VOGUES AND VAGARIES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 359, 21 May 1928, Page 5

VOGUES AND VAGARIES

MADAME JEANNE VARREZ)

(By

Ultra-femininity is certainly the keynote of the season’s modes, in colouring and in composition. Dame Fashion’s changes, though inaugurated gradually, have none the less surely j come to pass, so that draperies and an abundance of frills and furbelows j , are now rather the rule than the ex- j ception. The fabrics most obviously j stamped with the seal of chic, moreover, all help the feminine trend; the

chiffons, plain and flowered; the taffetas, the muslins, the georgettes, the crepes; and last, but not by any means least, the laces. * * * Even the most ordinary frock will this year be adorned with its attractive jabot and tie, or its fanciful fichu, or its strikingly decorative scarf, or its matching cape. Every collection, incidentally, displays this last, hpth in transparent and in solid fabrics. In Paris, the decree has obviously gone forth that the matching cape must be the definite complement of the dainty gown. Some of the capes are collarless, but the greater number are finished off with what has now become the accepted all-weather trimming—a collar of that soft fur as light in weight as feathers, and vastly becoming. “Summer” ermine, by all the advance signs, will take pride of place In the fulfilment of this decorative role. As an alternative, there is the scarf collar of the same fabric as the cape. This collar is pulled through a ring

lof jewels or embroidery, with that carefully-careless art that marks the ' craftsmanship of the chic designer. It | gives a most uncommon and eminently , smart finish to the matching-cape en- ■ semble. * Navy and white, vieing with the in- , evitable magpie modes, is extremely , "bien mise” when the toilette follows ; the lines of one super-attractive model J that drew my attention at a recent show. Printed crepe de chine in the two colours we,s the chosen fabr I ■ medium; and the deep flounce of the , skirt, the V neck-opening, and the , flounced cuffs to the old world bell ■ ' sleeves, were all bordered with a plain j , hem of navy crepe. Here the vogue , of the matching scarf was also illustrated —most alluringly. The perfect millinery finish was a chic little : chapeau of navy fancy straw and soft felt, trimmed with circles of pleated . petersham and the fascinating tiny i eye-veil that is being sponsored by most of the big French milliners and their cliefl^s.

In another and still more feminine category was a beige-brown-and-yellow patterned georgette, illustrating the bolero mode. Pleated frills of plain yellow edged the sleeveless bolero, which fell over a deeply-swathed hipgirdle. The same pleated flounce finished the elaborately scalloped skirt, while a perfect little neckline touch was provided in a fan-shaped jabot and tie, the cuffs being en suite with their finish of tied ribbon bows and floating ends. Glass buttonholes are “le vral chic” for evening wear. Charming examples consist in blossoms of crystal leaves with sapphire centres; or. pour changer, centres of topaz or of turquoise. The flowers are bunched in a spray of gracefuly nodding heads on fragile stems of spun glass. One notes that coloured stones are in the mode again. But on the whole, the tendency is decidedly for “white” jewellery; silver, platinum, and white gold being largely used for settings, while the “white” gems—diamonds, pearls and cut rock-crystal—lead th« van at any fashionable gathering.