NEW DRESS MATERIALS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 9, 5 October 1907, Page 3

NEW DRESS MATERIALS.

During the next few weeks, unless a series of southerly gales come to delay the warm weather indefinitely, most women will be, selecting their summer frocks, so that-a few notes ,° n yhaMs being shown in tho best Wellington shops-may he of interest... SICILIANS. MOHAIRS, AND .. BRILLIANTS. , ,- These,materials, which will:be very much worn, are , all more or loss : :glorified versions of the old .wellknown, alpaca so dear to the heart of '.the.thrifty housewife. One might say that alpaca has been Burbanked' into a beauty of texture, and colouring as- far removed from tho dull .''original as are the wonderful gardon blossoms which Bui-bank has produced from the insignificant .wild flowers in which he alone saw possi- : bihties. ' ', . ■.. The Sicilians are. the most useful of all, being well suited for hard woar or for best afternoon frocks. I hey are shown in plain colours, ■ranging, from the fashionable shades of brown and dark.green to the most delicate pastel shades, in. selfcoloured, materials where the stripe' is all in the weave,, and in'ordinary stripes,, fine hair stripes, or of various widths. The heavier makes are to be:very much used for tailorniadc costumes as well as for Eton. ; coats arid skirts. They are, used for dust-coats, especially in cream, and blue or green; for opera coats and for afternoon gowns.; Tho hair striped sicilians J in pale shades make ideal best frocks for school .girls, as'they look fresh and summery, and ' they wash, beautifully: In Sydney these a great deallast summer, and were found in, every.way 'much' ' more useful than cotton. As they can'be.made up without'linings they are as-cool as .cotton,' and it mu s t ■be .romembercd that a Sicilian never wears out. 'It may. tear;" aiid then it is difficult to mend, but otherwise the changing yeare work little harm to 'it. •; ■; ■ • r ',! ■■'. '• ' • ; Brilliants are more suits i>r dressy . gowns. _ They are. of a' softer and more silky toxturo. than the Sicilian, and are only shown in plain colours. ' In. pastel shades they aro very beautiful. ' A really new material is tho tennis-striped mohair in white with far apart hair lines of green, blue or pink, just liko the ordinary 'tennis blousing. This is very stiff and firm, andmakes up well for coat and skirt costumes. .-'.,'■ ' TWEEDS AND WOOLLEN GOODS. V .In ( these materials grey effects are most fashionable, riot actual grey — that will not be much worn—but black and white striped materials with the stripes of all widths from narrow, lines to stripes as wide as those on verandah ' /f\ ■.blinds. Thcßentinck tweeds, \< dear to the girlish hearts of our f I mothers, are in again, and if -k these ladies had been careful to preserve the old striped costumes in which they so often choso.to be photographed, their daughters could be- fashionable to-day at littlo cost. Theso'tweeds wore so fashioriablo in London during the early part of the season that they might'almost have been ; callcd. the London uniform. • . A now flannel-like material stuff called llama' is woven in the Bentinck designs. , It makes : very useful Eton costumes and has the merit of being less expensive than, tweed. Voile ■ under that name is, not in favour this year. Dressmakers have found that it is difficult to, make up, and not very satisfactory when ; made, but there is any variety of vpile-likq materials, marquisettes, eoliennes, and crystallines. . ■; Nearly, all 'of these aro striped, and even the .very' flimsiest; materials show a faint stripe, iii the texture. They aro to bo had "in exquisite shades, and at almost any'price. COTTON MATERIALS. Here ag*in everything is striped, andj if . that were possible,, more striped than other materials... Few floral designs are to be seen, no checks or spots, but everywhere stripes, plain stripes, stripes with littlo ornamentation on them, ,or broken stripes. There arc all varieties of cambrics, galateas of softer 'texture than have hitherto been known,, suitable for- summer, . suitable for summer Eton costumes, fine stripes, lar,-ns (theso are very pretty and inexpensive). Striped cotton "voiles arc very much to the foro this season. They aro-psriiaps tho.most useful of tho thin cotton fabrics as they do not crush as easily as muslins or linens; they wash.well and aro easily laundered. ' They are shown in narrow and in very wide- stripes, but it is not easy to get a very dark stripe in cotton voile. The prettiest though not the most economical fashion in which to mako up those verandah blind stripes i 3 to pleat tho skirt in such a way that as much of the colour and as littlo as possiblo of the he scon. Mercerised muslins-in delicate 1 shades aro to be very popular, as are tho more ■ expensive silk muslins or radiants. • SILKS. Here checks are to be allowed, and with tiny checks, or very fine stripes, chiffon taffetas will be the favourite r/ear.. Shantungs or dyed tussores (there is a difference, but it is hard to say what) have been very much wornat Home either for dust-coats, tailormades, or dressy frocks, but they do not wear as well as chiffon taffetas-, and are very apt to look rough after a little while. When they first came out they were only to be had in harsh metallic shades, but this season they are shown in. all the delicate pastel shades as well.

