FASHIONS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 September 1938, Page 10

FASHIONS

STRAIGHT FROM PARIS. Sea-side resorts in France this year resemble great music-hall reviews showing fashions of recent years. The Parisienne, as in town, wears the outfit most suitable to her figure. She disports long classic trousers in grey or white with light blouses, or, still under the influence of mountains and winter sports, she puts on light Norwegian breeches. Yet the reappearance of trousers does not deprive her of wearing coats and shorts, the latter either matching the coats or of different colours. There are two sorts of coats, the long, tight-fitting at the waist, which is sometimes highly open-worked or transpositions of material; and the half-length coats, wide or straight, plain or printed, writes a Paris correspondent. Besides all the entertainments that the Parisienne enjoys at the sea-side, tandems or bicycles are most in. favour this year, and couturiers have had to create most original and graceful ensembles for the numerous adepts; one is composed of wide shorts forming skirt reaching the knee, each flare being stitched, the short-sleeved blouse accompanying being very simple in shape, made of light spotted material worked with transpositions; another is influenced by a gardener-like outfit, a checkered blouse and the shorts black, adorned at the edges with white stitching, tight-fitting at the waist, rising a little on the front and caught by two bands of material passing over the shoulders and knotted at the back, with same white stitches forming a design on the front and on the edges of two pockets in the manner of a gardener’s apron. Couturiers have made other very juvenile ensembles or costumes in printed or plain. Little berets and graceful caps are worn with the former and broad-brimmed turned-up hats with the latter. And at last the Parisienne shows us an unexpected sight of her various transformations. She looks sometimes like a quaint exotic flower lying on the beach, and this is due, for instance merely to the combination of a short wide striped skirt with a black blouse, a wide fringed turned-up straw hat, and a handkerchief. At night, she becomes, in the casino, a butterfly of lace, tulle, chiffon, satin. Her dresses are wider and wider. Yards and yards of tiny lace adorn them in geometrical designs; or other charming details as bows at the top of shoulders, scarfs edged with frills flowing in the front; three roses and leaves placed on the forearms; frills adorning long gloves, etc. The period gowns have taken a definite place for gala wear.