FRILLS FADS & FOIBLES

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 19, 13 April 1927, Page 5

FRILLS FADS & FOIBLES

Fleet Street , London. Special Feature supplied excluisvely to THE SUN , Auckland, by The Central Press,

VOGUES AND VAGARIES

(By MADAME JEANNE VARREZ.)

One outstanding quality is demanded of all the new materials; that they should be so supple as to be easily forked into pleats, flounces and scallops. Maurelia, manik, musslikasha, tussecla—all fulfil this essential condition, and will be largely used for forthcoming dress creations. Meanwhile, the finer makes of rep, the oldstyle kasha, and all fine wool materials are as popular as evei\ So are crepe georgette and taffetas. Plaid taffetas is used by all the foremost dressmakers, and it materialises many of the smart short coats worn with onecoloured skirts.

Practically every dress destined for morning or afternoon wear is adorned with stitehery, seams, pleats or tucks. Stitches go across the bodice in a diagonal line, or from the shoulder down to the hips. The yoke, still fashionable, is sometimes entirely covered with such stitehery effects. Neck openings olTer any amount of variety. I have seen them round, V-shaped, U-shaped and square. Sometimes the neck opening is lower on the right than on the left.

Jumpers come in for their share of adornment along similar lines. The austerely simple vogue has departed, and the new models are made highly decorative with tucks and pleats and bands of embroidery. Drawn-thread work is another mode of embellishing the casaquin; and broderie anglaise contributes yet another elaborate trimming note.

To many women one of the most in teresting developments of La Mode is the return of navy blue. The Parisienne favours it both for day and evening wear. Madame has made the pleasant discovery that a certain shade of navy gains a peculiar glow in electric light which is wonderfully becoming to her complexion. With the result that the designers are turning out numbers of navy blue toilettes de soiree in georgette, in chiffon, and in fine crepe, trimmed with pale pink or a warm cream colour.

Capes are coming in again, and tlic last-word creation is a six-piece affair shaped like the isosceles triangle of our Euclid days. The garment narrows toward the shoulders, and the six “points” are gathered together at the neck by means of a close-fitting, narrow collar. The lower part of the cape is picturesquely wide and flowing. As to length, it reaches only just beyond the hips. This does not mean, however, that longer styles will be demode. There are other versions of the cape theme, which is in fact an essentially adaptable mode.

Evening gowns are wonderfully interesting. One designer shows some exquisite creations with draped arid puffed skirts of taffetas, made very voluminous in front, and perfectly flat and tight at the back. These robes feature a loose cross-over bodice and long, close-fitting sleeves of fine transparent net. The sleeves are finished off with firmly-adjusted cuffs of embroidery in metal thread or lame.

Sports suits aim at striking contrasts, being elaborately banded with dark shades of another colour. The smartest alliance is claimed to be grey and navy blue; though I have seen some coquettishly effective scarlet and white ensembles. The cardigan matching the suit is a finishing touch that makes “all the difference,” supplying just that note of completeness which the sports ensemble sometimes lacked. It is agreeable news that such an outfit will be considered perfectly “correct” even for town occasions.

Millinery presents some novel aspects. If anything, hats seem to grow smaller and smaller, and in fact some of them are close-fitting as an aviation cap. Brims are virtually non-ex-istent in Paris now. All of which seems to indicate that the shingle is to remain, since these ultra-small models obviously allow of no excess of hair! Though the “aviation” style is undoubtedly chic and neat, it needs a tiny face and perfectly-shaped head to do it justice. More average types can find plenty of becoming models that achieve an effect of smallness sans exaggeration. The skilled milliner moulds the hat to the head and plans the subtlest curves and folds by way of “trimming.” In some cases heavy folds curve round the forehead and down round the ears. In others there are contrasting bands of colour coming round the ears and shaped like a Russian headdress in front.

