Riotous Shades Mixed In Paris This Spring

Press, Volume C, Issue 29506, 6 May 1961, Page 2

Riotous Shades Mixed In Paris This Spring

(By a Reuter Correspondent)

PARIS. Brilliantly coloured accessories go with the new fashions in the Paris spring collections. Handbags, gloves, shoes and costume trimmings mix riotous shades, outmoding monocromatic and carefuly matched effects. Suddenly it has become a fashion “faux pas” to wear accessories exactly matching or toning with the costume. Paris designers use colour in bold, dramatic strokes. They dare to combine such violent contrasts as turquoise and lime green, mustard and orange, or screaming pinks with emerald greens.

It takes greater courage to mix than to match; to wear a red hat with a pink dress, or to pin a giant bunch of shock purple grapes to the lapel of a sky blue suit. But a little ingenuity and imagination pays big fashion dividends this spring. One or two bright accessories can enhance several different costumes. Last year's ensemble can bloom beautifully again with a few new supporting “props” Paris has revived belts. Contrasting colours, media, and low-slung effects emerge in every major new collection Supple sashes made of soft glove leather circle the hipline, or flirtatiously disappear under folds of drapery at Pierre Cardin. Jacques Griffe features wide, patent leather belts slotted through the hemline of suit jackets. One of the newest effects is the asymetrical belt, cut to dip down on one side. At Christian Dior, these belts fasten on one hip with a casual loop or knot like a man’s necktie. Other houses fasten costume belts with big bows, trimmed with brightly coloured embroidery or dangling tassels. Lanvin and Balmain use “spaghetti” trimmed belts, fringed at the bottom with narrow loops of leather. Chanel favours wide, linked, gilt chains, interlaced with strips of the dress fabric. The trend towards shortsleeved coats and Sleeveless dresses automatically commands long gloves. Eighteenbutton lengths have stepped from the circle at the opera into the realm of casual street wear. Cardin likes brilliant, contrasting colours. Dior shows gloves in the

same tones but one shade deeper than the costume. Numberless little trimming ideas in the Paris collections can easily be adapted to any basic wardrobe. Couturiers favour massive carved and bejewelled buttons, braiding and piped trims, and fanciful buttonholes. Important novelty buttons are used singly on the shoulder or hipline to draw attention to sidewraps. At Nina Ricci, they come in chiselled or hammered copper, sometimes coyly half-hidden under a panel or drapery. Other buttons are made of horn, polished wood or bamboo, or are fashioned of coils of passementerie or clustered stones Castille of Lanvin makes a fetish of saucer-sized buttons made of braided string. Colourful monograms, cut out of contrasting toned fabric and appliqued on one shoulder revive the trimming signature of the 1920's at Ricci. Two or three initials are scrolled into a motif suggesting a Chinese symbol. The effect is especially smart in contrasts such as red or white on navy blue, repeated with a flat band of piping to edge the collarless neckline. Every couturier favours floral trimming. Flowers are used as buttonholes, tucked into necklines, or perched on the hipbone in the knot of a belt. Marc Bohan remains faithful to the traditional Dior flower; the lily of the valley. Madeleine de Rauch shows starched white pique flowers fastened to the revers of suits. Chanel and Ricci prefer red or white camelias. Pierre Cardin often replaced buttons by fruit or

flowers. He closes suit jackets with parma violets or a drooping spray of wisteria blossoms. Another Cardin trademark is seen in life-size bunches of grapes or cherries, lacquered every colour of the rainbow. Even stockings come in lively new shades, contributing to the over-all “new look” in colour. Dior launches Oriental tones with warm orange coats, featuring two new shades called “India” and "Annam.” Cardina mannequins wear pale pink stockings, while Ricci uses “Sap White” hosiery. Bright colours are reiterated in spring shoes and handbags. New tones launched by the French National Leather Council are a rosy beige and lemon yellow. Again contrasts are important, suggesting the practical plan of dark toned shoes complemented by pale, light toned handbags. Handbags in pastel colours of off-white shades can be worn equally well with either light or dark dresses. Hubert de Givenchy features most of his accessories in off-whnte shades, which are especially effective with coral and hot orange costume colours. EVENING SCENE The theme of the evening scene is the revival of romantic period accessories. Formal gowns are shown with long chiffon scarves in graded tones, tied round one wrist, and fluttering to the floor. Ricci shows large fans made of uncurled ostrich plumes, ofter matched with features garlanded round the hemline of the gown. Castille. of Lanvin, likes wide boas made entirely of ruched organdy or-flower petals. Griff e and Patou feature a rose theme. They use giant blooms measuring a foot in diameter with three-foot-long stems complete with thorns. These cabbage roses are attached at one side of the full length skirt and veiled under a layer of tulle or mousseline. Patou garlands ruched roses round the Bertha necklines of formal dresses.