LADIES COLUMN. Girls' Gossip

Evening Post, Volume LXIV, Issue 119, 15 November 1902, Page 2 (Supplement)

LADIES COLUMN. Girls ' Gossip

Dear Kezia, — • A windy holiday has plunged me into a most. pessimistic mood, so please don't wonder ■ if •my letter is. somewhat dull. Stevenson remarks that, in his idea of- the pktce we were taught as children, it wasn't manners to mention, there would always be a gale, and moat women-?- Ayho even more than we are cur&ecl ;with superfluous drapery and excrescences' in the shape of huir and feathers — would heartily agree with him. We wenl en famille to Plimmerlon — quite the place to spend a happy day, and also the locality to study the ways of men and woinpn, individually, collectively, and in .pairs. One's heart 'ached in prospective ior the wearers- of .^ the -flpwery- chiffon.'' hats and frilly muslin dresses as the wind howled j round the unsheltered station. By the way, who is the member for Pliininerton ? He, might have secured, now that Government favours are flying, better station accommodation and a water supply for the thirsty traveller. It was fascinating to sit on the hillside and watch the procession of picnickers with' their various burdens. The billy was most prominent -^one haughty party- had a huge blue tin teapot-r-and provisions wer£ in Maori bags, parcels, portmanteaux', and even a perambulator, the lower stratum of the latter consisting of a patient baby who "did not resent being bumped, over the uneven track along the beach. Coming back, few were the trippers who did not carry or wear some bit 'of green or trophy from the bush. Our carriage was gay with -j'ellow lupin and- great white lilies. It was a merry outing, notwithstanding the wind, and the crowd was sunburnt, tired, but essentially good- tempered.. It .smiled broadly" at one rosy aggressive damsel, who came' in with a meek train of mother, cousins, and aunts, and arranged her menage without any regard to the occupants of the seats. She must ' haye been , a" " director in the company judging from the peremptory tone in which she ordered one',person to move up, _ and an-other-to sit up straight and give more, room ! However, the delight of studying her fully compensated for the extra crush. Another pretty wedding took place last week, this time at the Ilutt, which charming Iplace is looking its loveliest, at this season. ' Miss Piiddif ord w;ore a grace'fiil .'white satin "draped with valuable lace ' — the gown being serif by Mrs. Levin from London. The bridesmaids' frocks were of white silk and lace, with knots and ends of black chiffon, aiid picturesque black hats. ',By ihe way, thay woix'much adtniration and many compliments; one man in particular stating .his belief — in his speech— that ib was the prettiest wedding he had. ever seen, and discounting his delightful. remarks by adding that he , had never been at any oth.er !_ ;xV pretty, compliment, was paid to .Captain L^vhi'by the Heretaunga, Rifles, who rode out to tne Hutt and escorted the bride rind bridegroom from the church. The beautiful new house which 3lr. and Mrs. Levin are building is looking quite imposing ' from the esplanade. Slill. another, wedding — , th?t of Miss Bendall'e — is to happen shortly. A "kitchen"' tea is being given for, her by, Mi.%', Hales, of Oriental Uay. ■> Dr. 'and Mrs. Findlay have ui rived, and their many friends scarcely got «-ghiu.pse of . them before thpy , lnirried south' , to see their children. "^Mfss Chlissie H:n"ith-Are turns home in March, for a yenr before her marriage. You would have been ' much .interested, ' Kezia, in the results of a Posler-Coni-petition ■ that were Known, at M'Gregor Wright's. Certainly there is nluoU more talent here than many people imagine, ar.d many of the .designs wera capital. 3lutudur. was one of, the conditions, '^md some misguided 'artists Ploopsti--lo that saddest form of mirth-~the .punr-bul," otherwise, "ideas w.erp smart, and workuiMLrJiip good. ' Apropos of art, I saw a poem of a hat in a window last week, it v,\is oi sUmw — something like crumpled roso-petals in colour and look, and was almost llat. with three folds of velvet in three tints of vo'Szcolour (standing up on ,the crown, or brim, whichever you choose to call it. ' Like Humpty-Dumpty's belt that might have been his collar, the brim and crown of plateau hats are indistinguishable ; loops of velvet, hung, behind, and underneath nestled exquisite pink roses: Auother i triumph .wrs a golden brown straw. tilted up behind and at the sides, bound and' banded with brown velvet, with frill of ecru spotted net lying on the brim, ;-nd wonderful clusters of amber and coppertinted roses and fuliage rising on either side of the crown. With a tussore silk frock, knotted with golden brown ribbon, this would be just the headgear. 'By the way, two particularly pretty gowns'weK! to be seen last week, both of urn "sweet-" est colour that's worn." One was of pale blue linen, simply made, with a floimccd skirt and a bolero tucked perpendicularly. The other was of royal blue voile, with^ handsome black guipure arranged round the. hips, on the collar, and on the wide ,open, sleeves. The new scarlet silk stock, with the tiny, hemstitched points overhanging the cravat, and the smart tucked and white-spotted ends, made its debut last week, on a pretty woman who finished off a smart blue Russian coat and skirt with this latest neck decoration' The very latest trimming appears to be Persian embroidery, of many colours and quaint designs. Capes are edged with it, white cloth , coats are decoraTed with it, and the long stole collars, that i\s yefc have not made their appearance here to any extent, are entirely composed of it. You will mourn, Kezia, over the downfall of the plain skirt. More fulne&s, au immaculate fit over the hips, and; praise be to the good sense of some personage, the curtailment of trains — these are the three points in the coming skirt. ' What do you think of the' newest hygienic freak, of going bare-headed? Une'le 'declared when lie was asked to pay for Audrey's new hat— only * three pounds, Kezia, and a delicious symphony in blushrosc and grey — that he would -eniorco it on his long-suffering 'family. -Tbo adjective is mine, not his. • Seriously, ever so many Horne 'men are- playing golf minus their hats, in the pathetic assurance that it will ■ward off baldness. Lei us'lio^pe they willbe rewarded. As a tiny child I remember the London butcher boys who used to' ride about bare-headed, pnd who always had luxuriant hair, very shiny, and usually with an unctuous curl, but I used to dimly connect their greasy occupation with their plentiful locks. Girls' are beginning, somewhat shyly, to" foiiov.' the masculine example, _aiid are ivnafciiig to .tli^>,ct,4lia.t n sjio;iiin. & ,aajd frqsh,. ajr are the. best of -hair tpnk».~ f '•• -< ;. - "7" 7 - s At "last" our house*," Ivezia7~is 'cleaV,-Varid we are reduced to something. ..^e orjer. We are revelling in a cherry-coloured diuingroom — fortunately none of us have 'red hair— and a prjmrose-tinted dra^vingrooin. Unfortunately ' chrecUy pne new thing j's got, it makes all the otljers look shabbier. Every anxious, hflusjejyife^hns experici\'cr\l this.,' NW that tlie^fires<ara oyef,, I'cstn give you a charming idea for "a fire-screen. It was a, long, .shallow tin box, filled with earth, and -with' a trellis-work of lajhs erected in it. Slips of ivy geranium or variegated ivy were planted and trained •up this, and the effect, especially when "the-bldspoms came, was oxlremr ly 'pretty. Nasturtiuni— the double kind — loo,l\,Js most effective. — I am, yours, " PRISCILLA:-^

"Is the manager up to date?". "Up' {o datel 'Why he's }us,t introduced a gftn;p of ping-pong in tho balcony ~&ce-nV jn ''jßoroeo-^tm'dyjulieW"- -r «'• ,^.J-t.^.- kJ' <