LANGUAGE OF FAN

Evening Star, Issue 18333, 21 July 1923, Page 12

LANGUAGE OF FAN

all things said in its play. The Latin woman by instinct and heredity alone knows the nuances of fanplay (says a writer in the Sydney ‘ Sun ’). Others emillate and others attempt to originate, but to Donna Catorina will there always remain that inimitable gift of being able to say all things with the aid of that little feminine trifle. Fans are very much in tliis season. All tho smart world is twirling fans at this moment, and those who have had their treasures in hiding have brought them forth to help with tho spirit ol carnival that prevail,'.. Women in general, however, have to be satisfied with the more or less luxurious modern} examples which jewellers avid novelty people _ have produed and are still producing in response to an overwhelming demand—lovely items in their way, fashioned of feathers and jewels, in tortoiseshell and Lace, but nevertheless mushroom growth beside tho elegances that are being flourished by others whoso precious fans have a history, and have themselves contributed to history. HISTORICAL TREASURES. Tho genuine Watteau fan is quite priceless though its imitations are common enough; but there is a Sydney woman who ‘ owns a delightful specimen which once upon a time was toyed with by the precious fingers ■of a great lady of Franca. This fan is a real souvenir—reminder of good times and other gay days and doings in Paris, where, after a cotillion, a gallant begged the privilege of writing a sentiment on its lovely satin surface. It runs: “ Pannl vos chiens il n’ya pas un tout petit place pour moi.” And, again, old-tme opera lovers—not of this part of tho world, however—must recall the wonderful fan of a famous prima donna, and how sho enthralled all Europe, coyly singing her points from over a fan composed of Venetian point, tho sticks and supports of which were blazing with blue diamonds of perfect lustre —a glittering, shimmering wand that fascinated all those who loved to watch its play. That fan will soma day appear again, probably when some lucky friend or god-child comes into a coveted inheritance. Tho Medici women and their descendants are as conservative as one might expect from so illustrious a lineage. Only a Medici could flaunt the family coat of arms —pills, just plain pills—in the face of an enemy or a friend; but when there’s a coronet, too, and tho whole embellishment done in diamonds on a fan worth its weight in rubies or emeralds, then a fan’s a fan, and a Medici one certainly something to be haughty about. There’s the story, too, of tho great Moissonier, tho famous French painter, whoso fans are, of course, not just merely wonderful or exquisite or beautiful, but in that class that evokes plain veneration for human genius. What a short-sighted little grand-daughter was his. A friend presented her with a charming satin fan, and her grandfather offered to paint on it for her. “ No, indeed,” was tho reply; “ paint on my nice clean fan I Not at all.” Some appreciative descendant is to-day deploring that historical sin of omission. I3ut all fan lore and fanplay is not entirely the prerogative of tho women of tho classes. Those of the Midi have trick of wrist equally with their hatted sisters. Wearing no hats, the fan takes tho place of both these and sunshades, and tho smallest girls are born adepts in tho art of twisting and twirling a fan, done with such grace that those who only view those people through tho eyes of visitors rejoice that in some part of tho world still there remains something that has not been commercialised into a commonplace.

Tho language of fans varies in accorddance with tho country where they prevail. China and her fan history would fill tomes; but in mid-Europe among the simple middle class a lass with a delicate air and a silent tongue can do quite a creditable amount of flirtation with tho help of her paper fan. Should she hold it closed for her wooer to see, then his love song is, indeed, his swan song; but if the fan is even only a shade unfurled, then his heart goes pit-a-pat, for the lady of his dreams is not entirely adamant. An open fan tells its own story: wedding bells to be, and the village getting its best finery ready for an auspicious occasion.

And, again, there are fans and fans, and ways of using them. Those who saw the inimitable Lipkovska singing the other uight can appreciate what a woman could do with her fan. But we aren’t all Latins nor Slavs; but Fashion says carry a fan, wear a fan, use a fan; and it’s good advice, if only for tho excellent reason that it gives women something definite to do with their hands. A Frenchman—an ungallant one, but critically truthful—once said that “To every woman but a Latin hands are an encumbrance.”

One often may see girls and women at concerts or at a theatre here aimlessly twiddling and twirling their fingers, and picking at lace and gloves or ribbons, doing anything but holding their hands in repose. Possibly this part of the world docs not lend itself to fan play, and women will contend that they have something else to do besides emulating the senoras of sunny Spain; but fan flirting would be better than an ugly alternative. And, after all, it is a matter of geography, too, Senoritas aro not sportswomen in the sense that Australian girls aro, though they consider their national' sport, bull-fighting, as entitling them to a claim in'this direction. Indeed, a lady of Spain, if she takes this sport quite seriously, sees to it that her beat fan is decorated with scenes of the arena, and it is there for those who run and read to sec, witness of her sportloving nature.