AN EXHIBITION FOR WOMEN

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 284, 26 August 1922, Page 13

AN EXHIBITION FOR WOMEN

THOUSAND YEARS OF FASHION. The Women’s Exhibition, which was opened at Olympia., London, and is crganised by the “Daily ’ is excellently arranged, and covers virtually all. the subjects in which women Especially interested, social, prouonal, and purely domestio. The r is mainly devoted to arts and handicrafts, and the colours are so gay and pretty that to walk down one of its streets is rather like going along the Rue do Rivoli. Home weavers make a very good display. The furniture and furnishing sections are gcod. The Dyestuffs Manufacturers of Great Britain have a brilliantly arranged stall, and it may be said generally that all the stalls are arranged in a very effective and attractive way, states the “Mprning Post.” One of the mam sections in the gallery is the gallery of pictures by women artiste. There are nearly 300 women exhibitors. In the professional section special attention should be paid to. the Royal Free Hospital demonstration of the course to be taken by the women medical students. This is arranged in a ewies of stalls, beginning with the study of anatomy, physics, and chemistry, going on to laboratory work, and finishing up with a model of the gynecological and obstetrical wards of the Roval Free Hospital. Next doefr to this is a similar exhibit arranged by the College of Nursing and the matrons of London hospitals, giving an equally concise and clear idea of how a nurse may be trained, and the specialised work which she oan undertake. A black stuff gown worn by Florence Nightingale is one of the- historical exhibits, and there are little models dressed in all the service uniforms or in the_ uniforms of most of the great,London hospitalsOpposite to this is a section devoted to various professions for women, from secretarial to engineering, with representatives of the different societies there to give information as to training. Baby welfare societies, clinics, ana child protection associations are all well represented, and the League of Nations has a stall with diagrams showing the work of the union, and all sorts of literature for distribution. In a beautifully arranged garden beyond the hall mannequin parades were taking place, and wonderful gowns, made by all the great dressmakers, were being shown. The costumes of a thousand years are a side-show up in the gallery, where each period has its little cubicle, and ladies of famous names —-Edith,' sister of King Harold, Marguerite de Valois, Queen Elizabeth, and Marie Stuart, Lady Hamilton, “the Bloomer girl,” and the lady of the court of Edward VII in frill court dress—are among the representative women of the periods, must of them sumptuously attired. ■ Each cubicle was furnished according to the period, so Edith and the Norman lady sat uncomfortably on a wooden form. Henrietta Maria was perched on a narrow thjrone from which her train nearly dragged her down, and it was only the later ladies who really looked at ease. The “Bloomer girl” seemed distressed about her mustard-coloured velour costume, and the girl in the first tailor-made was very apologetic, as well ■he might be, for it was a hideous creation. ,