THE SOCIAL ROUND

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 112, 17 June 1914, Page 4

THE SOCIAL ROUND

NOTES AND NEWS. Mrs Usborne arrived in Christchurch front the North yesterday. Mrs Denniston has returned from a "visit to Dunedin. Lady Kelburn is the guest of Mrs Boyle, Christchurch. Dr and Mrs R. W. Ely Roe, who have been staying at Warwick House for the past few w T eeks> leave to-morrow for

Hanmer, The Misses Andrews, who have been holidaying in Wellington, returned to €hristchurch yesterday. Sir Joseph Ward and Lady Ward are at present in Invercargill. Mr and Mrs E. E. Stack were amongst the Dunedin arrivals in Christchurch yesterday. .Miss Dorothy Harding, who has been staying at Ariki-toa, arrived in Christchurch this morning on a visit to her brother.

Mr and Mrs Davis, Mayor and Mayoress of Ashburton, arrived in Wellington

yesterday. Mr and Mrs C. G. Turner left last might for Wellington, en route for London. A large number of friends assembled at the station to see them off, and others went down to Lyttelton to see them aboard the ferry steamer. Mrs Watkins, of Alberta, Canada, who has been the guest of her sister, Mrs Norton, Merivale, for the last three months, leaves to-night for Wellington, where she will the Tahiti, on her return to Canada.

Misses Alice and Marjorie Saunders were entertained by their friends at a jolly little social gathering at "Tc Whare" last night, prior to their de-

parture from Christchureh. During the * I ■ evening Mr A. B. Young, on behalf of many friends, presented Miss Alice .Saunders with a handsome dressing case, accompanying it with many expressions * of goodwill, coupled with genuine regret at her approaching departure. Mr F. J. Hannah, on behalf of the company, presented Miss Marjorie Saunders with a gold bangle and a framed photograph ' quartet party, of which she is a vmember. In doing so, he expressed every good wish for the recipient's future welfare, and spoke of the high esteem in which she was held by all present.

An entertainment that was novel and very enjoyable, was held in the Alexandra Hall yesterday afternoon, when Madame Gower-Burns, assisted by Mrs "W. "Wilson, Miss Audrey Gibson, Messrs Sidney Williamson and Alfred Worsley, gave a vocal and instrumental recital. The hall was prettily decorated with palms/ and small tables were dotted about here and there foi* convenience in serving afternoon tea. The lights wefre turned on all the time, and gave the %all a bright, cheerful look, especially when you contrasted the conditions with those which prevailed out of doors. At tie conclusion of the musical prolamine a tempting afternoon tea, for ■which Miss Mildred Trent catered, was served, and considering that the bulk of the attendance was composed of women-folk, this finish-up was very much appreciated. Amongst those present were noticed Lady Bowen, Mrs A. Boyle, Lady Clifford, Mrs Charles Dalgety, Mrs and Miss El worthy, Mrs George Gould, Mrs Carey-Hill, Mrs George Helmore, Mrs Murray-Aynsley, Mrs R. B. Beals, Mrs John Anderson, Mrs Richard Allen, Mrs John Deans, Mrs George Harper, Mrs G. Humphreys, Mrs_ John Stevenson, Mrs F. Wilding,

Mrs Hurst Seager, Mrs Norton, Mrs - Watkins, Mrs Bernard Wood, Mrs 11. F. Wigram, Mrs W. J. Moore and Miss Moore, Mrs W. H. Clar£, Mrs James Jamieson, Mrs H. H. Loughnan, Mrs S. €r. Raymond, and very many others.

.At the annual meeting at New York •f the American Silk Association the announcement was made that the silk trade was v in a satisfactory condition for the first time since 1907, and is "beating all previous records of output. Partly owingjta-9+e-- L tango'' craze, the .factories'are unable to deliver silk fabrics quickly enough for women who •want to dance in costumes, and the great silk houses now have artists touring in South and Central America to secure exotic dress designs to match new dances. The secretary of the association, in his annual report, says: "It is notable that the revival of dancing, which lias resulted through the introduction of the 'tango' and other Spilth American dances, has had a direct stimulative effect upon the silk industry by reason of the greater numfcer of dancing gowns required not only i>y the women of fashionable society, but also by women of moderate means, who dine out much more than formerly. The custom of dancing in the afternoon, aS well as at dinner and after the theatre, has become almost universal in York City, and the craze for this form of amusement is rapidly spreading to other cities throughout the country. WitU the eyes of the world, on Mexico and South America, fashions having their origin in the land of the Aztecs, the Toltecs, and the Incas are making a frequent appearance. Fashion creators are ransacking all Central and South America for old books, old pictures, old Bjanuscripts, old potteries, and all kinds pi art objects to yield ideas for the acTorniitent of the woman of to-dav."

