FASHION HINTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2547, 23 August 1915, Page 3

FASHION HINTS

Some time ago the fashion journals were filled with terrifying prophecies concerning the radical changes which dress was to undergo', states a Melbourne writer. . However, Frenchwomen'a,nd Englishwomen, met this move with passive resistance, and a glance at tlie spring costumes in tho Melbourne shop windows is enough to show us that we shall not have tho difficulty, which some of us anticipated, in getting clothes that retain many of the good features of those we lia-ve grown used to during t-iie last few seasons. It is true that skirts arc somewhat wider. But wo had somewhat overdone tho excellent quality of narrowness in skirts, and shall probably be glad to have just a little extra widtli. Some shoppers are already protesting against anything more than a little extra width, and some of those wiio are buying ready-made spring suits are having some of the fullness taken out, so that tho skirt becomes very like one of last season's skirts. Loose coats will still be much worn, though many women will no doubt abandon them for the new coatees reaching only to the waist, of which some becoming examples in gaberdine are to be seen at tlie spring shows. The chief novelty that strikes one on looking at the new materials—particularly the cottoa materials—is the dearth of- colour. White materials are there in abundance; materials with broad stripes of white and black and white and dark blue and prominent; greys aro displayed in profusion. But where are the daringly brilliant colours? Where are tho innumerable rich, but delioate, shades that made our shops gay and bright every spring? The aniline dyes which produced these varied colours are, as wo all know, imprisoned in Germany till the end of tho war. In any case, even if British and Frendk manufacturers had already provided substitutes in abundance for Gorman dyes, it is doubtful whether we should feel much inclination to clothe ourselves in bright raiment at the present moment. It is primarily a deep human instinct, and not simply mere convention, that has led most races to adopt sombre colours as a token of mourning. It is the same instinct that makes the .young girl who last year delighted in vivid hues now choose neutral tints. Showy colours and startling styles that would last year have passed unnoticed on Tlie Block now strike a jarrina note, and cause other women to say of the wearer: "It is clear that she lias sent no relatives to the front." So most of Us will probably dress in inconspicuous shades this season. But that need not mean that' our streets will present a dowdy aspect. On the contrary, judged by the standard of the Frenchwoman and of the educated Englishwoman, we shall probably look better, because more simply, dressed than we have for some years past. .