PLANNING YOUR WARDROBE FOR SUMMER

New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 121, 17 October 1941, Unnumbered Page

PLANNING YOUR

WARDROBE FOR SUMMER

What Every Woman Needs

(Adapted from a recent

A.C.

E.

talk)

HAT would you do if the \X/ Government decided to ration clothes and presented you with 66 coupons which they assumed (the majority being men) would last you for the year? You would immediately set to work to plan. your wardrobe. Like your sisters in England you would discover that you could buy either one dress or one coat or one dressing gown each year, and that if you attempted to buy two major items in the same year you would perhaps have to do without shoes or stockings till the next coupon issue. The New Zealand Government has not yet, we are thankful to say, decided to ration women’s clothes, but that’s no reason why we shouldn’t decide now to plan our summer wardrobe. If clothes are not rationed, we shall still be saving our time and money, and if rationing is ever introduced we shall find that our good basic wardrobe will enable us to accept it unperturbed. Let us begin by listing the clothes we will need for summer. 1. An outfit for formal occasions — church, visiting, and daytime social events. é A less formal outfit for shopping or business. Summer sports’ wear — cotton dresses. A er evening frock. Shoes. Hats. Accessories. Check Up Your Wardrobe Drag out from drawers and wardrobes the clothes you wore last summer and check off on your list the things you already have. Here are a few suggestions for filling the gaps. 1. The "Best" Outfit: This demands something more than a_ short-sleeved frock. Perhaps a two-piece suit with a blouse, dress with matching jacket, or a dress with hem-length coat in the same or harmonising material. For spring wear, a light-weight woollen such as wool georgette is ideal for the suit or hem-length coat. A light-weight woollen coat in a useful colour will serve many purposes. Wear it in the daytime over a matching or contrasting frock, and as a light wrap for the warmer nights: This season there is a tentlency for he frock jacket ensemble to Be cut on less tailored lines, though pl@sts and well cut gores are still fashionable for the larger figure. But the softer, more dresy style is more popular. Many SIAR wo

frocks have a fitted section or midriff at the waist, and both bodice and skirt are softly gathered to this. The long-waisted effect is fashionable. Some of the newest frocks have fitted peplums or basques. Beware, however, of the dropped waistline and fullness of the hips if you are very short or have a wide hipline. Shoulders still tend to be square and the three-quarter length sleeve is news. 2. Informal and Business Wear: I suggest a variation of the shirt-waist style. The trend is for these to become less tailored, and there is softer fullness in bodice and skirt, with gathers, pockets and curved yokes to give variety to the basic style. Two-colour effects are smart and this suggests renovations for last season’s frocks.

Swagger coats are right for wearing over your business or informal frock, but the new season’s models show less fullness than last year’s. They are still boxy but, not obviously -flared. If. you prefer a more fitting summer coat choose one with the let-in belt at the back or a fitting waist, a flared skirt, and a belt that ties. 3. Sports Wear: Your choice depends on the way you spend your leisure. Generally speaking you will need a tennis or croquet dress, shorts, slacks and swim-suit. Shorts are usually more useful than a beach or play suit. Cottons For Evening 4. Evening Wear: Cottons are definitely in for evening wear. Choose something washable-dimity, light ginghams, cotton prints, and team it with a bolero so that it can be converted to a dinner dress. Short cutaway jackets, sometimes in white pique, sometimes in the same material, are featured in many evening frocks. The low waistline is found in many of the new evening frocks, and a frock made of a soft one-colour material often has a cummerbund decorated with sequins or lavish embroidery. Shoes And Hats _ 6. Summer Shoes: For summer as much as for any other time of the year, you need well-constructed shoes. We tend to buy cheaper shoes in the summertime because we do not demand such lasting qualities. But a cheap shoe does not imply a badly fitting shoe or a cheaply made shoe. A canvas summer shoe demands just as good workmanship as its winter equivalent. And remembering the tendency of your feet to swell in summer pay particular attention to size and fit. In really hot weather a lace-up shoe is easier to wear than a court or gusset, as the laces can be adjusted if the feet swell. For casual wear vari-coloured shoes and. wedge heels are smart and comfortable. 7. Hats: Hat fashions suggest that almost anything can be worn on the head this year. A light summer felt hat will see you through the season in districts where summer is not unduly persistent. A tailored straw is also an essential. 8. Accessories: These should be given very careful consideration as they can make or mar a costume. Moreover, by varying your accessories you can make a single plain frock do the duty of several. Flowers are in the news. They appear on neck openings, as absurd little hats, and as garlands round the neck on both day and evening dresses. White ruffles and jabots are as usual shown on dark frocks, but remember the importance of frequent laundering, for when their freshness is gone, their attractiveness and usefulness are gone, too, The old-fashioned cotton embroidery

that used to trim our infant underwear is now being used as ruffling on ordinary dark daytime frocks, and also on the new pinspot cotton evening frocks,