The death of Lord Suflield has placed many families in mourning, including those of Colonel the Hon. Charles and 'Mrs Jiarbord, now Lord and Lady Hitffield, the Marquis and Marchioness of Xiineolnshire, Lord and Lad.y Hillingdon, the Dowager Lady Hastings, the

Hon. Lfi«ly Musgrave, the Hon. Mrs Sullivan, and the Hon. Lady Keppel. To Queen Alexandra, Lord Suffield's death meant the severing of another tie with the happy past, for he was one of King Edward's oldest and most valued friends. The estate of Gunton has for some time past been in possession of the new Lord Suffield, his father having made it over to him. The late Lady Suffield was as much honoured by Queen Alexandra's confidence and friendship, as her husband was by that of King Edward. Lord Suffield married again about three years ago to Mrs Rich, widow of Colonel C. C. Rich, R.11.A., and daughter of the late Major Robert Poole Gabbett, of Corbally, Limerick. His widow will be known as Frances Lady Suffield.

An invalid, happily only for a short time, is Viscountess Ridley, who had just recently been operated 011 for appendicitis, and who is going on quite satisfactorily. It is hoped that she will be quite all right for the season of which she has usually been an integral part. At present she is in mourning for her fathei', the late Lord Wimborne, who died in February. She is another example of political dissent in families; her husband is a staunch Conservative and Tariff Reformer, and her mother and brother are convinced Liberals and A nti-Tariff Reformers. A feature about Lord and Lady Ridley's fine town house, with its blaek marble staircase, is that every bit of the decoration, alteration, anil interior reconstruction was done by British workmen and of British materials. Lady Ridley has one bon, w r ho is now in his twelfth year, and two daughters, the elder being nearly fourteen.

Princess Mary, who recently celebrated the seventeenth anniversary of her birth, will not be seen in society until the season of 1915, when she will attain her majority. The Princess has now practically completed her lessons. The Queen has encouraged her in the study of German, and from an early age she has had a German governess. She can now speak both German and French fluently. It is reported that the Princess will conform in the matter of marriage to the later rather than the earlier traditions of her house. Queen Victoria's eldest daughter was a bride of nearly a year's standing on her eighteenth birthday, but. all her sisters waited longer. Princess Alice married at nineteen; Princess Helena was just over twenty when she married Prince Christian; Princess Louise married three days after her twenty-third birthday; and Princess Beatrice had passed twenty-eight on her wedding day.

There is no doubt about the return of the cape. It is the fancy of the moment in London and Paris, so it is bound to be here soon. The fashion will be with us, as it is in Europe, a summer one, and no one can pretend for a moment that a cape can be as warm as: a well-fitting coat. A cape, even if it falls to the feet, only gives warmth where it touches. In any case, we are to have the court mantle, the page's pelerine, the Bersaglier cape, and, in fact, capes of all epochs, even to the '' golfer" of the "'9o's," with its crossed bretelles, which kept the floppy affair in its~place. Long tunics and short shoulder capes are the salient points in the tailor-made styles wc will be seeing early in August, or even before. Both are said to be becoming wheh properly adjusted, otherwise they are clumsy. In cloth, they are hardly graceful, but in silk they are described as charming. In order to make it clear how a cape toilette is arranged, let it be understood that, in its best expression, it is correct to have a dress and cape in the same colour, with brilliant notes of contrasting colour on the bodice and cape coll-ir. 'Cake an example, a navy-blue taffetas, with a waistcoat of blue and green stripes, showing under an open bodice, with long sleeves of blue taffeta. A touch of green stripes will sllow on the wrists, and again on the collar of the cf'pe, which falls backwards from the shoulders, and is unlined; the tunic will l-e straight, and full to the knees, and 1 elow there will be a narrow skirt, with hardly room to walk in.