1934-06-29 — Page 3

Page

AN

You Can Look Smart If You Make Your Own Frocks

The problem

of being well dressed on practically nothing at all distresses almost

every and these days. The best way to manage this deception is to wield a clever needle yourself in

smart fabric cut from good pattern. If you can sew- that is sew with professional skill-you hold in your hand the sesame of the chic. You do not have to be one of the crowd wearing dresses turned out by

some

а

the gross, in all colours and in all sizes. You can be an indivi- dualist; you can dress "to sulc your type, choosing the colours and les that sult you and bring out your best points. The ad- the dressmaking vantages cr

talent are quite obvious anyone with a practical turn of mind can work it out for herself-and will know how she can down expenditure and increase the size of her wardrobe.

Inflexible Wardrobe

cut

Every wardrobe, to be good. should "have garments that may be fitted together like the jigsaw puzzle. The wardrobe should be flexible, its separate parts inter- changable. Each item should t into different sartorial schemes, play a double role, and, some- times, even a triple role, Usü-" ally. It is impossible to manage this chameleon quality when you accumulate your wardrobe in the shops. The dress you, want can- not be had in the colour or size The skirt of your you want. choice is off-tone. But in the fabric department, you can work this trick of interchangeability with great skill-you can have dresses that collaborate with your coat, jackets that 'ring the changes on all your frocks, skirts that will increase the usefulness of your coats. Thus, with leng- ths of materials, you can plan an ́ ́extensive and Very beautiful wardrobe that will round out your life perfectly.

Sewing is no deep, dark my- stery. "All well and good." some of you" will say, "but sewing is one of those fairy godmother gifts. Either you have it or you have not." Al of which is sheer nonsense I repeat there is no deep dark It is not an unsolvable puzzle. If you have Intelligence. one brain two eyes two hands, you can become an expert. There are rules to follow. And rules are made ..to be followed reli- glously. Short cuts and make- shifts are what give so many home-made dresses their home- made look. Before you plunge Into any sewing you must have the right mental attitude." Do not be too ambitious at first; Do

difficult not try

to tackle designs. It

start

-mystery to sewing

is wiser 10 in with things to All out your wardrobe. Begin. for instance, with a sleeveless tennis dress, or a blouse or try a sports skirt. It is better to choose simple patterns with few pleces and no staggering tailor-„ ing requirements.

Follow Instructions Success in dressmarking de- pends on following the instruc- tions. Read "évery word, study. every picture, and carry

them aut. When you get your pattern you know it is absolutely right, balanced as to line and detail, so do not make any changes. Study the cutting charts with atten- tion. All the pieces are plus- trated, with each notch and per- foration Earefully marked. The straight of the material, will be indicated and you will find the necessary marks of identification are clearly designated on, each- of the pattern, Next, at the pieces of the pattern to you..pin ning them carefully together and trying them on to be gure that you can avoid alterations in the materiat If you have to adjust the pattern, follow the directions that are given.

Now, you are ready to cut out your material." On the chart you. will see sketches of the way the pattern should be laid on the material you are using. Pin on each piece of the pattern exactly as it should be, taking care that the fabric is perfectly straight and smooth, with no wrinkles or bulges. Mark all the perfora- tions most carefully with taller's tack before removing the pattern from the material. Keen. true! scissors are necessary in the suc-' cessful cutting out of a garment. When you have cut each plece and have checked to be sure that you have each one, you are ready to sew. Be sure to read the

In varicus steps

dressmaking. which are given with the pai- tern. It is fot enough just to look at the diagram or just to read the description. It is the two together that complete the story, and both should be follow- ed from the first basting to the last pressing. Then, you will know that your frock is made and finished in the best possible way. that it contains the exact lines. the details, and the, Anish "that are found in the smartest

frocks.

Reckless Cutting

A beginner has been known to wonder why & sleeve twists on the arm, why, a skirt hangs awry. without realising that she disre- garded the line of perforations that indicate the straight of the fabric. Watch the grain of the fabric! Another puzzling point is the set of the shoulder or the shaping of the armhole. Many an amateur will recklessly cut away the superfluous fabric when the shoulder seams do not come out even. not realising that the original pattern

the...

had just right amount of ease where the back joined the front, no more or no less than required to give the right set. Instead of alter- ing the line of the armhole by ill-inspired cutting. she should " have ripped the shoulder seam very carefully. snipping the threads at intervals to avoid pulling the fabric, and then re- basting the seam with back sec- tion towards her. A pitfall a novice often falls into is that of cutting two sleeves, both for the same arm-an error that may occur when the layout shows each sleeve cut separately. Study the chart with great atten- tion before cutting ahy of the parts. When your material is not alike on both sides, you must not forget to turn the pattern over before cutting the opposite half. The juncture of the sleeves and the track, is another bug- bear to the beginner. She Bit- hely disregards the important fact that the pattern called for fabric eased at the top of the sleeve-easing that is, quite im perceptible when well handled. she basts the sleeve to the 'gown and cuts away the surplus mate-

HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1934.

