Ladies' Column

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 356, 5 March 1903, Page 2

Ladies' Column

FASHION A.ND THINGS V FEMININE. MISS ADA MELLEB TWO SMART BLOUSES. OTKHEEE are comparatively few househa/Ag dresses nowadays whereof the M& bodioes are not made blouse fashion, no matter whether the material of the b >dice matches the skirt or not. The two suggestions for blouses whfch I am showing in the accompanying sketch should be carried out in harmony with the aiiirfcs, so far as colouring is enoerned. The one blouse illustrates the revival of the i box pleat, to whicY I alluded above. The design is novel and very becoming to the figure, and I wutld suggest that the blouse be made of the same material as the skirt in order that the;, toilette may be seen at its best. Cashmere, woollen, crepoline, cloth, fonle, or some such material would be seasonable and soft wearing, and the colour might, for choice, rest with either li%ht cocoa or old rose. The three bos pleats, which are arrange 3 on the blouse

at becomin : intervals, are stitch id near the edges, and the centre plait is stuided with small enamel buttons, which might really be used as fastenings, or be merely decoiatice, in which latter casso the blouse would fasten invisibly with h.oks and loops beneath the pleat. The seall pod yoke is intended to be of embroidered or pierced cl th, crepolin > or whitevor material the bluuse is composed of, and fastens on the left shoulder. A very smart effect is gained by cutting the •collar-band and yoke in one. Toe sleevei are gathered into embroidered cuffs, and the waist into a pointed belt. The other blouse is an excellent design for velveteen, and would work out with good effect in moss green, with yoke, collar, braces and cuffs of coffee-tinted guipure. . A SIMPLE DRESSING-GOWN. Extreme simplicity is the key-note of the dressing-gown which forms the subject of my third sketch this week, simplicity which, if too severe, could easily be remedied by the addition of lace at the edge of collar and bell-sleeves. As it is, the gown is plainly sti'ched, its only ornament being a bunch of ribbons. Having regard to washing purposes, fhnnel is as good as any material for a

dressinar gown, and cherry colour or pink is usually becoming for the purpose of the gown. A plain,; self-coloured flannel is very much more uncommon than a fancysurface material j but pattern orao pattern ■is, cf course, purely a matter for personal taste to decide. The gown is made with a Watteau pleat and loose fronts. ... HINTS ON EENOVATIN& Palerinea of lace play useful paits in smartening up bodices that are demode, and save a good deal of time in" averting the necessity of unpicking and altering. The addition of a bolero of lace or stouter material is also a means of refreshing a soft silk blouse that is the worst for wear. When the days get cooler a velvet bolero would be smart, and a pretty way to make it would ba with elbow aletves and Cavalier cuffs, a turn-down collar bordered with guipure, and rounded f rents to the bolero itself, which latter should terminate four or five inches short of the waist and be frilled all round with lace, similar frills falling from the Cavalier cuffs. Further, I suggest that the bolero be doublebreasted, the left front edge thereby taking a becoming sweep across the figure, and being frilled, of course, with lace. An additional improvement might come from three ornamental buttons, .supposedly fastening the bolero, and the collar, I should add, ought to be cut rather low in the neck, so that a few folds of silk continued from the blouse are seen beyond the collar. An Eton coat era blouse that is rather tight, or of which the material has split, can be fashionably renovated by being cut up here and there, and laced across with tagged laces. Evening bod ices for young girls may be advantageously completed at neck by a simple berthe of laoe, or by a lace flounce headed by a wreath of roses. •" ABOUT SKIRTS. Skirts are fussy and full round the bottom, the flow being accentuated—by those who have a fancy for it—by means of small .vandyked frills, set all round the skirt at the hem.. Other skirts are showinff nine gores, and fit neatly at the top. with a good, wide 'flow at the base, the flow being assisted by means of bojcpleats inserted in the seams below' the knees. The triple skirt is not much worn, but it is useful, sometimes, for evening occasions, each flounce being edged with guipure, and the effect thereby being light and pretty. The new lace trimming, designed in the form of wreaths of foliage united one-to another, is the prettiest of ornaments for the! hem of a plain evening sHrt and for Empire gowns.