EVE’S Vanity Case

Feilding Star, Volume 8, Issue 2506, 20 March 1930, Page 2

EVE’S Vanity Case

TO CORRESPONDENTS m© Lady Editor will be pleased to receiv© for publication in the “Woman’s Realm” items of social or per sonal news. Such items should be fully authenticated, and engagemeni notices must bear signatures. THE LEGEND OF LACE According to an old legend, lacemaking was started in Europe by a, Venetian girl. She fell in Jove with a handsome fisherman, and toi attract his attention she stole one of liis nets and into it wove a wonderful pattern df seaweed. The word lace is said to be derived from the old French las, which, in turn, comes from the Latin lacere, meaning to snare or to entice. The credit for the first lace-making must go to Egypt. An early example of Egyptian lace can still be seen at the Victoria* and Albert Museum in London*. Expert* agree that this was made oin a loom much like the first European examples, a square frame with ai elaborate contrivance of cords and threads.

It was many hundreds of years be fore the art was re-discovered.

When lace came t° England i 1 was under a cloud of persecution an* murder. In 1556 tryanny was ran pant in the fid w 11 of Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp, under the reign o Philip IT. The inhabitants fled v terror of tlieir lives and sough sanctuary in England. Thousands o: Flemish people arrived at the coast Towns ill Kent*, and in a short time a prosperous lace-making community was established. There was a fresh influx of refugees after the massacre of St. Bartholomew.

Tlie FVencli and Flemish workers appear to have settled down very amicably together, for many of the o T d specimens of lace show a blending of the designs oJ Mechlin and Lille,

Queen Elizabeth was a great bene factress t° the lace workers. She wore their wares on the edge of her ruffs and in lavish trimmings, while the gent’omen of her court wore it on the t°P of their boots and in big rosettes on their shoes. Queen Mary has a wonderful collection of beatutFul lace. She is os pecially interested in that of British manufacture, and treasures those pieces that have been presented to her and to late members of the Royal Family, on ceremonial occasions.

Lace lias never been more prominent in the world of fashion thpn it is now. Its delicacy makes it suitable for the more feminine styles in vogue. LATER MARRIAGES AND LONGER GIRLHOOD Have the .girls of t°-day decided that the marriage age as set down by the example of past generations of women shoiuitl have at least another ten years added to it? From a little observation of present-day marriages one inevitably draws %i-k is conclusion, that the “sweet girl wife,” sixteen or thereabouts, who provided the novelist with such a wealth of romance and sentiment and scalding tears to* wallow in, has been quietly knocked on the head, and] that the novelists who made such sport of her and lier harrowing emotions have turned to newer subjects or retired from the game. The tendency of modern life is to make early marriages difficult if not impossible, and we find girls remaining “.girls” for a very much longer period than was customary in the past. The marriage market, like every other market, seems' to have if,s boom periods and its depressions. We had an epidemic of very-young marriages during the early days ot the war. There was something very romantic about a. khaki wedding and no» one dared to think too seriously of fhe future. For so many there was to be no future and tlvp present was all that mattered. Here and there an elderly recruiting enthusiast with oratory and frankness born of the prevailing war hysteria, openly urged the soldiers to marry before leaving for the war. He had dared to look forward and visioned the irnproverishment of his country if so many of its finest men must die and tl'Jere should be no sons to follow them, t° perpetuate the strain of clean, courageous manhood. Perhaps he was right, but the mothers of the war-babies do not talk much of the anguish otf thiose years.

Tiie generation which grew up during the war years was too young to be deeply impressed by its lessons areluctance to assume responsibilities, matrimonial or otherwise. The younger sisters of the girls whose gay days were cut short by early marriage and whose, post-war misfortunes sometimes swamped out tVoir happiness, are on the whole more sophisticated. Insisting that the heart should never over-ru'j© the head, they deem if more prudent today to wait and consider and make the preparations carefuly and unhurried before risking, the matrimonial adventure. So they wait till they are nearer thirty than twenty, and till they are able to furnish, the dovecote completely at the first flourish—carpets and crystal and quaint bits of brasswnre—and fee! content they are doing, everything very nicely. If they miss something of the wild delight of buying a new picture or chair or carpet that l.fys been wanted and saved for for years, they simply do not know what they are missing, and as for the family group with the five generations in a .century —well, isn’t the world over-popu-lated already, arid who cares? A MURMUR OF YELLOW COLOUR FOR THE BRIDE I hear tliaf white and white and ilver will again be the favourite election for the brides of 1930. s rincess Marie Jose’s choice no doubt will influence the vogue of white and silver, states a London writer. There is something very attractive about a white wedding, as if helps the various colour schemes among the guests.

