NOTES FOR WOMEN.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 311, 12 November 1910, Page 6

NOTES FOR WOMEN.

I" Patricia '* will he pleased (ogive ad\Mcc to readers un all matters concerning dress, house-keeping, enqueue and the toilet. Write, giving pseudonym, care of this ofiice.]

Wellington, Tuesday. Dear Isobel,—Quite suddenly the summer seems to have arrived here, and many and various are the light dresses to be seen in consequence. Crepe cloth and linen with its numerous variations and imitations seems to be the principal fabrics for coats and skirts, but I have seen a few Shantung and charmeuse costumes. These being a kind of demi-saison clothes are neither all spririg-ey or all summer-ey, and the effect is a trifle mixed, and 1 have seen fine lace-trimmed muslins side by side with thick winter tweeds. Every woman seem s to have her own opinion of what the day will "be like later on," and dresses accordingly. I suppose some of thsm must be right in their own opinion but to a mere looker-on they certainly do not look it. A pretty style of dress for women, who like myself, do not feel cither properly dressed or happy in an ordinary blouse and skirt, is an adaption of the smart Russian coats that had a

considerable vogue during the winter months. The blouse is made plain or with a few widish tucks on the shoulders, opens at the left side cf the front, and has usually a square yoke. On to the waist of thi3 is joined a fairly long peplurn of the material. This look 3 smart if there are bands of a coloured or embroidered fabric used as an edging ail round the pc-pium and up to the shoulder cf the blouse. Bands of material cut on the bias are better and more economical than lace insertion or bought trimmings, and can be of either silk, satin, printed cambric cr linen, even a plain batiste makes a good firm banding on a light frock. I saw a pretty wearing dress of white linen in town recently made after this style. In this case the edging bands were of the dress material and in the lower corner of the pepium and en the upper corner of the blouse just below the small square yoke were medallions of crochet lace of a pretty triangular shape that exactly fitted into the places allotted to them. If the pepium is mad# 1 , fairly long it has the appearance of being a tunic skirt, and as overskirts and anything that looks like a double or tunic dres3 is so fashionable at present, I wond:r we do not see far more of these little Russian blouse costumes about. The Magyar lir.e3 still seem to carry all before them and nearly all the most elaborate frocks have the bodice cut in one piece with the sleeves. There are so many adaptions ar.d arrangements of this charming mcde that totally different effects can be obtained with practically the same design, and 3 et no one could possibly accuse the wearer of always having the same style of dress, as some unenterprising folks make a practice of doing. I have seen some delightful little muslin dressing jackets in this style, intended for wear in the warmer days. One that particularly took my fancy was of the finest Indian lawn and had the Magyar yoke and sleeves inset at interval?, of about two inches with fine Cluny lace, the lace being applied in straight lines from back to front cn the yoke and sleeves so that the latter were encircled with lines of it from the shoulder to the elbow where they were finished off with a narrow kilted frill of laee edged muslin. The lower part of the sack was drawn into the yoke and had a wider frill of lace and muslin at the lower edge. A big bow of soft satin ribbon added a dainty touch cf colour at the slightly low cut neck. I have seen a good many long silk dust coats already, and I have r.o doubt that as the weather gets holts}.' and the street:; more dusly we will see a great many mere Shantung makes an excellent coat ay it e.iot.3 the dust splendidly and does net show dust in the folds at all if used in its natural undyed colour. They can be either entirely unlined, which makes for coolness in the summer, or lined with a thin Japanese silk. This lust named silk is very light and considering its cheapness, wear3,very well indeed. If used for blouses it "houl.l never be washed with soda or any strong soap, and should whenever possible, be hung out to dry in a cool breeze immediately. Of course I need not say that it should never on any account be boiled if one would keep it white and new looking. I seem to have digressed rather from the subject; of motoring, and dust coats, but I wiil return to it and mention what seems to ir.c a rather novel idea in motor modes. This as a full length coat semi-fitted, of white satin lined with plj.ick and white sUk. There was a big "Monk's ccv.'T'" hood at the back, the front part "f whieh formed wide revers of the black and white lining, ytje

