Vogues of To-day

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 41, 11 May 1927, Page 5

Vogues of To-day

OUR 30 1- FROCK Smart Simplicity HINTS FOR COMPETITORS Home dressmakers who are entering for the SUN’S £2O prize dress competition should bear in mind that the type of costuming in vogue today is essentially one of smart simplicity. Gone are the frills and fussiness of past years . . . and in their place has come a treasure indeed. . . . the modern so-called “sports silhouette,” which is really the silhouette of freedom. Certainly the mode demands a jealous attention to detail . . . the expenditure of time and though on what phase of the mode is ours . . . . fastidious care in the choice of fabrics . . . but how it repays one nowadays to take just that little extra trouble! Line, of course, is the most important thing of all in the quest of smartness, but given a good pattern to cut from a successful line is easy of achievement. Perhaps it’s the little extra things that are most apt to puzzle the amateur dressmaker. Pleats for instance are often annoying little details to get right. A handy little point about these popular trimmings is to remember that the material to be pleated should be about three times the width of the desired panel when finished. Picot edging and hemstitching can of course be done very inexpensively at any of the big shops, though it must be remembered that if you use either on frocks entered in the SUN’S dress competition, the amounts paid for these extras must be shown on the dockets enclosed with the entry. The final touches must be as carefully done as possible, with a nice regard for well-pressed seams, neat machining and dainty hemming. And now a final whisper as to what the latest whim of Dame Fashion has dictated. Neck lines are usually close fitting or cut in a V shape, and collars are übiquitous. The bolero is still popular, though perhaps not quite so much so as it was a few weeks ago. Skirts may sternly adhere to the straight and narrow way or they may billow round the waist in extravagant folds, till they resemble a bell, and one can almost hear oneself tinkle as one walks.

Waists if indicated at all are very much indicated, for many of the newest models possess quite an intriguing and clearly defined waistline, and the most delicate hint of lissome curves. As for shades . . . what a wonderful choice there is this autumn. Never before have colours been so glowingly beautiful, thanks to the skill of modern manufacturers and dyers. One has only to study one’s own face, figure and personality and then hie oneself

to the nearest shop and find just th'e very shade that is most essentially “you.”

Fabrics . . . how diverse they are in their many charming expressions .... repps, kashas, sedan cloths, heavy wool-backed satins, and a hundred other charming things, each displaying some separate appeal all its own. TO CORRESPONDENTS. The following shops are SUN advertisers and can supply the required materials: John Court Ltd., Queen Street; .Bradstreets Ltd., Karangahape Road; Rendells Ltd., Karanga hape Road; The House of Flaeksou. Karangahape Road; Hart Bros., Queen Street; Farmers’ Trading Co., Hobson Street; Kelleways, Broadway, Newmarket; Potts’ Drapery Score, Broadway, Newmarket; Scotts, Garangahape Road. Several of the above firms are offering Consolation Prizes to the value of £2 2s to anyone of the six entries placed by the judges in order of merit. HOME DRESSMAKING ONLY The competition is confined to amateurs, and professional dressmakers are not eligible. A committee of three' expert dress designers will be appointed to judge the exhibits, which will remain the property of the competitors, and will be returned within one week of the award being made. CONDITIONS 1- —The competition is open to SUN readers throughout New Zealand. 2- —The materials used in making the dresses entered in this competition must have been purchased from shops advertising in THE SUN and the total cost must not exceed 30s. 3. —The'dress must be seasonable and suitable for wearing out of doors. 4. —Cash dockets, showing the purchases of the material used, must be sent in along with the dress for the inspection of the judges. 5. —The decision of the committee of three expert dressmakers appointed by THE SUN to judge the entries must be accepted by competitors as final, and from which there may be no appeal. 6. —Entries are to be at the disposal of THE SUN for one week after the judging is complete, for the purpose of exhibition, after which they will be returned to competitors. 7. —Each competitor must enclose her name and address in a sealed envelope and pin it to her exhibit. 8. —Notice of intention to compete must be given on the coupon published below and posted or delivered to THE SUN Office on or before Saturday, May 21. 9. —All dresses gntered in this competition must be wrapped in parcels and delivered to THE. SUN, Wyndham Street, Auckland, on or before Tuesday, May 31, addressed: Manager, THE SUN 30/- Dress Competition, c/o The Lady Editor, THE SUN, Auckland.