Ladies' Column.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 440, 1 September 1904, Page 2

Ladies' Column.

LATEST LONDON AND PARIS FASHIONS. 3y MISS IDA MELLER.

[All Eights Reserved.]

THE voices of wise people, who see folly in carrying the dress craze to the pitch of extravagance that it reaches in certain circles, are ever and anon raised in protest against the woman of fashion who carries fortunes on her back and overloads her person with an excess of needle-work, embroideries, costly silks and jewels, ill her ambition to eclipse her friends in the matter of dress and create a striking success by her personal appearance wherever she goes The 'adulation to overdress certainly appears to be on the increase; but t seems to me the customer is hardly so culpable as the dressmaker or fashionmaker, who pushes forward the most extravagant modes and makes it almost a necessity for the woman moving in smart J social circles to keep up with the' wilder whims of fashion if she. is to hold her own against competitive frocks. Women follow fashion like a flock of sheep, and so long as expensive trimmings, created from- such things as pearls and other gems, fine laco, gold and silver, etc., are put before them for the decoration of their gowns, they will buy them and wear them. It is assuredly the trimmings that mount up the cost of a dress to-day. The lavish way in which garnitures are applied to frocks for all occasions, swell the dressmaker's bill to an alarming extent. Moreover, the needlework put 'into the creation of a fashionable toilette is prolific. Quantities of the finest possible tucks, the lines of which are broken up ad lib. by insertions of lace medallions of various sizes and shapes; ribbon and chenille embroideries; strappings; ruchings ; superimpositions of one material upon another ; fringes ; paillettes, and motifs—all these- embellishments may go to trim one dress alone. The way in which blouses and skirts are inlet and cut about and put together is marvellous, while the amount of material that some of the more elaborate frocks consume in accordion-pleated frills and ruchings alone would, if known, surprise even those prepared for generous measurements. Frills are not sufficient in themselves; they must be bordered with bands of thick ruching, and an unlimited quantity of material can be put into the rtichings now that it is -fashionable for skirts to flow out yery wide and full at the

foot. It is easy to see quickly a.,*', woman may be led into extravagance in matters of the wardrobe while suck strong inducements are offered her on every. Bide to spend freely. The cajoling dressmaker knows exactly the sartorial weaknesses of i her best clients, and takes care to feed v • them with the most tempting bait. It is \\ regrettable, nay, deplorable, when fashion runs to the excess observable in certain circles to-day, and one can only think with a sigh, ' The pity of it.' A TOILETTE FoTsOCIALiEYEjIINGS >. / A stand by skirt that will accommodate itsolf agreeably to various blouses, and to day and evening wear, is a thing that . almost every woman among the middleclasses finds practically indisponsablo. It goes without saying that a skirt for. this purpose must be black. Whether it be of silk, poplin, satin or voile is immaterial. The skirt of soft fcaffeta-silk or of wool satin is a general favourito, and might, possibly, bo preferred. Very useful, also, for wearing on occasions, is a lace or net coffee sacque, tea-coat, or blouse—something that is fairly dressy, but not too much so, and has a certain smartness that renders it useful for demi-toilette purposes, theatres, little dinners, social, evenings, and so on. An idea of a> toilette on the utility lines

suggested may be gathered from a glance at our illustration, which shows a tucked ~ skirt of black satin or taffeta silk and a prttty negligee blouse of light lace and chiffon. The lace is arranged almost as a fichu, with the upper part composed of flat bands of insertion following "the shape of the figure, while a frill of lace attached to the outer edge almost entirely covers up tho chiffon blouse beneath. The sleeves are of chiffon, and little knots of velvet trim the blouse here and there with much effectiveness ; and this reminds me that a touch of black velvet on light lace has a tremendous power for good. It costs little, but has a great effect on the tout ensemble and is worth remembering. French dressmakers are never tired of introducing a note of black on light backgrounds.

TOQUES YERSUS BOJ<J<ETS, There is no great run on bonnets, albeit milliners are showing some pretty things in this way among their new modes. Thero may be very little difference, between a toque and a bonnet, on occasions, but (£?*""' difference there remains all the same, and it rests chiefly on a certain primness belonging to a bonnet that the toque is guiltless of. As the modern woman objects to primness in dress, more especially in millinery, because, possibly, it signifies or suggests a certain maturity of years; she avoids the bonnet and adopts the toque. Perhaps as the season ripens the demand for bonnets may increase, but at present toques are having it all their own way. There .is nothing of an ageing influence about the character .of a toque, with its all-round upturned brim, but the coronet bonnet is somehow rather inclined to suggest the dowager—no doubt from early associations, when, before tho advent of the toque, we had practically only two types of head-hear—hats for tho young, bonnets for the elderly. One of the smartest little bonnets that a French milliner is showing is of light, cream-coloured straw packed round the crown with pink banksia roses and arranged with a cachepeigne of rose-foliage at the back, while the coronet brim is decorated with little straw bobs and straw-embroidered tulle set here and there with jet paillettes, and a drapery of lace trims the bonnet, besides, and softens the outline of the brim. ~

A CHILD'S FRENCH FROCK. The two favourite modes for little girls are the overall frock, hanging simply from a yoke, and the long-waisted French froek with a sash across the hips. The accompanying sketch of a French frock shows a pretty style for little girls of from six to ten years of age. ■ The frock might be copied in cashmere or sergo, and works out effectively in poppy-rod, reseda green

pastel-blue, and in pink, also in brown, the collar and!cuffs being.of white'or ivory cambric embroidered in butter-colour or pale brown, j A red silk sash looks well with a brown frock and brown-embroidpred collar, and composed in this way the frock is smart for outdoor wear. The bodice is box-pleated, and is attached to the skirt beneath the sash, so that it is really an all-in-one frock.