Paris in the Mirror Written for "The Post" by Germalne.

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 32, 7 February 1931, Page 19

Paris in the Mirror Written for "The Post" by Germalne.

PARIS, lOth'December. ' We havo'often wondored why dressmakers eschew all viyid*c'olaur schemes from their 'salons, and 'wliy . the surroundings are almost invariably in soothing tones of grey or beige, with, perhaps, for a foil, delicate shades of blue or pink, subtly introduced. It is not only because any scheme of pronounced colours would quickly become monotonous^ but because, being psychologists as well as artists, dressmakers realise that a background which induces rest and calm is essential if clients are to enjoy their jvisita. We all know of rooms in which we feel more alive and full of vitality, of. other rooms, in which, after five minutes,;we feel thoroughly depressed, and of others in which we are utterly unable to concentrate. The secret'lies in the'colour scheme. Temperamental people, for example, find red too stimulating, and as for lavish quantities of black—too much of it is as bad as too much colour. If you roust .wear, black, you will find it amus-

ing to wear a dash/of vivid colour with it, but. carefully,, please. You will need to study your own colouring before,you try. • ; •..:.: ■, . '.■'. ''.'vi ./ . -•■" ':'' Although there ;is a tremendous amount of black; seen in' Paris it'is in nearly every instance combined with another shade, either white or pastel tints. THE GENERAL OUTLINE. . Just now every sinart'woniaii is going to sec her dressmaker and find out what is to be worn during the coining winter. Here,?are a few facts which may be of use to my readers :— Skirts are lengthened to a moderate extent, the silhouette well balanced. Corsages wijl have high waists, but these not exaggerated. Here and there there's a pleasant surprise in the form of short sleeves for the afternoon, worn with long gloves in shades to match the,dresses. ':: . , ,':.

Small boleros seem to be very popular this season. No doubt some exotic influence has been brought to bear on tho designers, and it: must be admitted that a bolero effect on a. dress or coat can bo quite smart.Tunic effects are to be observed in afternoon frocks. The blouses worn with tailor-mades are enriched with numerous details, such as open-work, small pleats, insertions, and decoupees, in which sobriety and Parisian chic arc cleverly combined. Sleeves are of all kinds, angel sleeves, shirt-waist sleeves, puffed sleeves, and no sleeves at all, but the sleeve is the long and narrow one put on in a special way and fitting the arm like a glove. Godot effects and stiff pleats help to give "fullness at the bottom of tho Plain materials, and those with very small patterns, are taking the placo of the large flowered patterns! Velvet is in great demand for all hours of the day. So is ,cloth, while handsome crepes enjoy.," a continued vogue. And then there are the georgines, the georgettes, the satins, and, of course, the crepe de chines. THE POPXJLAKITY OF LACE.. The styles of the new season once more give proof of the high place held by lace in the list 'of feminine adornments. Plain fabrics have taken the place of printed kindsi but,we are ac-, customed to'flowers and foliage, and branches, and everything that reminds us.of Nature's grace and beauty. Only lace can call up such visions, and the result is that lace is selected before anything else for insertions on plain materials, and is put on almost -every part of the dress to increase its effect. ,We find lace on afternoon ensembles, and lace on evening- dresses. Itinay be black —the caprice, of the moment—or blonde, or inother-o'-pearLor pale, like running water, or blue, like a .spring sky... In whatever forms, we always like it and want it, because-it is-a familiar leit-motif, always suitable as an addition to a smart woman's toilette. ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. There are always artificial flowers in blossom somewhere. The roses of our grandmothers have faded. And instead of roses under a glass Case, you have a branch of an apple tree in a pot, each calyx an electric light in the midst of its shell petals. The Rue de la Paix is a mass of artificial flowers in window boxes. These flowers—they have become a little common now, it is truelook very bright and very beautiful, they last well, and are easily washed. How convenient! And it is not only of flowers that this is so true. How1 mui-H moie "easily washed" mtificial children would be than real ones. How I much more "(attractive to the eye", waxed hubbands be than many real ones—never in the way, and always so exquisitely dressed. And ,yel, all things considered, we prefer husbands and children to lie real. And why not real flowers, too? Admittedly, they are absurdly dolicate. They are born and : blossom, and then wither and die—but so do we ourselves.. Does this vogue for artificial flowers come from a love of imitations, or from a, love of flowers? Certainly many people do love imitations for their own sake., They will like a wax rose, because it is so cleverly done. They like to be taken in by artificial pearls, simply they don't know how it's done. No one was ever deceived into thinking that the silk, velvet, and lame | flowers we put about our persons were I Teal. They, were not such perfect imitations that we were astonished at the cleverness of them. " - ( The truth, I think, is that there is much less real love of flowers than most people imagiuo in others and profess to feel themselves. But the love of flowers is one of the permanent conventions of life. Not to love flowers would be considered an extraordinary1 lack of taste. And so they go on blooming everywhere, on our shoulders, peeping under the brims' of our hats, tucked into the lapels of our coats—you never I know where they will blossom next.