furs fastened with a bow of ribbon or long stoles. These last few days muffs have also been carried. A black tailor-made with white fox furs, a violet velvet rose, violet buttons, and a touch of vivid embroidery in violet- and preen, showing on the collar of the coat when the fur was thrown back, looked very well with a black velvet berri and white aigrettes shooting out at sharp angles. Very brilliant colored beaver hats of no particular shape are being worn by girls with short, dark tailor-mades and furs, and all hats are set well down on the head ; in fact, hats as well as dresses aro soft and shapeless and unless they are worn well run the risk of being unbecoming. Everything depends upon the wearer this season, and it is indispensable that a woman should “find herself” in her clothes and make the best of herself. It is she who gives the right line to her cloak, to her fur stole, to her hat and veil, and when she buys any or all of them she will not be blameable if she indulges in a dress rehearsal. Why not? It sounds a little silly, but if the success of the toilette depends upon the way it is worn, it is better to learn how to do it at home and forget all about it when with one’s friends, than to be always a little uneasy and preoccupied about the whole tiring all the time. In dress nothing is so studied as the obviously natural, and the woman who flings her .stole around her just in the right way, who wraps her cloak about her with careless grace, or who puts on Her hat with the negligence of a cowboy is generally a consummate artist thoroughly versed in the tricks of her trade.

Underwear is very important. To he warm and slim is what we shall want to be this winter. A great many Frenchwomen now wear the silk maillot, but others still cling to the delicate lingerie for which they are renowned. It must he of such fineness that it does not count, however, and with it commonsense suggests fine Shetland vests. No petticoats are possible, so silk culottes must he worn for tailor-mades. The only petticoat one now sees in the wardrobe of a very smart woman is in crepe de Chine or mousseline de soie, and it is very narrow and clinging, except round the feet, where it may he accordion pleated. Over such carefully prepared underclothing a clinging velvet or charmeuse dress hangs beautifully. Some velvet dresses are being carried high' up to the throat, where they turn back into a Medicis collar, and the long sleeves have stiff fan-like movements over the hands. Sashes of moire, with handsome how and long ends, trim such a dress very well.