Ur Brighter Beaches

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 898, 15 February 1930, Page 19

Ur Brighter Beaches

(Written tor THE SUN by JOYCE JOHNSTON.) jaafasas=r.. : HE sad sea waves ,;■" . "=1 ig to lu( jg o by the steadily growing number of colourful creations that the summer sun has shone on at our most popular watering-places during the past few week-ends. Brighter Beaches would seem to be the motto of young swimming, boating and beach-parading Auckland. And how much brighter! Sun-tanned limbs in the gayest of logs flash joyously through the surf, and the beach Is a moving kaleidoscope of colour, in which frocks, parasols, hats, suits, wraps and fluttering scarves yield undisputed pride of place to that most intriguing of the summer season’s modes the Lido pylama suit. pyjamas were surely never intended t ** * garment for men. Trousers were i invented for women in China, and have merely been biding their time to

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become the graceful garments for bed, and bpudolr that pretty women have made them. But the apotheosis of the pyjama suit appears to have arrived on our beaches. How interesting they are. these beach pyjamas, and what scope they offer the young person of imagination and originality. For anything in the beach suit line is fashionable—so long as the wearer can “carry it off.” Stripes, checks, spots, floral printings, eccentric. impressionist and fiercely futuristic designs are equally favoured. As for colours: every shade under the sun is used. There are gay orange, vivid poinsettia and Indian reds, blues ranging from the pale, clear azure of summer skies to deepest marine and even navy: yellows brighter than sunshine, cool springtime greens, with here and there a touch of emerald or jade, a little lilac, much cherry and many of the becoming begonia pinks. Some of the smartest beach ensembles are in the new browns, which look so striking against the fashionable suntanned skins. Bizarre and exotic effects are obtained with new and startling colour combinations. No "Oxford bags” ever seemed wider than some of the trousers worn. r l'hat is the only definite rule of chic to be observed in regard to the beach suit —trousers must be wide. A hip yoke gives the necessary fit and finish to this item of the ensemble, and is sometimes belted. Coats may be knee-length, hiplength, or of the short' bolero jacket tvue. Blouses are often worn, hut

jumpers with the new low cut back, many right down to the waist, are more popular. A distinctly salty flavour distinguishes the Lido costume worn by the nautical girl on her yachting and launching excursions. One smart shantung suit has wide navy blue trousers banded with white, and the double-breasted white coat has blue straps and interesting sleeve devices. A scarf and a blue beret are her practical accessories. Another beach suit, combining a jumper with short trunks, smartly belted, and a three-quarter coat, is very successful. One charming “beach-comber,” improving on this, contrives a picturesque costume of abbreviated shorts of brilliant green linen, white silk shirt, sombrero and sandals. Very smart, too, is the overall type of one-piece suit, cut low at the back with crossed braces. Large checked ginghams and spotted materials are particularly attractive made in this style. The widely-flared cotton skirt, cut. into irregular points, which ties over the bathing suit when out of the water, is another happy idea. Very little is left to describe of the actual swimming suit this year. It is shorter than ever, if that is possible, and of course backs are more revealing than hitherto. Windblown bobs, storm-tossed shingles and other equally modern coiffures are protected from the salt water by the plainest of rubber diving caps, which make a fitting complement to the trim suits. What a transformation from the bathing girl of fifty years ago! She would have been wheeled far out to sea in a cumbersome bathing machine, while the company on the beach, being most genteel, would look the other way with admirable discretion. Any apparent interest might be considered immodest. Unable to swim, she

would be observed clinging to the bathing machine and bobbing up and down in the water , If one could get near enough to see. her bathing costume would probably have been a box-plaited scarlet blouse worn with baggy scarlet trousers down to her ankles. And, of course, the costume would be profusely decorated with white cotton braid. The merest glimpse of the human form was at that time considered an unpardonable social sin. For smart, bathing suits the fashion magazines advertised nothing but the heaviest kind of navy flannel as the most suitable material, its principal asset and recommendation being that it was “guaranteed not to cling.” Anything clinging would have been unthinkable! Bat to return to our own more interesting beach fashions. Cottons are undoubtedly the material of the moment, delightfully youthful prints and crisp linens being extremely popular. These are very becoming in the new low-cut beach frocks, which allow generous glimpses of shapely suntanned backs. The pert beret, the popularity of which has surprisingly seemed to grow rather than diminish with the advent of the summer sunshine, now has a rival in the new wide-brimmed beach hat of coarse straw. Some hats of this type have enormous brims, which make sunshades quite superfluous The Mexican sombrero, too, quaintly fringed and tasselled, is well in the picture. The gay striped blazer, usually denoting the wearer's tennis or cricket club, satisfies the modest male’s desire for bright beach wear in the majority of cases, although now and again more unusual apparel makes an appearance. Men have adopted stripes for their very own, and these are seen at their best in the new swimming togs. Vertical and diagonal appear to have captured male fancy more than the horizontal variety. This, of course, may be due to the effect of vertical stripes in disguising embonpoint. Male bathers also have their little vanities! Like giant mushrooms, clustered in the sands, are the huge striped canvas beach umbrellas, which shade the sunbather this season, and the elaborate “beach furniture” includes rush mattings, bamboo chairs, canvas seats, and even wire mattresses with gailycoloured chintz cushions.