WOMAN WORLD AND ITS WAYS PEEPS AT PARIS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 307, 28 December 1929, Page 4 (Supplement)

WOMAN WORLD AND ITS WAYS

PEEPS AT PARIS.

THE MODERN FAIR. FRENCH MOTOR SHOW.

(By MELANIE.)

I always regret so much tlie passing away of fairs, and those that remain in England have sadly degenerated. Luckily for us in France, these gatherings still make a distinctly popular appeal, and you can have a few hours' amusement for nothing. Which leads me to the last two I have seen. Picture to yourself a wonderful avenue t of old elms and poplars; at the end, one of the most liis* toric chateaux in the world, Versailles, still full of the charm of Louis XIV. and the great Napoleon, not to mention the humiliation of France when the Germans insisted on signing the treaty in the famous Hall of Mirrors in 1871 or thereabouts. Never mind, France had her glorious revenge after the Great War, when Germany had to swallow defeat in the same hafi. We had taken the tram, one hour and a half from Paris, for about 3d, and found tlie glitter and the chatter so alluring that we forsook the chateau. "Here, mademoiselle, let me tell you tlie luck your lovers will have," entuned a bespangled siren, drowned by the drums and trumpets of a sinall circus, that advertised a goat with two heads, and the multitude of merry-go-rounds of antique music. Somebody is a lirst-class child psychologist. I never in all my life saw a better collection of animals to attract the vivid imagination of extreme youth, pigs with curly tails, rabbits hugeeared, donkeys nodding,their heads and opening their mouths to hee-haw, horses, of course, bicycles, engines, motors, a horse and trap with whip, and best of all a chair on which solemnly sat a two-year-old lustily beating a drumi Can you beat it ? The other fair was in equally beautiful surroundings, the park of St. Cloud, whose royal palace was burnt down in one- of France's frequent revolutions. Here peeped that economical spirit so typical of this nation, for instead of chocolates, and sucli-like evanescent joys, you found yourself lured to spending on the chance of gaining 101b of sugar for 2d, or, for much the same price, you might carry home a bottle of champagne, or even a duck or hen, which would be killed and plucked directly your number won! The Latest Car. We are just in the middle of the greatest motor show ever held in Paris— and that is saying something, especially in the way of beauty. The Grand Palais, which at other times of the the Salon, its glass roof well (fleaned, was hardly able to cope with the thou-, sands that thronged in, let alone the cars, that ran into five figures. But better, to my mind, was the fairyland effect of the mile or so from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, with its neverfailing light for the Unknown Warrior, and up the Champs Elysees, the whole festooned with coloured lights, yea even found the trees. France loves fountains, and on such occasions hidden lights send a glow through the spraying waters, with a curious misty effect, or now and then a flash of raimbow; not less than two dozen did I count, some a shy, gentle splash from the grassed pathway, others rearing pcoudly 30ft in six jets. Huge buildings, like the Madeleine, likewise rejoiced the eye, and Paris en fete, I assure you, is not easily forgotten. As for the new exhibits, I may mention that two back seats can be moved to form a couch for a snooze, or better still, perhaps, in the eyes of modern Eve, a case between the spare seat, with a first-aid set, and a "second-aid" set of two cocktail bottles and six small silver-plated cups. As usual here some sort of novel competition was organised, this time for visitors to find the politest taxi-driver, he not to know anything about the points awarded. As a rule one has nothing of which to complain, I least of all, who once had part of the tip returned.

The New Furs. I take it that you are all looking forward to warm weather in the near future, but all the same a word or two on furs may not be out of place, more especially on how to make the best of them. Quite the latest idea is to place foxes head to head round the hem of the coat, the said heads meeting at the back; or if you prefer let them crawl up your back. Those of you who have tucked •away somewhere the long fur scarf so much in vogue a few years ago, can use it again by making long bands to wind round the coat collar and twist snakewise as far as they will go, not forgetting to add a like band up the sleeves, or round the elbow. In other words be original in the way you adorn yourself. Large fox or wolf is most popular, and looks well fastened at the back, so that the coat is less plain there. An unusual effect I was much struck with. As the mannequin walked round, one supposed that she had just a high collar. Not a bit of it, for in a few moments, to give her handsome red dresp a chance of displaying itself, she unfastened the said collar, which cascaded in a pretty cape, edged with fur. Handbags are more than ever a part of the smart woman's attire, and if possible should either match the colour of some accessory, such as gloves or scarf, or should be of the same leather as her shoes, crocodile being still to the fore. Indeed, so complicated is feminine attire now that one wonders where it will end. Probably when man's patience does!