Evening star., 1953-09-01
Paris Roundup Important New Fashion Trends
Were Obscured by Uproor Over Skirt AennGnes
By Lucette coron

national event. The women Of
America, however. need not
worry-'I'affaire Dior" has been
greatly exaggerated and there
will be a compromise. The other
couturiers of Paris - Jacques
Faith, Pierre Balmain. Balen-
ciaga, Schiaparelli, Givenchy,
Jean Desses- while introducing
a series of interesting novelties,
have scarcely altered either sill
houette or hemline, and Dior
himself, little alarmed by the
storm he raised. announced that
"the right length for the hem
is where the calf begins to slim
down." The general opinion now
is that hemlines win cease go
ing down, but it will be wise to
leave wide, adjustable hens for
the next few months.
The uproar over the hemlines
has overshadowed the new trends
of the 1854 picture. Though each
house follows it's own individual
theme without bothering about
the others. some general lines
run throughout the collections:
The bulky Stiffened look in
coats. The wide, square topcoats
with broad shoulders. The taper
masculine ChesterfeldS or bar
rel coats with a too big" look.
The tapering hip-length jackets.
The new 2s length for winter
coats. The padded half-moon
sleeves on both coats and suits.
The fitted suits. The shaped-but-
notified suits. The bulky or
tulip tops with stem skirts. The
beltleSs dresses with semi
moulded midsections up to the
bosom. The soft princess slips.
The wide-wide sheaths for eve
ming. The back-swept swan"
dresses with hustle, Edwardian
style.
Jacques Faiths hemlines are
IA inches from the ground. His
suits have a shaped-but-not-
fitted look: sleeves are inflated,
dresses are beltless and follow
the body curves or have high
wrapped satin middles. Fleece
coats are striped like zebras or
spotted like leopards.
Balenciaga'S theme has not
varied for three seasons: Semi
fitted coats and dropped waists.
He has now fined it down to per-
fectionS. Huge shawl collars,
much black and white.
Pierre Balmain's "Jolie Mad
anne Of Paris" collection is digni-
fed, with skirts only II inches
from the ground. Classical
suits with medium length jack
cts, Irene Castle tunic dresses,
hats with paradise feathers,
evening dresses with a cushiony
back feeling.
SchiaparelIi names her collec-
ton "caressing." It fits the body
in an uninterrupted line from
the bust to the hemline, barely
caressing it. AS everywhere, the
bust is full and the skirt slim.
Some of the materials are so soft
they are almost unreal to the
touch.
Jean Desses' guitar" line
stresses a round bodice. tiny
waist and puffed hips.
Lanvin CastiIlO's ''ladybird"
theme shows overlapping wings
and irregularity of skirt lengths.
Importance is given to special
gowns for the theater, in which
emphasis is concentrated on the
bust only.
Young Hubert de Givenchy,
surprisingly conservative. made
his coats and tailored suits for
the American market and his
evening picture is entirely Chi
nese and japanese. Pointed hats,
obs, mandarin coats and all the
fabrics of the Orient.
And finally Christian Dior:
He shows two SilhouetteS: the
round, billowy "cupola" line
barrel coats, hips and balloon
skirts for small, very feminine
women; and the long, slim Elf
fel tower" line no hips, no
stomach, no bulge. The newest
is the one-piece beltleSS dress.
The bodice fullness is gathered
over the bust and often blouses
out in the back; at about the
third rib the fullness ends in a
smooth band reaching the hip
bone-the French call it the
mo Mans Land" of the waist.
It Is only vaguely indicated by
a princess cut barely touching
the body (very comfortable
dresses, says Dior, and they can
be worn by tall and short wom-
en- alike).
Dior's "Eiffel tower" dresses
are slim all the way down,
and his "cupola" dresses flare
out in a dome shape below a
very trim waist. Dior created
"cupo1a" dresses two years ago.
but they did not catch on in
France at the time. These are
definitely shorter than the others
they are made for dancing
and frivolous hours and were
partly responsible for the hem
line surprise. Cocktail length
now shortens to day length.
New accessories seen in the
collections:
Tiny fur ascots in neckline of
suits.
Necklaces of fur, turtle-neck
style (ermine, Persian lambl-
Faith.
Small balloon muffs-Fath.
Continuation of stoles, espe-
cially for evening.
Handkerchiefs in pocket in
Ionor A/HooI CH,H