BATHING MODES

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 195, 7 November 1927, Page 5

BATHING MODES

(By PAULINE BOUCHIER.( Variety and colour are features of this, year’s bathing toilettes, and the most notable innovation of the season is the introduction of the belted twopiece costume. It is not too early to predict a craze for this style, for already suits in this shape have had a large sale in the big shops in town. Their great attraction is that they look pretty on the fashionable, slender figures, and, indeed, tend to disguise the fact that one might not be so well proportioned as one would wish. The knickers of these suits are almost always black, while the tops are white, bound with or of some pretty, bright colour. But whatever the colours used, the suit is always belted with white .silk or webbing. Braided Patterns When the costume is made with a skirt, it is invariably trimmed with braid arranged in circles, or in a geometrical design on the skirt. A really smart “jumper” costume, beng shown by a shop which specialises in these bathing outfits, is of black woollen stockinette, worked with a white design over the jumper portion, and accompanied by plain black knickers. In this shop I saw Milanese silk used to make a very delightful creation, more suited for the beach than the sea. It was in orange, with a large cluster of

black silk flowers appliqued in one corner of the skirt. Shaded fringe was the effective trimming on the skirt of a smart black silk beach suit. Applique work is seen a great deal on the more durable wool and cotton stockinette suits. One such design represented a row of black and white storks across the bodice and skirt of a bright red costume. Numerous fine rubber caps are decorated with rubber flowers, others are painted in a way guaranteed to withstand the salt-water. But even those who have no intention of swimming seriously are buying the fashionable “submarine helmets” with ear flaps, and straps which fasten under the chin. Tailored Towelling Bathing caps are, nowadays, far from shapeless. One of this season’s enveloping models was greatly admired at a shoAA’ing of bathing fashions recently. It was of patterned towelling, showing an indistinct design in heliotrope, white and black. Black ribbon fastened it at the neck, which was finished with Eton collar. A strip of the towelling, re\-ersed, formed a deep hem. Other smart bathing capes had wide ruffle necks. The towels, this year, rival the colour schemes to be found in the suits and capes, for I have seen no fewer than six different colours in one delightfully soft towel carried at this parade. Crepe shoes, particularly those designed for the children, are very ornate. Across the toecap, a design of crescents and stars is popular, while others show the heads of smiling cats and dogs. Many of these crepe rubber shoes are made with buttoned straps.