Mayfair Drawing Rooms

Many Mayfair drawing-rooms and ballrooms have been redeco- pastel rated this season, and shades are most in favour. Gar- dens and front doors are recei- ving "as.. much attention as 'ball- rooms. Lady Anglesey's pre- parations. for instance, for the green-shuttered house in Queen's Gate where she is now in re- sidence, have been largely con- fined to her garden, where she has had paving laid to make it attractive for outdoor entertain- ing.

Redecorations have been cat- ried out all through a" ducal house in Prince's Gate in honour of Lady Elizabeth, Percy, "the-de- butante sister of the Duke of

NOW

Northumberland......‚Â shade of peach tinged with silver-one of the "dirty pink" tones that de- corators have borrowed from the dressmakers has been used for the dining room; while one large reception room has been given golden .wood walls-a shade of panelling that goes" well with the crimson carpet. AI-... mond green has been used for the ball and for another recep-

tion room.

At No. 1. Orosvenor Crescent where Lady Bradford is enter- taining for her debutante daugh- ter, Lady Joan Bridgeman, there is a sitting-out room for dances -It used to. be' Lady Bradford's boudoir-which has pale ivy. green walls. In-ave places, in- cluding over themantelpiece, bricks have been sfemoved and five large paintings in gola frames let into the wall

FASHION TAKES ON ITS

SUMMER ASPECT

(Special Air-mail Service)

London, June 6.

Millinery shapes get larger and fatter, at least, those of a youth- ful character, designed for wear- ing in the sun. It seems a sẽa- son of contrast regarding head- gear, for despite these hugė pan- cake flat-crowned hats, almost the size of a panasol, the craze for caps and various forms of berets and sports fcits remains. There must always be some sort of sports vogue to suit our Bbg- lish life and the vagaries of the climate!..

Even our most practical sporta models show an amount of finest stitchery. Both fabric and straws have drawn-work, hem and fäg- got-stitching, whilst eyelet-hole embroidery distinguishes the in

pleasing ventilation for summer heat.

There is a definite shaping about even the simplest range of the new and very small hats, also in the medium ones with stiffen-

ed, brims,

rial with disastrous results, An-expensive linen rangé, providing other will bewall the fact that her seams looked puckered, in spite of the most assiduous pres- sing. Unconsciously, she may have eased one section to the other as she basted. The ten- dency always is to greater ful ness in the portion that is held towards che, a tendency that can be overcome by pinning the seam for its entire length before bus- ting. Another cause of puckering is carelessness in removing best- ing threads, which should clipped, never pulled. Puckering also results when a slightly blas edge is mishandled and stretched in basting or planing.

Beautiful but Dumb

A girl who has no brains Is little Bertha Bore Puta powder on, her nose

In a revolving door.

be

There seems nowadays to be an absence of pull-on affairs in mil- linery models The newer chic demands a careful atting and polse.

Another point is that the hat has become, so Important as part of the great ensemble. Therefore ft is certain that we do require & good amount of, châzigé.

After all, we cannot indulge in wide brims, flowers and feathers. with a tailored outat. The 80- termed tailored hit la particular- ly smart this season, but much more, complicated. That is, of course, once we have departed from rain-berets, and the essen- tially sporting models,

CIRE-EFFECTS

Flowers, ribbons, and all sorts of trimmings are wonderfully varied by the shining surfaces

take they

of on. Some

the elaborately-sized, drooping shapes in coarse chip and panams are just decorated by one or two bands of ribbon-cire, and some- times tiny ang very chic bows are added.

More dressy résults are of sim- ple trimmings in lacquered fea- thers, waxed ribbons, or winged fantasies. A narrow wreath, of flowers is also treated alternately with the dull and polished sur- face.

ike the new very small bat model in shining black straw, with a cluster of white. velvet camellias.

