FASHION'S QUEER TERMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 834, 4 June 1910, Page 10

FASHION'S QUEER TERMS.

A masculine correspondent writes to a Melbourne paper:—"l bad recently the fortitude to accompany some of my feminine friends on a shopping expedition, and before I became , . hopelessly entangled in tho 'shibboleth of dress what struck me was tho stupendous number of words which, though pronounced with a very English accent, wero unmistakably French. Here are a few of them:—Ruche, paillette, cabochon, jabot, lingerie, rauat, motif, rovers, chop, passementerie, and tho oftrecurring 'chic' The majority of these cruelly disfigured terms described materials, moire, foulard, merveilleux, mousseline do soie, taffetas, ohilrmeuso (almost always pronounced 'charmoose'), tulle (made to rhyme with jewel), and the dear little word 'chiffon.. Will anyone exactly explain to mere man what is meant by 'zephyr' when applied to texture, crash, crepuscle, hopsack, or pineapple cloth? And what may a fishwife tunic be, or a Magyar blouse, or a boat-shaped turban with rolling sides?' Truly some of the terms were picturesque enough. Tussore, Shantung, and crepe do clime particularly pleased me, but my investigations overwhelmed me when I camo to the new colours. I found burnt bread, earth of Egypt,' ashes of roses, meteor green, comet giey,' aviation blue, rain blue, lichen green, cherry brandy red, and autumn purple on every side. And yet my women friends recognised and understood without any explanation all theso complex names."

The winter is coming, with its alternating bleakness and humidity, its wind and pelting rain—all the things and influences that try the. complexion so severely. Have you thought of that? Are you content to go on just anyhow, letting Hie weather do its worst vith one of your dearest possessions—your comeliness? If yon are not, the remedy is ready to your hand. Mrs.-Arthur Stannard found it after years of searching, and its world-wide popularity has given her a second fame. Lakshmi, tho infallible Indian skin-lotion, perfectly harmless, perfectly wholesome, perfectly efficacious, in bottles, of all good dealers in toilet requisites, 3s. Cd.; or post free from the John Strange Winter Company, Wellington, Us. 9d. For golfers, and ail women who are much in the open, Latehiiii hns proved itself ait absolute necessity of the toilet. It proves itself on one trial. -Advt. Ladies' Costumes aro made nt the English Tailoring Booms, 52 Willis Street. 'I'hosu who have been gowned by Mr. W. S Bedford, continually advertise him. -Advt.