DRESS AND FASHION NOTES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3768, 1 March 1913, Page 4

DRESS AND FASHION NOTES.

LONDON AND PARISIAN

State of Fashions. We bo it, w the fiohu from the French Monarchial days, but we are still tube-Llce, and our silhouettes are thin—as thin as can be, and seem 1 kely to remain so. Fashions repeat themsc.ves, b,.,t never in their entirety. In 1861 bodies and skirts'were in one in England, fastening down the front with a binding of velvet and ?op-lika buttonholes radiating ' from that centre, a band round the waist and it was slipped :on at once. You cannot take rip the fashion book without seeing a sleet: h of such a dress now, but the waist is ; higher than in the sixties, and the ‘ skirt then was distended with crinoline. In the forties and the fifties ' our mothers and grandmothers parted i their hair down the centre and banded it smoothly on either side of the face, much as we are beginning to do ; it now, but we do not twirl it rcund the ear as they did then. The panniers of to-day and of old days are so wide apart, they have but little in corn- : mon. The pannier has developed into ■ a polonaise set in small peats at the I waist, and descending to the hem of | the skirt; gauze chiffon, and the like are the materials empoyed in front. It is finished with the selvedge or a narrow niching. It is a mode that reuires dignity and repose, the tunic . which resolves itself into a skirt joined j cross with a contrasting material, is a very greatly accepted style. Satin atop, chiffon or ninon below, is often the interpretation. Black and white is very much in vogue, and will remain [ so. Diamanteis the great feature of . Court and evening dresses. They are strung so that they can edge sleeves, and folds. They figure on lace and all thin stuffs, and play a most important part in the wonderful embroideries. Seed pearls mingle with diamante. They are congregated together so that they form a’bold flower, ; accentuated by fine silver or gold threads. Bordered materials are the thing for day as well as evening wear, and certainly the printed flower borders in wonderful colorings are alto- : getlier marvellous. '■ Hats.—The truth is, the fashionable woman has not such a plethora of , choice as the multitude. Look at any of the inmates of a motor-bus, and - you will find that there are not two alike. Somo wear a miniature tall hat made on the manly model. Others have taken the chimney not, made the crown shallower at the back than the front, and added a narrow upturned brim. Pretty girls will hide their faces by a sort of turban that descends below the eyebrows, and lias an upturned battlemented brim and feathers behind anywhere, in fact, but where a feather usevl to bo. - Some wear a Dutch bonnet of silk with no stiffening turning hack from the face. When this is made of soft brown satin, the color of the hat, it looks as if the wearer had forgotten her headgear altogether. Enormous hats have veils, carefully adjusted, so that the face seems to be susnended in a hammock, even the übiquitous sailor, has yielded to the cheap tunnel-shaped straws to be bought for a few pence. But the dame elegante has to choose with greater care. _ She can only permit herself to be bizarre “with a difference,” and there are sufficient shapes to get one to suit her if it so pleases her. So much in a hat depends on the way it is nut on, and the hat of to-day needs much adjustment. There is hardly a hat worn now with, which you could forego a veil. The collapsible hat will be a boon for travelling, for it can be packed anyhow, and takes little space. Such shapes should, bq made essential for wearing at matinees and public meetings, which ladies frequent. They can be made of straw, and are simply trimmed. They hailed from Paris two years ago, and were first made of felt, with Alercury wings, but they have only been received into favor this spring. The tricorn shape finds great acceptance. They have an element in them which makes the woman who wears them distinguished. The latest form of them shows hardly any hair at the back. The taffeta hat does not seem to have taken on at all, but the fabric is much used for bows, puffed crowns, and millinery trimming generally. Tagel straw holds its own, and much ecru straw is to be seen and blue trimmings upon them develop a latent charm. _ Short coats are shot in the same mixture. Some Sashes. Sashes are as much to the fore,as ever, though in a diversity of styles. A pretty black ninon was printed with gold and silver fish at the ends, and passed through a charming black 1 -enamel and. gold buckle; or was it a of old pinchbeck inlay on black papiermache? One original, if) hardly becoming, ceinture merely confined the gown in the centre of the waist in front, and then drooped on each side to hold in place the slight panniers, tying in a bow low down at the back. A delightful evening sash was of several shades of pale tulle, forming an opalescent effect, deeply fringed with seed pearls in several hues. . Shaded ninon makes an attractive sash, a white frock of smart but simple detail being finished off. with. a lovely ninon sash, (or scarf), shading from white through banana to golden maize. The original black hat was trimmed with actual cobs of Indian maize, veiled in black tulle.