The FASHION REVIEW

Putaruru Press, Volume VIII, Issue 338, 15 May 1930, Page 2

The FASHION REVIEW

SUZETTE

I watched four women in a fashionable tearoom the other afternoon, where fashion-gazing is as much the order of the day as an interest in the tea cakes or crumpets. They sat together at a table, talkirig as old friends will talk, with real interest, quite unconscious of the fact that they represented a perfect winter colour card—the new colour card of the new season. One, a tall, fair woman, was wearing an ensemble of brown suede i cloth, bordered and collared with ashes of roses fox, and a rose beige satin blouse. The contrast between her fair beauty and the toning browns of her costume was delightful. Next to her was a little Spanishcoloured woman, with pointed features and smooth black hair just showing slightly beneath her black hat. She had selected for her tea costume an ensemble of copper red tweed, the coat trimmed with a long shawl collar and deep cuffs of a grey-blue beaver. The third member of the party was wearing a tailored coat of olivegreen tweed, with brown leather trimming as a foil for her bronze hair, and a beret of toning green felt. To see her would immediately win over to the new vogue for green not only the titian-haired, whose long prerogative it has been, but almost every woman who has been hardened against green. The woman who completed the party was one of those of undecided colouring—mid-brown hair, a good complexion, and rather nice blue eyes. She was wearing a costume of blue-green tweed of a loose weave, well cut on simple lines, but its very simplicity lent it an air of distinction. Her small pull-on black felt hat provided the “ needed note ” of relief in the undecided colouring of the costume, and I noticed, when she stood up, that she was wearing dark grey stockings and shoes of black lizard skin. Brown, red, green and blue—with touches of black—here are the smartest winter colours—and adding black in its entirety, so prominent this season, you have the triumphant five. '

What a long way we’ve come—l couldn’t help thinking—since the dim dark ages of seven or eight years ago. Ensemble was then'such a new style word in the average vocabulary that shoppers and sales people often came almost to disputes as to its very pronunciation. Now, how different! Each season we plan blithely for our tailored, afternoon and evening. ensemble—we cannot hope or aspire to be fashionable unless we are in the ensemble vogue. We see the term in its truer sense, not only ps related to coat and skirt or frock, but as including the accessories, shoes, hats, gloves, hose and jewellery, which carry out the colour scheme and complete the style picture.