domestic work. Providence intended women for domestic duties, and not tor tno arena of lite, and it should be possblo to make the ' domestic ■spliere attractive to educated girls. GOOD LISTENERS. The listening gift would bo taken by wise peoplo if thoy cpuld choose ono gut ■and one only. Good listeners are dearly loved; and thev need not al- • ways 'annoy themselves" either. One •gir i described to another how a man Had been siting patient and silent fornearly an hour while she told him how dever her now dog was, till tinally she praised him for always listening so well. "How do yon do it'-"' she asked. "Well, you sec," he said, early in lifo I discovered that''there is generally a lot of listening to be done if-one wants to be agreeable, so I trained myself to. listen with my face; as ■it were; smile at the right times; and so on, while with my mind I.reflect upon matters which interest me." "How rude!" exrjaimod the hearer, "Oh, well," said the girl, "he's-niy brother." THE BARGAIN COUNTER IN JAPAN. The bargain counter has invaded Japan, but it does not give rise to the kind cf scrimmages we read of in 'American stories and sketches. The goods are placed in locked cases, and the heads of departments keep - the keys. Remnants only are laid on mats, but there is no scrambling for them, and fabrics aro perfectly safo iu their neighbourhood. But the shop.lifter flourishes just as she does in other lands, the Kimono slec.-e being a handy : receptacle for unconsidered trifles. Detectives are said to be quite necessary in Japanese stores. WOMEN WORKERS. According to the London "Daily Telegraph," the census returns of the united; States show that ono out of every live American women is a breadwinner. The pusuits followed by women wage-carnors demonstrate the enterprising spirit of tho nation, for in New York about the only occupation that women were not reported to bo engaged in were naval and military services and the city firo department. Two women were classed as tram drivers, and one claimed that for purposes of detection sho had acted as a car conductor for some weeks. Pivo women wero pilots, ten worked in the railway service as baggage "men,}' thirty-one as brakemen, seven as , conductors,. forty-five as switchman, seven as.conductors, fortyonginecrs and firemen, twenty-

FUSSY WEDDINGS. Though there is stiJl n good deal of frippery and. fuss- attached'-to many .-weddings, what numbers of voiing couples, are going, in for the simple style (writes an Australian paper). In this, if they happen to be not overblessed with worldly goods,' they show their sense. The, bride's family is not crippled with tho.expense of the wedding for years (as is often tho case after a grand' wedding). There are no shocking bills to be paid, or, more probably, debts to accumulate, after the honeymoon. Things are easier all round. | The bride's father will often be gad enough to give the youn.r people n start in life with a nice! acceptable cheque (and, if ho isn't,' he might to be). Sensible girls, provided tlioy are not marrying millionaires (and which of us is likely to have that' chance?), prefer the money to the tnl s the feathers, and the fizz. A weeding dress is a charming thing, dear to tho heart of all women. Even' girl would like- to have a weddingdress, since (as a rule) one's only married once in a lifetime. But the expense of the ceremony increases amazingly if a wedding-dress is decided upon. -The bridal bouquet, veil, and wreath, lace petticoat, silk stockings, satin shoes, long gloves, etc., are .costly, but necessary adjuncts (frequently quite usolcss afterwards), liion •bridesmaids ahvavs go with a wedding-dress,-and each -bridesmaid .means a bangle and a bouquet from tho burdened bridegroom. The majority of young men in these days have'little enough wherewith- to buy housefurmshings, so it is hardly fair to expect them to endow nalf-a-dozen ■ unknown girl-friends ,of the beloved with expensive gifts. Carriages, marquees, and caterers run into a lot of money, therefore Edwin and Angelina do well to abandon all idea of a "circus" when they get married. Presents, that mighty consideration, will come in from true friends all the same. DEBUTANTES OF TWENTY-FIVE. Each year sees the debutante a little older, and the only available dancing man a little younger. \ s ' -things are progressing, it mav be expected that in a few years tho girl of 25 will bo dancing in the debutante set with a partner of 15. The -extraordinary juvenility of the typo of young man who nowadays goes to dances (says "Viola" in the "Argus") has a great deal to do with the small number of private balls given. Twenty years ago stately dances were a recognised form of entertainment, and no