bond was considered rather a clever notion as it could be drawn up at will entirely over the wearer's head and thus formed a very complete protection iron) the wind or dust. The idea struck me as rather a good one which could be adapted somewhat for ordinary use, with, perhaps, a wide square collar of the dark lining instead of the hood, which is hardly necessary in any town in the Dominion, excepting always Windy Wellington, where a motor veil tied tightly over the head and hat ha 3 come to be a kind of national dress! Writing of motor coats reminds me of some charming motor bonnets that I was shown recently. They were of a modified "poke" shape with rather narrow brims, thus showing a portion of the wearer's face and hair, which is more than the hats do this year, and had on wide scarves of silk ninon that could be drawn over □ s a veil or used as a scarf round the neck, as the wearer desired. The model that pleased me most was made of a darkish electric blue straw. Ido not know the proper name for it, but it has the appearance of a fine silky crinoline but is really much thicker.

The lining of the brim was of drawn ninon the exact shade of the straw and the long blue ninon scarf was softly puffed out over tha top of the bonnet and drawn through loops of the straw at each side. I have seen quite a number of these becoming little "pokes" worn in town and, although they attract some attention at present, they are decidedly becoming to mo3t women. More and more striped and spotted

materials seem to be used as collar and cuff facings as time goes on, and I have noticed some very smart toilettes finished in this way. To my mind there is something peculiarly chic about stripes carefully and effectively applied to a plain or even a spotted frock. Whole dresses of striped fabrics are seldom a complete success unless made by a really first-class dressmaker who thoroughly understands her patron as well as the materials which she handles, but used as facings even an amateur can hardlv go far wrong, and as a change from the usual black roll collar that we all wore so much last season, I quite like a distinctive stripe. I saw a white woollen costume with a hair stripe of grey in it, made up with collar and cuffs of a wider striped grey and white cambric which looked exceedingly well. This was worn with a simple black hat and neat patent leather shoes. The whole outfit was smart yet simple and in the best of taste, and, of course it was a costume that could be worn at almost any time of day and never have the the appearance of being out of place. On a soft grey voile or some kindred fabric I am fond of plain orchid mauve satin as pipings or used in bands or facings. Mauve is a shade that goes very well with black, provided it is a clear mauve and does not look as if it had been mixed up with cornflour when it was dyed. I have seen some lovely subdued schemes effected with dull smoke grey and pastel blue, but this is more often .used as an evening combination than a daylight one. Dull gold on a grey chiffon tunic over a blue charmeuse under-dress, looks beautiful and if the metallic gold is of the truly tarnished variety so fashionable, it has almost the warm, red glow of old copper. An evening goivn like this would be seen at its very best advantage when worn by a woman blessed with abundant coppery hair. Tomato red is sometimes used with good effect on navy blue, but blue is a colour that several different things look well on. Violet was a good deal used lately and it is best to get a real deep violet shade with as little pink in it as possible, old rose being another shade that I have seen used to advantage on navy costumes, and it is newer than our old favourite, emerald green, which, I think, deserves the name of "ever green'' co long and faithfully has it

scrvecj us on spring and 'ctunmsr wear

ing clothes. Bright cherry colour is another colour that a cachet to a dark frock of blue, black, or priest gtvy. The warm golden ret] of a rnancierin orange 13 beautiful with tome go Us n browns., and I have also a rich tomato red used on brown that looked very well. iio'l dull, almost dead rose pink is lovely when used on soft electric blue, and some blues accord well with Malmaison green, which is really the colour of carnation leaves, Thi3 grtien is, of course, beautiful with nearly all shades of rose and pink, and 1 have seen it successfully used on both pale and dark lilac. Colour blending is

such a fancy of mine that I fear I may, like Tennyson's brook "go on for ever," if I once start, and really when one begins to think of the many wonderful effects that can be obtained by carefully thought out colour schemes is one is tempted to go on, if not exactly "for ever" at least for some considerable time.--Yours faithful I v, PATRICIA.