Then there is the small Breton sailor in ciré paper-panama, of darkest green, trimmed" narrow bands of pastel dull petersham- ribbons, with the back "strap covered with palest pink shining roses.

Some tiny Watteau shapes, in what appears to be the old- fashioned géllow Leghorn, only of rather coarser texture, have re- turned. These have a bandeau or strap of tiny flowers, with a flat crown, of shining leaves. They will be worn by the younger women when we come to the season of silks and organzas.

-green

WHEN FASHIONS

NEED CARE

There are a good many things to avoid in the fashions of this year, one of them being over- » decoration

What with bows, ruchka, ja- bots, sashes, bustles, flounces, complicated necklines, fussy frills » about the knees, sleeves that shoot out at the elbow into fins, or hang in deep, dejected lines from drooping shoulders, tartan gloves and hats that make the fairest face look foolish-how can

a woman hope to look well dress- ed if he yields to the calls of fashion as it is set before her?

Never has she needed more in- telligence, more, knowledge, more self-restraint than she does now when choosing her new spring and summer outfits.

There are multitudes of Ngur- ed materials. this year-checks, tartans, stripes, spois, "flower patterns, feather patterns, mede in all colours.

Put there are women who can- not wear checks, stripes and tar- tans. There is something about these patterns which is antipat hetic to a certain feminine type of woman, and she must avoid. them. Spots and fowers she can and should wear, while her opps site type looks fresh and bright in what to her is impossible.

There is also the question ut large and small patterns. The tall woman looks best in a large pattern, the short woman in a small pattern,

It is important to discover what colours destroy charm in a pér- sonality. That this happens we all know. A good tes; is whether you feel happy 1 this that colour and not in another.

In nothing more than in colour should a woman be "encouraged to follow her inclination, sirice it is almost always something in herself which gulies ner-an La- tuitive knowledge which should. not be disobeyed, provided. of course, that sentimentality is not permitted to run riot.

Fortunately, to dress to the col- our of the eyes, or in pink be- cause at the age of eighteen it was becoming, is riot the way with women of our times."

τ

Dificult Styles

Anything which is difficult to Wear should be avoided-and there are many difficult things just now.

Few ordinary women can wear their hats perched over one ear with the brim curling upwards: Fewer still can, carry the sti wide-brimmed, low-crowned, hacs prepared for summer, and not many look their best in Chinese hats with pointed crowns,

an

New Shipment

of

Mavos ROUGH STRAWS.

HONG KONG HOPPE

Ever so "Chic"

HATS MADE TO ORDER IN STRAWS, AND FABRICS Old Hats Made to look like NEW.

South Arcade.

Gloucester, Bldg.

RIGAUL

LES FLEURS

de RICAUD

the delicate. flagrance of your favorite flower

ROSE JASMINE SWEET PEA

LILAC

- CARNATION JACINTH, ETC.

AGENTS, VICENTE ATIENZA & C2, No 54, HATHAN ROAD, KOWLOON - TEL, 57355

Madam, You Will Float, Not Walk

Chiffon dowers taken from the pattern of the printed frocks they trim form fancy lines to some of the dalntlest of Ascot frocks."

Taffetas and organdle together make, women look as if they are floating along rather than walk- ing, for the stiffness gives them

a

lamp-shade" effect. No shoes

can be seen, so the motive power is imperceptible as the manne quins walk in these stiff-at-the- hem dresses.

The gossamer frock is long, too, but not untidy. The drapery Bows instead of floats, and there are no wisps and bits trailing.

fashions of aš in. Ascot

a few

seasons &KO.

Bustle sashes and Victorian ápron tunic frocks, will be seen Squashed looking little, Crinoline hats will be worn with picture perlod dresses, and the loveliest of water-llly greens and magno- Va and japonica pinks will be favoured.

SUNSHADES RETURN

As if to counteract the in Bluence of the new straw, picture bats with their clear-cut brim The fish-tall dinner dress, the birdtail coat, the full basque to a lines. this season's sunshades Jacket and the tight belt are are charming transparent affairs hard to live up to, especially. of lace, organdle and silic net when they are worn in company Flutings and frills enhance these with stiff-brimmed hats worn at delicate materials. and there is a great deal of variety in colour- angle suggesting imminent flight at the first breath of aing and design.

In contrast breezė...

the handles are Fiain severely modern in type. stick handles, painted or finely enamelled in the same colour as the fabric is one idea...... the stick shaped at the handle ke an inverted, closed fan. There are fancy crook handles in all kinds of composite. materials. Here, again, the colour of the sunshade is carried out in the handle design.

