FASHION NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 45, 22 February 1905, Page 11

FASHION NOTES.

Among the graceful for

rammer costumes •which came in "with 1 the IS3O fashions, none have been more ■ eagerly -welcomed than half-3leeves. i chemisettes and tuckers. By the use - 1 of these the home dressmaker can do ' much with a limited wardrobe. , The most, suitable tuckers and half- 1 sleeves for linen dresses are those i made from finely-plaited lawn, edged with "Valenciennes or Oriental lace. ' Sometimes insertion is also used above . the hem, but the general effect sug- i gests that the dainty accessories -will ; wash beautifully. For voile and canvas frocks, nets of every description are desirable for half- : sleeves. They come in pure ■white", ' cream, and ecru or natural colour, with j laces to match. Finely tucked and i accordion-plaited Brussels net or point | d'esprifc are most popular and clean j beautifully. Both Valenciennes and fine j Torchon laces are used for edging the net. The frock of summer silk or mousseline requires a tucker and halfsleeves of repousse lace, a net top with graduated dots. Plain or appliqued chiffon is combined in dancing dresses with all-over lace or net. For surplice blouses laid in folds, a pretty contrast is afforded by a chemisette or vest of plain embroidery or ! lace, and a tight-fitting half-sleeve to I match the upper sleeve being made in a puff and edged with a flounce. The tucker and half-sleeves must be fitted as carefully as the blouse proper, and the junction of blouse and tucker must be concealed. When the blouse is made from transparent material, tucker and sleeves must be basted in. i Where the outer blouse is not trans- I parent, the tucker may be made on an abbreviated blouse pattern, which is cut off and hemmed just below the arm-hole. This keeps the tucker in

place. If tucker and half-sleeves are not fulled, but are made of tight-fitting allover , lace or embroidery, to be ■worn under an opaque material like linen and silk, it will pay to make them on a fine lawn blouse lining. The blouse then slips down over them, and no hooks or bastings are necessary to keep them

in place. Th«. 1903 styles are loose and- voluminous, but never untidy , . '" . The fancy for transparent effects

round the throat and shoulders is one I that holds & very firm place in. the affections of the smart dresser. There is simply no other scheme that is so universally becoming, nor that will lend a dressier effect at a more moderate cost than this yoke design. Usually, it is carried out in lace, and a chiffon lining is placed underneath, so that the appearance of the- lace is -very much softened, and looks quite richi Almost any kind of lace is used. There are the coarse laces, the Russian guipures, the Irish crochet, and others of a bold and striking design. The Italian filet laces, with their quaint figures, darned and interwoven on a square mesh, and the machine-made reproductions of real convent laces, are in high demand, while the fine meshes, ! the point de gaze, the point d'Alencon, and Mechlin are all in great request. The fashionable shades of orange and brown still continue but I would -warn the woman who- has not very much to spend against investing in much of the shade of orange. The colour, althoueh

, ~ . —c- -> ~->ig a delicious one in theory, is found trying in practice. There are very few complexions that can bear even a toueli of orange in either hat or bodice. Far better is it to have a really daintr brown costume, -with, if we -will, a brown hat to match; and then, if we must own the really fascinating touch of orange, let us add" it to our petticoat, keeping this of a fairly deep shade. Then add some little suggestion ' of orange to the bodice, such, for instance, as a lining to the coat and bodice. This, you see, will only give a suggestion of colour, as it will be seen now and then, and not be continually in sight. Then, if the hat must have some orange added—and I for one will not deny the charm of such a touch—see that the orange colouring is kept , well away from the face. The effect will be jost as good if it is seen at the back of -the hat only.

Another of the fashionable colourings is a deep claret shade—almost a puce, in fact. This tone, combined ■with mole colour or mousa colour, is particularly effective; while here the shades are very hard wearing and very becoming, and do not strike one so strongly as the orange tints, which are, to my mind. becoming almost common.