I rather hope the sensational green craze for the- bride is abating; so far, for the early spring, they seem likely to be returning to the dead white of tradition—not even linedj with green. Now that the superiority is supposed to Lave trampled on tradition, w emay possibly not only observe the reaction to white, but blue will be a wedding colour. A pale Italian-shade in blue is really most flattering to a bride with blue €3*es and dark hair. I never could see why blue isn’t quite as suitable as pink, and certainly more reliable than green. ( The id,ea was that it was on the cold side, but there are so many tones in blue that should it suit at all it should be a most successful selection. So 1 predict the weddiiijrwhich reminds me also that a . young friend of mine is murmuring about yellow—“the colour of the sun”—in fact, I hear that yellow will possibly be the choice of certain brides next year. It, sounds a little bilious for a fashionable assemblage—but no doubt we must struggle for some sensation to* surpass die green craze. ABOUT WRINKLES HOW TO DEFY THEM A woman can keep her face free from lines and wrinkles until almost any a.ge if she remembers to keep the skin in a good condition by a few common-sense rules. writes a trained nurse and masseuse. Affer the age of 25 the natural oils gradually decrease, and tile lacjk of them causes tlie skin to farm lines and furrows. Creani, butter, milk, cheese, oilive oil, and cod liver oil aio splendid antiwrinkle foods. Some people are fastidious over oil, but taken in lemon juice the oiliness is eradicated. It should be taken Hire© times daily after meals. Rain water is the best for toilet purposes—hard water will soqu roughen the- fine texture df the complexion. Failing rain water add a teaspoonful of borax to a bowl of water. Always finish up with a. vigorous rinse with cold! water, -to stimulate the circulation and close the pores. A skin that has a tendency to line requires feeding, with a nourishing cold cream very frequently. WHO CHRISTENS COLOURS? One always wonders wl& really christens the new colours, and ad--mires tke originality and inventive powers of th© experts who give us such charming names for the shades of each new season. The new lavender, as an instance, will be known as lilac time. Red pepper adequately expresses the new red', and .raisin tl;|e reddish brown that is to be worn.

Th© latest pastel green will be expressively known a s ••surf,” and a richer deeper shade which will he very smart wear is malachite. CUSHION COVERS It is much more satisfactory, specially for washing linen or casement cloth, if cushion covers are made on the lines of a pi 1 low-case with a flap at one end. Instead of buttons and buttonholes giant press stud fasteners will withstand much hal'd wear and will not hurt the head if the'y are sewn on well toward tfcp edge. The cushion cover can be finished oir with thick silk cord in the old-fash-ioned way, or with a ruclied band of material, although the latter is, of course, more difficult to wasis and iron. satisfactorily. YOUR SON'S FIRST TERM WHEN HE WRITES HOME Don’t expect to gather any true idea of the school. Dom’t he discouraged if his first letters sound dismal. It takes thne to sett’e down. On the other hand don’t be unhappy if hi* letters are few and far between. It is a sign he is happy. Don’t, criticise his handwriting or his spelling. His masters ar© doing that. Don’t forget to' write constantly, to make your letters newsy, and to include cuttings about his “heroes,” and do give him a stamped addressed envelope for every Sunday in the t erin and a plentiful supply of post-cards. vogue; for pretty names Flower names are becoming fashionable again after Ann, Mary and Elizabeth have enjoyed such a long and popular vogue. ' During the last few weeks titer© have been several new arrivals in my friends' nurseries, says an English woman, and I have been introduced to no fewer than three Lavenders, four Marigolds and I don't know Tiow many Rosemarys. AVdID COCKTAILS <4 Avoid cocktails,” is the advice given by a famous beauty specialist to debutantes. Besides the flushed appearance which tf-ey are apt to produce immediately the specialist declares that they cause dimming of fhe eyes and eventually ruin the complexion. ROSE-COLOURED SHIRTS Men’s shirts likely f° be fashionable this spring at Home, will be in shades of rose, blue, brown and fawn with coloured stripes wT*;teh harmonise, and iu some cases with checks outlined in harmonising shades. The cuffs will be, as a rule, rather longer th a o last year and cut closer to the wrist. “UNKNOWN” ROYAL DUKE The Duke, of Gloucester is less familiar as a personality to London people than his three brothers, for the simp 1 © reason that he is so constantly away. Often ho will laugh and say, “They don’t even know' me by sight in town.” Keen as a sportsman, and genial in manner, he is liked by all who have got to know’ t’ini QUICK SMOKERS I notice a curious thing about women smokers; you can prove it by observation in any restaurant or teashop. It is that women get through cigarettes in less time than men, says an Englishman.