PARIS IN THE MIRROR

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 132, 30 November 1929, Page 23

PARIS IN THE MIRROR

(Written for "The Post" by "Gerniaine.")

PARIS, 3rd October.

One of the favourite sports of the Parisienne in autumn is footing in the Bois de Boulogne. It combines the innocent delight of activity in. the open air observing the horsemanship of the excellent horsewomen, and the mishaps of those not quite so excellent. It leads also, quite logically, to such pastoral pleasures as feeding the ducks or walking the dog, and the more urbane pleasure of seeing what the other women are wearing. As this last is one of tho principal pastimes of most devotees of the Bois, it behoves every woman to think of sports suits —walking suits more particularly. The good tweed suits with classically tailored jacket and a wrapover and gored or pleated skirt are worn with a nicely battered felt hat and low-heeled Oxfords by the woman who takes the athletic side of footing seriously. But by those who do not fear the figures on the scales, or the figures in the mirror, gayer ' costumes are often worn. Two colourful sports dresses were seen yesterday worn by two smart Parisian sisters. One" was ,of dark navy blue wool crepe, the

sweater being of wool, with red and navy blue stripes running diagonally on a natural ground. The other was in bright canary yellow, the fabric a soft wool. The blouso was appliqued with strips of satin, making a great textural difference, though they were also of canary yellow. The coat which accompanied this little suit buttoned over the hips. THE CAPE COMES BACK. One fashion noticed among theautumn collections is that of the cape. It is such a becoming accessory to a dress that its reappearance is not surprising. It is two or three years ago since wo wore these little detachablecapes at the back. This season the idea is the same, but since dressmakers boast that they never repeat themselves, the materials and cut are slightly different. There is certainly something very distinguee about a cape. Its straight folds from the shoulder give a stout woman grace and line, and emphasise a slim figure. "When the chilly days come these capes will be ideal for flinging round the shoulders at the dansants, when resting from dancing. They are extremely easy to make at home, and for the, girl who has to spend carefully, crepe de chine or wool crepe de chine are a useful medium for this purpose. To be really smart, these little capes ought to be in black. STAKTLING- EVENING- MODELS. The back is still important, whether in hats or gowns, this autumn. As far as dresses go, especially evening dresses, many designers seem to have concentrated almost entirely on the back of them. Decolletees, for example, are sometimes far more interesting when the mannequin is walking away from you, for it is then seen how different a gown can look when viewed from behind. Frocks cut almost to the waist have been seen frequently, but that fact alone, was not sufficient from the dressmaker's point of view. No, there was often an additional touch, giving the back a far more important air than the front, which was often quite plain. Every couturiere of note has introduced something fresh in this way to his or her evening models. Many of these new gowns are difficult to wear. Colour schemes are an important item in the new collections, and some exquisite tints have been introduced—tints so pale as almost to give the impression of being faded. The results, however, are really charming. BELTS AND WAISTLINE. Belts are much more important than for many years past. There are belts drawn in as close about the middle as the modern figure will permit comfortably. There are also belts that suspend themselves just above the hip bones. In most cases they are wide enough to deserve notice, and their colour as well as their size makes for attention, for usually they are of leather and very often of a colour much darker or much lighter, or much more brilliant than the frock, on which they are worn. There are belts which seem to suspend a separate skirt over a shirt worn inside it. There are others that

catch a one-piece dress into a distinctively feminine figure. And.there are also important belts that buckle firmly about the hips. .