Place your electric iron In a box lined with paper felt after using, and it will last much longer. The felt absorbs the moisture which forms on the iron after use. If peeled apples are placed at once in a bowl of water to which a few drops of lemon juice have been added, they will not turn brown. 4 * * Brown sugar is often extremely hard, and cannot be creamed in hot weather. If the required quantity is put into a paper bag. and a wet cloth wrapped around it for several hours, it will become quite soft and moist.

THE STRIP-SLIP Here is an idea that can be carried out by the slenderest purse, for the only material required is a length of ribbon. Have you seen the new slips that are the point of the story of the newest morning, afternoon, and evening frocks? The same slip “makes” all of them —and all by means of a length of brocaded ribbon. it’s just stitched straight down the slip, and it peeps through the frock, which has an opening somewhere down t 1 *s front if it is one of “the latest.” It’s an idea worth materialising, as it gives a very expensive and chic touch to an otherwise quite ordinary frock. Choose your ribbon very carefully though. The ideal is to get a palish blurred one, full of indefinite colours that wJI go with anything. An adorable white evening frock had such a slip of blurred pink, mauve and apple-green watered taffeta. The slip made the frock, as it also did an afternoon one of navy taffeta. It took away from the dullness of the white frock, and it lightened the darkness of the blue one. And it’s contrasts we aim at nowadays. SMARTENING UP THE MENFOLK Every man, while at buisiness, should look well-groomed and well-dressed; if he does not need smart clothes to inspire him with confidence as a woman does, he does need them to inspire confidence in others. How sevei% he rarely realises even this, so it is up to his womenfolk to act as valet. A soiled suit will have all the effects of an expensive dry-clean if it is treated with a shilling’s worth of benzine (the non-inflammable kind, you can buy at a chemist’s). A nailbrush is the best thing to apply with, while individual spots should be rubbed with a rag the way of the 'weave. Paint spots succumb to turpentine, while inkstains, a frequent phenomenon, soon give way to lemon juice. For a navy or black suit that has grown shiny, the very finest make of sandpaper should be rubbed very cautiously along the shine before damping the garment with a strong solution of washing blue and water. No nice man seems to be able to keep a crease in his trousers for more than four days, so, this, too, needs frequent attention. Fold the trousers lengthwise, and place them flat on a table; damp one knee at a time, and grip the material just above the knee with the left hand, below the knee at the back of the trouser leg with the right, and pull. After a few minutes of this strenuous exercise, and a good pressure under a damp cloth, the trousers will again temporarily have the correct line. Expensive or favourite ties deserve to be renovated rather than thrown away. Taffeta will generally stand washing in warm, soapy water; striped colours are best cleaned with turpentine. In either case, remove the padding inside the seam, and dip into a solution of sugar and water before ironing. This stiffens up the silk, and gives it the deceptive gloss of newness.

FLYAWAY FUR BOWS Little fur scarves, long and narrow, twisted round the neck and tied in a fly-away “pussycat” bow under the wearer’s chin, are among novelties for the coming season. Made in beaver, moleskin, or some other close-haired pelt, it is most suitable for wearing with one of the new trim short-coated tailored suits on sunny autumn days. There is a real art in tying the flyaway fur bow, so that there are also little fur necklets with the bows ready fixed, fastening with invisible clips underneath.

A Paris designer at a recent exclusive display of autumn model suits was showing a slim coat and skirt of lustrous black velvet, made quite plainly except for tiny borders of moleskin round the’ edge of the skirt panels. With it went a high-crowned black velvet hat pierced with a mole-skin-headed pin, while round the mannequin’s neck was a close-fitting moleskin tied in a well-made bow beneath her chin. General trimness of appearance is necessary in order for a woman to carry on successfully these fly-away fur bows, and it is essential that the scarf be cut and shaped by an expert in pelts. If your sewing machine is heavy to work it may be clogged with dirty oil. To remove this, oil the machine well with kerosene and work it (without thread) until it runs quite lightly. Then wipe off all kerosene, refill the can with the proper lubricating oil and oil once more.