A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 52, 2 March 1929, Page 4 (Supplement)

A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

GOSSIP FROM LONDON TOWN. JEWELS OF JEALOUSY. (From Our London Lady Correspondent.) Just as the Prince of Wales' marvellous jumper, when he "drove himself in" the year he was, captain of St. Andrew's, set the jumper craze, so Princess Mary's omerald engagement ring brought sudden popularity to that green-eyed gem. Not only is the emerald now in gvsat demand amongst fashionable ladies, but it is even rivalling diamonds, not merely in popularity, but actually in price. At a recent West End private exhibition of jewels, the emerald held first place, including such historic specimens as the famous Napoleon stone, given to Empress Josephine as a birthday gift, and the equally wonderful gem once in the possession of the Queen of Naples. Fine emeralds are now worth as much as £2000 per carat. This lent a sinister inteiest, at the recent private show, to the platoons of plain-clothes Scotland Yard men who kept yawning round the cases.

Winter Sports Fashion. Winter sports fashions are quite interesting this year, iven men's ski and skating suits are a little brighter than usual, and one or two are quite cheerful. Generally the sportsman in Switzerland sticks firmly to his brown or black outfit, but the more venturesome spirits this season will probably launch out into colours. Anyway, the mufflers, gloves and caps are gay enough, so are the jolly little turn-over socks. Feminine clotheß are a whirl of gaiety. Bright red, vivid green, rich purple —almost every colour i« included in the range of sporting hues for those who like them. Personally, I think black is excellent against the gleaming snow, and under the glittering blue sky of an Alpine village. Apparently other people think the same, for the black breeches and plus-four suits were being sold at the rate of two to every coloured one.

England's Beautiful Women. Dances like the Ball of the Midnight Sun show how many strikingly beautiful women there are in London society today. People are fond of saying that all women dress alike and look alike these days, but social functions in which there are processions and pageants very soon give the lie to that. There could be no greater contrast, for instance between the dark, radiant beauty of Lady Weymouth, who will one day be Marchioness of Bath, and the exquisite fair daintiness of Lady Buchanan-Jardine, one of the leaders of the social racing set. The Duchess of Sutherland, t;ill, fair, dignified, and the Duchess of Northumberland •with her lovely complexion and golden hair are both types of extraordinary beauty. One remembers also the Duchess of Portland with her wonderful dark eyes, and Lady Nunburnholme with her lovely grey eyes, and such pretty debutantes as Lady Anne Wellesley and Miss "Georgie" Curzon.

Caruso's Daughter. It is more than, likely that a decade hence the name of Caruso may once more echo splendidly down the concert hall corridors. The world-famous Italian tenor, the beginning of whose fatal malady was first diagnosed in Harley Street, had a little daughter, who is now nine years old, called Gloria Caruso. This child has a voice of brilliant promise, according to experienced critics, and no less a musical celebrity than Mr. John McCormack is interesting himself in her proper training. Every year until she reaches the age of 16, a record is privately made of Gloria Caruso's voice, so as to show how far her musical education is progressing. The public, to whom her father's records are so familiar, little knows that there exist, too, these Gloria Caruso records, which will be of unique interest if ever she becomes a famous prima donna.

Fashion War. There is intensive warfare between Paris and London on the fashion sector. London has since the other war been trying to kill the Parisian tradition in feminine fashions, and now Paris is making a frontal attack on London s supremacy in men's clothes. In other words, the Rue de la Paix is retaliating on Savile Row. Rich Americans are, however, the chief objective. At present the Yankee millionaire buys his clothes in London. "Parisian tailors want to change all that. Whether Paris has the peculiar flair needed for men s clothes is doubtful. It is too flambuoyant. And, curiously enough, the tendency of the Parisian tailors is all in that direction. No Pall Mall dandy dare be seen in some of the ultra-fashionable suits that Pari* is now turning out. Battersea might like them, but they would cause a scandal in New Bond Street. Before the war Savile Rows only considerable rival was Vienna. The Christmas Exodus.

Christmas plans have, for a gn*t| many people, been held up while the Sing iTs been so ill. Nobody was very anxious to arrange for trips abroad while there was any uncertainty *t the palace, and fewer well-known people than usual will be seeking sunshine m the South for the actual festival. Winter holidays in the South of France andj along the coast of the Mediterranean have become too fashionable, with a consequent raising of charges and diminution of willing service, and those whq want merely the cemfort of a sunny holiday will wait for a few weeks until the rush is over. Winter sports' parties are still being arranged for, but 1 understand that quite a number of folk who enjoy them are going to try the Swedish slopes this year instead of Switzerland. The Swiss centres are included in the list of places which have suffered from too much popularity. Child of the Slum.

Embalmed in a dry-as-dust official report just circulated is an episode that has escaped all the newspaperr. One of the inmates of a certain institution for dealing with juvenile offenders is u small boy of terrible parentage, whose mania for thieving amounts to an instinct. Jle simply cannot keep his small hands from pilfering even the little possessions of his young comrades. All the youngsters were invited to a and were eagerly anticipating the treat, but it was felt that to include this particular small boy would be merely asking for trouble. The situation was explained to him kindly but firmly. He was greatly distressed, but his keen little brain suggested a solution. Let them take him, but let a teacher hold him by one hand while in the other he carried his cap. This was done, and the result was successful."