FASHION NOTES FROM FRANCE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 738, 10 August 1929, Page 32

FASHION NOTES FROM FRANCE

By LUCIEXXE GUI. Frocks have received full meed of attention lately, so have hats, but we | must remember that the most perfect frock worn with the most ravishing hat can be made to look like two souls if the wearer is badly shod or badly gloved. The word ensemble j is much abused, too often suggesting dress and hat alone, when it should take in every detail, including shoes, ; stockings, gloves, buttonhole, and bag. What shoes are most in favour this j season? Why. those of the best workmanship and taste —and, most important of all, the neatest. A woman j must be shod like a princess, yet her j feet must be merely part of the per- i fectly turned-out picture. POPULAR PATENT The most popular shoes are black patent leather, because they make themselves indispensable by looking ' “right” for all occasions. The court | shape is the neatest. It may be as I narrow as a wedge, and it may be quite | plain, or trimmed with a narrow band i and small flat bow of snakeskin. An- 1 other shape is broader fitting, shorter in front, and adorned with a cut steel buckle. As a rule French women like the shorter front. SHOES OF SEALSKIN Black seal comes next on the list. Shoes of this material are sometimes left, plain, and sometimes finished with snake or grey lizard pipings. Brown j seal shoes are much worn, too, not- : ably in the pretty and useful shade known as noisette. Seal may be dyed lovely colours like navy, light blue, jade green, epmard green, and lacquer red. No longer is it bad form to walk the boulevards in coloured shoes during the day. Pale greys and beiges are. considered quite ordinary now. Red shoes, hat, and bag look well with a suit of fawn jersey or natural kashadrape, so do they with a neat j navy suit. Blue shoes, bag, and hat | are smart with the tailleur of heavy- ! weight crepe de cine, wool de chine, j or, most beloved of materials just [ now, wool georgette. SHOES OF STRAW Some of the smarest day shoes are in straw, woven in tiny check patterns of red and white, blue and white, black and white, and brown and white. They are made in several shapes. Some have the long front, the one-strap fastening, and very high Spanish heels of leather to match the binding; others are broader fitting, and have flat heels, but these are only for those with slender legs. Others, again, are of the popular sandal shape. Always with these shoes go squares of the plaited straw to be made up into matching sacs. HAND-PAINTED SHOES Evening shoes are wonderful. The favourite shape is cut practically on sandal lines, with high heels, toepieces, and slender straps of coloured brocade or lame, or silver or gold kid. Beige crepe de chine shoes are still worn, but it is far more chic to have shoes made of the same material as the frock, be it of plain or patterned crepe, taffeta, or even georgette. When georgette is the fabric, the shoes are made up over gold or silver tissue.

A more luxurious way is to get an artist to paint the shoes to match the pattern on the material. With a day frock, a sac and a ’kerchief often complete this exotic and mucli-to-be-taken-care-of set. The whim is very good for artists, who charge large sums for their work, which they sign just as they would any other picture. NO MORE PINK STOCKINGS

Light pinky beige stockings are dead. Some shades of gunmetal are still worn with navy or black, but black silk stockings, so fine that they look like shadows, have largely taken the place of gunmetal. Italian sunburn, noisette, and dark oak are favourite hosiery colours. Quite new for wear with sports clothes are stockings of wool lace, in the same weave and pattern as the material we love so much, but much finer, of course.