(See front cover)
From Paris, last week, came reports of feverish activity around the Place Vendôme and, particularly, along that brief but important, severe but incredibly expensive street known as the Rue de la Paix. Crowds milled about sternly-guarded doorways; ultra-fashionable women sought admission as to the most coveted box at the Opera; Parisian celebrities entered with an air of triumph, emerged with subdued cries of "Oh!" and "Ah!"
To the Parisian, even to the accustomed tourist, the mêlée in the Rue de la Paix was not unfamiliar. Similar scenes had been observable just a year ago, and again last February. As every true follower of fashion knows, there are two months in the year when the couturiers open their magnificent salons to the view of a favored few, display their latest triumphs of design, reveal what the well-dressed woman will wear for the next six months.
Many a fortunate Parisian hastened, last week, from the grand openings of the dressmakers to ponder how she should persuade her husband that no matter how chic she might appear in his eyes, in truth she would be in rags unless her wardrobe conformed to these newly-pronounced edicts.
Color. Bright, navy blue is to be the predominant color of fall fashions. But the most fastidious of women may appear without shame in creations of a red-brown hue. Very smart is a combination of the two, or of shades of navy blue.
Silhouette. Let the cautious woman apply the following test. Dressed in a frock of an outworn mode, a pea dropped from her fork would roll to the table (or carpet) without interruption. But dressed in the 1928 silhouette, she might retrieve the pea in the ruffles at her neck, in a bow or a flounce on her skirt. Adopting the broken silhouette, dressmakers refer the dubious to modern architecture, pointing to jagged, jutting lines of skyscrapers.
Skirts. Last week, His Holiness the Pope issued a thunderous edict. Modesty, he declared, is an essential part of godliness. Said His Holiness: "Early Christian women, dragged into the circus at Rome to be devoured by wild animals, were more concerned in covering their nudity than in saving their lives." Obediently, dressmakers dropped skirts a full two inches, brought their hems to a point between 1½ and 2 inches below the bend in the knee.
Hats. Three designs, all applied to small, close-fitting hats, share the approval of the French fashion makers. A pronounced slant downward on the right side, occasionally obscuring the vision of the right eye, is a mark of a correct hat, as is the bonnet shape, and an imitation of the French peasant's beret.
Formal Dress. Since the War, it has been permissible, though not desirable, for women to wear the same gown at a luncheon or at an afternoon tea, at dinner or at a ball. This year, pre-War distinctions are again in evidence. With more money to spend on clothes, the well-dressed woman will have rich and luxurious gowns for formal wear.