FRILLS ADS & OIBLES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 326, 11 April 1928, Page 5

FRILLS ADS & OIBLES

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

Vogues and Vagaries

(By

Madame Jeanne Varrez)

Friends in the South tell me there has never been a. greater range of colours for the Riviera season, and that white, once the de rigueur toilette, is most remarkably the exception rather than the rule. The fact is that women hav© come to agree with the edict of the Celtic sage, Mr. George Bernard Shaw, that dead white is a most trying and unbecoming colour for all but' the notably favoured few. We have discovered that beige and putty, especially the new shades, are essentially light-looking, and infinitely more becoming than the virginal hue, which is best allocated to the green or terra-cotta distances of the tenniscourt.

Thus we find biscuit, mushroom, pale »rey, and an attractive shade of dull almond green, taking an easy lead in fashion’s Southern haunts. Red, too, immensely chic and “bien mise,” both far sports and afternoon dresses. It looks specially well under the long black coats that are an inevitable Part of the smart afternoon ensemble. For black, inutile a dire, is never abandoned by the elegante ,even in the Southern sunshine.

In Paris itself, a feature of the New festivities was the combination of white satin or crepe de chine with light-weight black ring velvet or black satin. {Some of the most striking gowns were thus materialised, and one bad to admit anew the perennial fasclination of the incomparable magpie alliances. The contrast of black and white never loses its allure when an artist has achieved the creation. One made a special note of a skirt of black satin and a corsage of white crepe de chine, where the contrast was rendered less "sudden” by an adroit arrangement of chains of black jet beads and white diamante, forming crosswise braces from the front to the back and biding the waist join.

0 * * * Both afternoon and evening gowns retain the plain semi-fitting corsage, with the skirts much draped and illustrating the "forward” movement. •A- typical dinner gown in soft black velvet was cut with superb simplicity.

It appeared lined with white satin, the skirt being shaped in tunic form, perfectly plain; but on both hips were bunched bows of black velvet lined with white, the ends of which came far below the skirt.

Distinctly elaborate are the new evening shoes. There is a continued craze for black satin (always such a safe investment, this, at footwear sales!) embroidered in silver, crystal or diamante. Kid shoes in bright shades are embroidered tastefully in coloured beads. Sparkle, in fact, is the footwear fashion of the moment, and there are paste straps galore and coloured "jewels” in endless array. Round toes are much more worn than pointed ones, with the solitary exception of the plain pointed-toed black court shoe that looks so "right” for afternoon wear.

Many pale-coloured kid shoes are seen on the boulevards, with trimmings of harmonising lizard or patent. Very good style is the sho© of black patent leather most discreetly trimmed with palest beige stockings, as the with palest beige kid, worn with beige stockings, as the footwear complement to a beige suit or frock. Though Fashion is slow to reveal her new season’s secrets, we now know definitely that diagonal lines are to decorate smart daytime toilettes; that there will be a great vogue of heavy, shiny satin; that pastel shades —more particularly in the green, blue and yellow range—will be very much in the picture; that daytime skirts will be worn below the knee; and that evening skirts will be characterised by curiously uneven points. In a word, one has a general idea of the main trends of La Mode as she will presently reveal herself. Smart little cloth coats are engaging the attention of the buyers. They are being made principally in very fine broadcloth and in rep, and so far the prevailing colours are black, navy, beige, gney and the curious "grege” which combines the two lastnamed neutral hues. Such coats will be much in evidence, for they are wonderfully useful garments now that the suit is so closely rivalled by the

coat and frock ensemble. Given a judicious choice of coat, it will serve its turn with any number of “little” frocks. Hence it is worth while to expend a little time and the necessary outlay on its acquisition. Another excellent standby is the no less modish tweed coat with beautifully tailored collar—often in leather, with leather cuffs en suite.

Interesting and practical are the dresses to be worn beneath this accommodating type of garment. We shall see representative models in stockinette, kasha, marocain, and wool shantung, a new fabric that is being tried out just now. Flowered crepe satin and crepe de chine are charming and quite serviceable, being suitable for innumerable smart daytime occasions. Naturally these are more suitably served by the cloth coat, while the tweed calls for the more sporting dress materials. • * * Afternoon dresses are again to enjoy a special vogue. Women during the past season have found them a welcome and charming relief from the eternal jumper suit. And the designer, of course, is glad of the opportunity to display his talents in this direction, which affords him ample scope to exploit the new feminine trend with graceful draperies. Some really exquisite soft crepe satins, patterned with squares, or checks, or tiny old-world flowers, are being used for dainty and smart little creations that are a real delight to the eye. Quite alluringly attractive are the square lines about the neck, and the godets, wide diagonal tucks or some soft side drapery on the skirt. Then there is a prodigious amout of the loveliest handwork to lend further cachet to these charming dress novelties.

The milliners are offering an ultrasmart little cap in their new collections. Fashioned of supple, folded black felt, it has a veil which is long at one side and short at the other. The effect is amazingly chic. Shiny straws and other fabrics are being used in the modish chapeau salons, but felt still takes easy precedence of all the rest. In its newest texture it is almost as soft and supple as silk, and drapes quite as easily. The fine net veils wtych are a feature of so many of the new models are nearly all embellished with a “beauty spot,” adroitly embroidered on the veil just below one eye. Variations of men’s styles contribute piquancy to the newest day-time dress models. At a recent tea-party I saw a beautifully-groomed girl attired in a frock of soft black satin with a stiff white organdie front and collar! This last was reminiscent of a man’s immaculate dress shirt, the front being finished with a neat little I how tie, while novelty cuffs, repeating j the same "bow” idea, appeared cn the ; sleeves. It was a charming ensemble, • thus worn on the right wearer. But it holds pitfalls for the unwary! Softer, adaptations of the same notion, however, are eminently posssible for those whose black-and-white symphonies j must strike a less decided note.