A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 236, 5 October 1935, Page 3 (Supplement)

A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

RED riding hood.

naming the baby.

(prom Our London Lady Correspondent.) Duke of Northumberland, who is • in t master of the Percy Hunt with V mother, has offered tne grounds of Ainwck Castle for the Percy Hunt gymfl" for the second year in succession. Duke has been spending some time t his southern home at Albury Park, 11 Guildford, and has now gone on ? C Northumberland with his sisters, T„dv Elizabeth and Lady Diana Percy. The Duke intends to make a round of A var ious estates before the end of September, for he takes his duties as ° landlord more seriously than most voun" men. At Albury,a quaint custom ? st ill observed in the village at Christ--1 n 3 when the Duchess presents each Hrl’attending the village school with a Icarlet cloak and hood. In winter Albtiry Common and the neighbouring woods'^arc full of Ped Piding Hoods, and very picturesque they look on their way to school.

BOLTON ABBEY, A real family gathering is in progress a t Bolton Abbey, the Yorkshire home o f the Duchess of Devonshire. The Duchess is chatelaine of half a dozen historic homes, including the famous Chatsworth, but it is at Bolton that the family meet most often. She has her grandchildren with her, the two Cavendish children and little Davina Stuart, and many of the excursions are arranged to include the young folk. The Duchess, who is Mistress of the Robes, is one of the most lovely women of her generation, and affects a style of dress best described as picturesque. At a recent afternoon function she -wore a gown of deep mulberry chiffon, rather on Grecian lines and a hat that was reminiscent, although modified, of that other Duchess of Devonshire immortalised by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The Duchess is a keen gardener, and is never happier than when she can spend a morning with trowel and basket. The gardens of her various houses, especially those at Chatsworth, are famous the world over. CHRISTENING PARTIES. Choosing names is a difficult and sometimes delicate task, but there is a freedom about it nowadays that did not obtain a few years ago. • Godparents no longer expect their godchildren to be named in their honour, and there is a growing distaste for the fancy and fashionable name. Parents are returning to the plain old names that have done such yeoman service in the past. Christening parties are almost as smart nowadays as wedding breakfasts, and two such celebrations were held recently in London. At Chelsea Old . Church, Rosemary Sally Cary, granddaughter of Lord and Lady Falkland, was given her two old-fashioned names, whilst at Brompton Parish Church Sir Richard Powell’s son was christened Nicholas Folliot Douglas. Both babies wore heirloom gowms, one of broderie Anglaise and the other a wonderful dress of Limerick lace 150 years old. BRIDE OF BLANKNEY. Hunting people from all over the country will assemble when Miss Marigold Lubbock marries the Earl of Londesborough at the beginning of September. She has chosen the church at Blankney for her wedding. She and the Earl of Londesborough are, joint-masters of the Blankney .Hunt, and she has issued an informal invitation to her friends for the ceremony and for the reception afterwards. Miss Lubbock’s father was Master of the Blankney until the time of his death. The bride will wear a classical dress of ivory velvet, and will have as train bearers Miss. Daphne Fane and Miss Priscilla Howard. Lady Iris Mountbatten will be one of the bridesmaids, who will wear summery white organdie frocks with blue taffeta sashes. Lord Londesborough is the brother of the Marchioness of Carisbrooke, another noted woman to hounds. The Blankney Hunt takes its name from the Londesborough family estate in Lincolnshire. VICTORIAN ECHO. Looking over some GO-year-old periodicals, I was amused by some of the advertisements supposed to be of interest to women. “Hair rings with two hearts united” may have raised cupidity in the breast of the Victorian miss, but would cut no ice with her modern counterpart. “Strong grey merino—very durable,” would prove even less attractive, if not actually repellent, whilst what Amazon in 1035 would care to employ “a marriage go-between” who was to be found “at the bow window next to Margaret Chapel, Cavendish Square.” The correspondence column showed even wider contrasts. A ruling was given in one of these that “to give a pair of slippers to a gentleman to whom she is not engaged would be the height of impropriety.” We have trayelled a long way from that bow window in Cavendish Square. MASCOTS. A friend who has just returned from the French Riviera tells me that the casinos are unusually full. Threequarters of the visitors are American, but, according to him, the celebrated trans-Atlantic “poker face” is conspicuous by its absence. Slump and the New Deal may account for the fact that nearly all of them carry mascots, which are amazing in their diversity. One New York woman solemnly sets a <negro doll on the chair behind her and occasionally glances behind for reassurance. Another man, a film star, fingers an old cigar band, mysteriously connected with past triumphs. Black cats and queer Oriental charms are legion, while No. 13 is frequently called upon to invoke the god of luck. One well-knewn regular, •who returns every year, always amuses visitors by carrying a man’s black silk umbrella. Night after night she appears in sumptuous attire with the umbrella, neatly rolled, hanging from her arm. INITIALS CRAZE.

One of the most noticeable features at social gatherings these days is the initials craze. Almost every woman has her initials, and in some cases her whole name, embroidered, emblazoned or printed on her hat, her bag or her dress. At the Deauville races last week the Begum Aga Khan appeared in a striking blue beret labelled in silver across the front A. AK. At several recent smart weddings the bridesmaids carried white buckskin bags monogrammed in gold. The fashion has spread to jerseys, blouses and handkerchiefs. Nautical jerseys have initials embroidered on the front in bold scarlet and white. Tennis frocks have discreet lettering on the pockets and handkerchiefs can be obtained not only with the name embroidered in the owner’s handwriting but with her telephone number as well!