Ladies' Colume.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 406, 18 February 1904, Page 2

Ladies' Colume.

FASHION AND THIN.G? - -FEMMNF' "\ ; Bt MISS ADI MELLEB^ COSTUME WITH KNITTED BIiOUSE. JKfIjKHE tourist and cyclist, are rejoicing mWm in the smartness and comfort %gkn ifforded by the knitted-wool blouses and Bussian coats that are among the newest features of outdoor attire. They are cosy delightful things, that, according to the colour in which they are chosen, are practically invulnerable to Eoil or dsinty-looking. For instance there is the womanlike knittted blouse of

in,,.,. ~.,"„, i',t' T'ai-i 1 ."— ■——«» JBavy«blue wool, or brown wool,'. Oat diflis "weitner, and the J , little ooafc of cream-coloured serge or darker material with oharn^g^iteßultß.. iftsimplJß ooßtume *hat the oyolißt-'fwffl • in this oolum* ; f KtiMMifr4)l£ Bhorftp&ist of brown tweed, pWctothf knitted wool blouse to stitton, that ban Sfiel worn open-fronted "over a skirt or closed with buttons,* and worsted loops. Blouse and ekirt m&fcgg of course. bP'in dark, bright blujH preferred. Theskirtis quite BimpleJ?ip§fastens at the back. It ia mounted infer a yoke and arranged with fluted aeftttaj The wheelwoman and golf player would be particularly well suited with a dreesi-of this ki*d. The knitted coat is, n fact, a great deal more convenient to golf players than the cape that ia christened in honour of the game, for it leaves the arma petfeotly free, and the material is, of course, so elastic that it 'gives* with every' My?-

SASHES AND COULABS. The turn of ihe means a good deal of renovation in matters of the • wardrobe. -. New belts, new collars, , new fichus, ahdsb lorth will do wonders in bringing a demode dress up-to-date, - for it is the trifles that tell. The newest . everyday belt , a is of very shiny, coloured leather, aa brilliant aa a mirror, deep and rounded at the back and buckled in front. Smarter belts are Of v hid, Btudded,with coloured stones and beads; ThehighlyS Wished surface Of the new plain leather elt ia, it seems to me, hardly a becoming addition to the waist, duller aurfacea being preferable. Bashes' of Bilk with long ends are pretty and fashionable, and

have the pleasing knack of being very youthful-looking. Our group sketches this week shows several pretty things in the way- of Bashes and collars that are useful for renovating purposes. No. lis a guipure yoke and collar-band combined, trimmed with narrow black velvet ribbon} and lower down, in No. 11, is a pretty filling-in of lace and velvet, that might be worn with a low-cut dress or one high to the heck, No. 8. is a stock-tie of embroidered! open-work Indian muslin, the ends falling stole-fashion j and No. 6 is a transparent collar of fine black or white lace with jewelled slides, to be worn with" a decollete evening dress. In* Nob. 2, 10, and 12, we have some smart little ties and bibsof fancy lawn. No, 2 having a

turn-over collar of either lace or embroidery, No. 10 being of white lawn with a checked border in pale blue and white,. and No. 12 is delicately embroidered in "red. The remaining sketches show some pretty notions in glace silk sashes. No. 8 is Swiss-shaped and finished with baEquetabs and tassels; No. 4 shows a fringed and knotted sash inlet with lace medal* lions at the tips j No. 5 is a coquille sash, ruched at the edge; No. 7 is a simple corselet sash, with long, scalloped ends, trimmed with little ruches, and held at the top with a fancy ornament; and iftr No. 9 is pictured a fancy sash of chine | glace with dahlia rosettes and silk tassels;

A CONTBIST. The way In which we wear our laoe collars today contrasts oddly with the vogue of Queen Elizabeth's day, when, as now, lace. collars were, of course, indispensable to feminine drees. Then, however/the collar must needs be starohed and stiffened or wired and propped until ic stood erect to the height of the head, whereas to-day's collar lies low, and flat. In the reign of Elizabeth, when umbrellas were .not need, the satirists, we are told, delighted in seeing ladies caught in a shower, * for then their great ruffles strike sayle. and flatter like dishecloutes about the necks of the wearers.' The starch used for stiffening ruffs varied in colour according to the taste of the wearer. Yellow was the most fashionable tint;, axd Mrs. .-Anne Turner, who was executed for poisoning Sir Thomas Overbuy, and was a atarcher of ruffs, always patronised the fashion as long as she Was able, -and even I appeared on the gallows in a raffle of the , approved colour. Thereafter yellow utaroh was* banished from the toilet of the fair, and high ruffs or 'pillars of pride,' as they were called, began to drop away from fashion. Queen Elisabeth's time was, of course, a notorious period of dress, when the Queen herself had more than two thousand dresses in her wardrobe, and ladies every day wore their scented gloves and expensive brocades and embroideries, and their velvet/masks, and earned mirrors at their girdles wherever they went, while in their hair were hung gold and silver ornaments, pearls, and. other gewgaws. The, fashionable colour for (the hair at that, time was red, like Elisabeth's, or yellow. 0! v. j *