OVERSEA NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 84, 3 January 1929, Page 5

OVERSEA NOTES.

Although superstition still clings malevolently to the wearing of gieen, very few can resist the subtle lure of jade. Of real jade there are many grades. A .necklace of real jade may be bought for £lO, but for the lustie and graining that is only to be found in the best quality, one must be prepared to pay T 20 0: or more. In I ans this year women with money have had a craze for long cigarette-holders of jade, which they match with large earrings, fl. necklace and Qutiintiy mounted rings of similar stone. A representative of a large European firm of jewellery manufacturers recently said that women in Paris pay as much as £2OO for a - jade cigarette-holder, and even 'the cheapest kind cost about £GO. The alchemy of the modern manufacturer is a wondrous / process, and often the imitation jade cannot be distinguished, except by the eyes ot an expert, from the genuine article—a not very satisfactory state of affairs for the owners of real jade.

Three recent appointments in the United States- have brought distinct distinction to those who are working for the advancement of .women in punlie office. Miss Genevieve R. Cline, of Cleveland, was appointed by President Coolidge as a judge of the Customs Court. She is the first woman to hold such a position. She has been Customs appraiser in Cleveland. Mrs. Ruth Bielaski Shipley is the first woman to be appointed a 'chief of a division in the State Department. She i shead of the Passport division, assuming office on June 1, under appointment of Secretary of State Kellogg. Mrs. Shipley has 1)660 in the department since 1914, and in announcing the appointment Secretary Kellogg said' “It is a recognition pot only of her special qualification for her new post, but also of the exceptionally valuable service which she has rendered to the department for many years.” Miss Amy Wren has been appointed to serve the eastern district of New York State as United States Commissioner. It is believed she is the first woman to receive such an appointment. She will Hear cases involving violation of Federal statutes, including Volstead Act violations. She is president of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association. * #

Why is it that, if a few confetti bails and the long paper streamers, are thrown’ about at a. party, there is at once a jolly, genial atmosphere, and the layer of -ice, however thin, that is usually felt at. the beginning of a party where everyone doesn’t know everyone else, is immediately broken (asks a writer in an exchange) ? At a fausy big dance held recently the guests on arrival were handed a little box with a balloon tied to it, and in the box were whistles, streamers, bags ot the light confetti balls, and paper caps. Each opened his or her surprise packet, and within ten minutes the company, was gay, happy, and laughing,, and friends at once, with all stiffness and embarrassment banished for ever. The balloons and the boxes did the trick!

Mr. Roger Fry, who, has helped to design the colour scheme at ah Oxford College common roq.ni,. has obtained a daring but satisfying colour plan with a. peculiar pale pink shade on the long walls, while the doors at each entrance are now a grey-green colour (states an exchange).' A gold panel over the large fireplace gives a sudden contrast, find deep blue le . curtains hanging from the ceiling to the floor- have a very rich. effect at ni--ht " At the moment there , are no n ctures. Mr. Roger Fry is the brother of ' Miss ’ Margery ■ Fry, who succeeded Dr. Emily. Penrose as Pim Si of Somerville College,. Oxford.

Sir. Herbert Norris,, the authority on historical costumes, recalls that shingling was fashionable in Pans as ion” ago as. 1800, when it was called ••le coiffure a la Titus.” All the back hair was cut off close to the head, the front hair toeing worn rather longer, SdZ *led. The belles of taose days wore long earrings and a LtUc bolero coatee. Shingling, according to Mr. Norris, is but a revival of of hairdressing worn by women m the early Christian period. But it was always as a penance for indiscretion rath',' than a fieautifler in those days.

Miss Anne Burns, of Carluke, Lanarkshire, is the first woman in Great Britain to obtain a certificate autlioris-. in" her to act as a ship’s wireless operator In the final examination she topped the list, -though competing against 25 men.

Mr. and Mrs. A. Great’, whose wedding took place last month in Sydney, will arrive in New Zealand next week, and will occupy Miss Sutton’s house in Grant Road for a few weeks until their house at Karari is finished. Miss Ella Tompier, Wellington, is staying with her mother, Mrs. Templet, Geraldine. „ Dr. H. Graham Robertson, C.B.Jt., Wellington, .is spending the N’ew Year holidays in Fairlie, with his sister, Sirs. G. R. Sherratt. Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Lawrence are spending the holidays at Te , Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Curtis, Magaroon,” retone, are spending the holidays with their son at Tiraumea.