MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 June 1922, Page 8

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

NEWS AND NOTES. Lace mats for the dining-table, tightly stretched between two circles of glass, the edges of which are held together by a narrow gilt frame, are a ' useful novelty, for they minimise the laundry bi(l and prevent polished surfaces being scratched or spotted. An unusual centre-piece for the dining-table recently seen consisted of a mirror framed in brightcoloured carved flowers and fruit. Four clusters, carved and painted to match, one for each corner of the table, were also supplied. The brides in the New Hebrides arc certainly unlucky for most of the married women in Malekula have two front teeth missing. They have been removed by the old woman of the village. Instead of getting a weddingring, the unfortunate bride lias her teeth knocked out. Another quaint custom is that of winding a strong eord around the head of each babygirl, in order to alter the shape of her head. The cord is wound over a piece of matting placed on. the child’s skull. The girl whose head is conical in shape will marry well ; whilst should her parents have neglected the winding, and her head be of normal shape, she will be likely to remain an old maid. But of course as time goes on such customs will become obsolete.

I'ierie J.oti (M. J illicit Viaud in private life), wl.<> lias just been awarded ibe Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, has confessed that the ino»t romantic love of his life was given to one who, he knew, could not reciprocate it. As a young man, poor aqd unknown, he fell in love with the I Empress Euuenie, then at the height of her power and beauty, and missed no opportunity of seeing her 'whenever she went abroad, glad to wait Lours !■ and hours merely to gaze upon lier. A few years before her death, after long exile, she re-visited Pans, and the novelist, world-famed now and . nearly 70, felt his heart bound with delight on learning that she was ‘ staying in the same hotel as himself. He had never been able to speak to her in the old days, but now ho was received by the ex-Empress, and as he kissed her hand felt again, lie records, all the youthful adoration of half a century before.

Writing of hairdress and Spanish combs at a fashionable concert in Adelaide, “Lady Kitty” says: “Spanish conibs were much in evidence, What a mysterious air they give to a head. What an unfathomable expression to a face. Beautifully patterned was one-—small sized and square—that stood out from the hair knotof an absorbed listener, whose crepe-de-Chine wrap was a glorious shade of jade green, pear-shaped jade drops swung from her ears, and round her neck was thrown a rope of jade. Large and fan-shaped was the tortoiseshell comb of another feminine whose corsage was lacy and sparkling with silver sequins ; a- string of pearls encircled her neck. A mass of.dark hair piled on top of a brunette’s head was ornamented in this Spanish fashion, and round the neck a string of pink coral was worn. An amber comb arranged high on a head of sunny hair was fearfully smart, as was also the wearer’s cloak, which had a cape-collar of rich brocade. A black jet fan-shaped comb stuck in the side of a knot of fine glossy corn-coloured hair looked delightful.

Probably our grandmothers would rise from their graves, could they see the knicker outfit which many English girls now adopt for shooting and walking parties. But made with full bloomers banded below the knee, a coat coming well over the hips, and worn over a light front, with large roll collar, the girls, as shown in a London illustration, look perfectly charming, business-like, and withal, “comme il faut.” Ono suit, in the first illustration, is particularly attractive. The skirt (lined with a contrasting shade) is of medium length and buttoned down the front, making a neat looking costume. In the second picture, the skirt, worn now as a capo over the shoulders and reaching almost to the knees, reveals the pretty coloured lining and shows the girl snug and warm. In the third illustration, the girl has laid aside the skirt-cape-wrap, and is seen in the costume coat and the ful knicker; and if girls in reality look as snorting and comfortable as does the little lady in the picture, well, all honour to them, if, in muddy country lanes, and fields where fences and stiles obstruct, they don a garb that is vastly superior to the ordinary hampering costume.