Doomed

21

Already there are algns that ex- travagant trimmings, eccentric lines, and uncomfortablé milli ery áre to give way to things and which are unpretentious pleasing to the eye,

Hard textures, crude contrasts, stiff designs, outrageous, orna- ments, such as birds; and butter- flles, worn on a bodice where a bunch of flowers might be set, all these are doomed. 86, too, are. monkey fur árida material Uke hedgehog skib, which are worn much as primitive woman wore her feathers and beads; "plus cela change, plus c'est la meme chose."

DETACHABLE BUTTONS

(Special Air-Mail Service)

London, June 14. The butions on children's school blouses and pyjamas are always coming back from the laundry broken, thus causing continua! work and expense. It is a good plan to make the buttons on children's garments detachable, "If in the following manner, lines buttons are required, sew two buttons firmly together, one a little smaller than the other. Pass the smaller button through

button-hole which has been substituted for the original but ton, and a detachable economical link will be obtained. Different combinations of buttons can be made as desired, but the button. at the back should, always be larger than the front and prefer ably of linen. Many children's garments can be treated in this Bill Jones has two sons. One is way, and the time taken in in politics and the other im't much. making the button-hole will be good. either.

Downward Path

amply repaid later."

or

Bunshades made in beige black silk spotted net are among the most fashionable of the new designs. Patterned organdie and lace organdie are other favourite fabrics which can be brought Into ensemble scheme of carry- ing a sunshade that exactly mat- ches a chosen frock.

MIXING THE BLUES

Turquoise And Navy.

Nowadays we do not have straightforward colour seasons. Dressmakers до longer speak of a "yellow, blue, or green fas- hion season. Colours are too varled and charming to permit of such uniformity in choices:

At the same time there are colour trends that cannot be ignored, and this summer women who find that blue suits their

particular colouring and age are making a choice from among the blue tones both light and dark. The simple summer frock photographed is in the elusive turquoise shading. that has so much in the way of delicate charm, but the shiny leather belt and buttons are in navy blue. and the effect of the dark contrast is to emphasise the daintiness of the turquoise, tone.

LADIES!

Have your

Hair Waved

by hand by our Expert Barbers

Excellent Results, Moderatë Prices. Every Satisfaction. THE FAR EAST HAIRDRESSING SALOON. 48,“ Nathan ROAD. Tel. 57707,

Manager: AHLÍU.

*

THE CHANGING NECKLINE

Draped And Starched. Styles

the

of

(Special Air Mall Service)

London, June 14. The best-looking capelets fit shoulder-line" instead. floating out on a breeze, and wo- men might well adopt the new Lucile Paray idea. It is an ex- cellent innovation for simple town elegance, particularly if one has a silhouette that can be shown off to advantage, since it skims the figure.

ure.

14

A jacket style is reversed from front to back, that is to say, slip- ped into with an opening down the back, which might be fan- tened or not by a single row of buttons. These can be replaced by tles at nape and waist that will grip the garment to the fig-

High necklines cover low cut corsages of dinner gowns in the late afternoon class, those worn with hats. An outdoor wrap is made up in almost iden- - tical fashion to the bodice of an all-in-one-frock, to preserve 'con-" tinuity of line. Sleeves may be long over the short ones of the rock, or roll in the caped-elbow manner on to long ones. In the former capacity bell-shaped forms look graceful. Although.. ane-colour silk crepes are favour- ed for this new trend, floïal," Chines and chiffons are also used.

Sideways Cowl Bhould a capelet be preferred to this outdoor wrap-line of soft material, the latest model slips on over the head and takes form in cowl drapery, falling at the back from a higher front round- ed movement." The "cowl notif has likewise been reversed from front to back, but Lucile Paray. gives it a fresh allure by making it Hop gently towards one side. This movement rings in a change for high front necklines through flat draped effects slant- ing off from high up on one shoulder and sloping down slight- ly over the other, to anally be- come absorbed in the monastic Joop or simply drop in a fat pa- nel. The former idea looks chår- ming' in a black látnage frock.

Deep wide collars in the Crom- wellian manner are worn. These collars in white linen are stiffly. stitched, like a man's shirt front./ and quite different from the school-girl" "Clandine” and sports: “ing":"polo""__types. The fashion has undoubtedly arrived through research on details for staging the him "La Reine" Christinė.“!