MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 May 1925, Page 8

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

NEWS AND NOTES. z '• "— ■> •’ ’ ' For the moment/ small hats lead and the flowers 'enter into the milliner’s schemes. But there is talk of a departure'’ from the restricted small shape. We may see shortly a L complete ' revolution s in millinery a styles. Meanwhile, a first favourite M is the little petersham pull-on, carH ried out in many amusing shades, from H -brilliant cerise, or jade green, or the | new “royal” blue, to soft greys and ffl beiges of the familiar and very utilitar P ian order. For evening wear lace .is a great favourite—especially black chantilly. A black lace frock may have a metal lace underskirt and a trail of metal flowers on one side. Cream and beige lace is made into charming dinner or dance frocks, .and the long wisp of bright-coloured chiffon is still a pretty way of introducing a gay touch. Sometimes the lace itself is embroidered in coloured silks and inetal threads. ' . 1 —“ A cushion cover which won the gold championship medal open to the world, was referred to by the Duchess of Abercorn, in opening an exhibition of prize-work at the Royal School of Needlework. The cushion was made by Mrs .Tyndall, temporarily an invalid, of Rudgwick, Sussex. The beau tiful needlework sent in from all parts of the world, said the Duchess, refuted the gibe so often thrown at modern woman that she only thought of public life. Beige is decidedly the favourite colour for day wear, and grey, embroidered with bright colours or with black and white, is liked. Very charming three-piece crepe satin suits are made in two colours, or rather in black and a bright colour. The dress may be of that lovely new red—a kind of Venetian red with a bloom op it —and the coat of black with red pipings; or the dress may be of almond green and the coat of black . with green pipings.

Two kinds of trimming are noticeable ; the most exquisite embroidery m , small quantities and a geometrical ■ form of decoration obtqmed with strips and squares and wedge-shaped > • pieces of a different colour and material from the dress. Cloth is some- , times used with georgette and suede' or lizard skin with satin. Embroideries have never been more beautiful than they are to-day, and in The great houses the chief embroidery designer is almost as important, a person as the cutter. Colour, and form have to be studied, and both must be absolutely correct. 1 More than 100,000 visitors to the Ideal Home Exhibition at Olympia, West Kensington, W., which closed recently, paid an extra admission fee of Is to view .the Queen’s Doll’s House which was housed in a beautiful pavilion designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, R.A. "AU the money thus received has been added to the Queen’s Doll’s House Fund for charities. Now in process of careful dismantling, the Doll’s House will shortly be taken under guard from Olympia to Wind- > aor Castle, where it will be on view in a special room in the State, apartments. Each of the four women’s colleges at Oxford is full to overflowing and has a .long waiting list. The Society of Oxford Home Students, an auxiliary institution, likewise has its lists full, and many girls who have set their hearts on going up to Oxford will have to satisfy their ambitions at London University or elsewhere, says an English writer. Only the provision of additional college buildings can satisfy a> Oxford this growing demand for a university education on the part of women, biit lack of funds prevents any such development. The season brings us some lovely materials, including satin beaute, crepe de chine, a very Soft taffetas, and the. übiquitous georgette, for evening wear, with some new additions in the way ■of gold tissues that are not so metallically glittering as their predecessors. Some of the very latest georgettes are patterned with large silk flowers, and are most effective. Surah and Ottoman silk's are smart for afternoon wear, so is satin. Reps is first on the list for coat-frocks, though kasha still holds its own; and there are certain fine-surfaced suit- ■ ings that make up into,, distinctive , and attractive garments, revered with firfe silk reps or heavy satin. , Are women workers too old at forty? Miss Ellen Wilkinson, the Socialist M.P., raised this point lately in London. ‘The position of Hie woman wage-earrfer when she reaches middle-age is a very grave menace,” ' declared Miss Wilkinson. “The say- : ing, ‘Too old at forty,’ certainly does* : not apply to Prime Ministers or Cabi- : net Ministers, or members of Parlia- ;

ment, judging by some of the gentlemen I face day by day. They seem to be able to start a new career entirely at a very much greater age than that. Ono of the most serious problems of modern industry is that woman’s labour, as a whole, is lacing exploited,’ concluded Miss Wilkinson* ■‘lt is always assumed that a woman has no one else to keep. ‘A woman worker is not regarded as an individual unit. Employers tend to regard her as part of a family.’ “Employers say. to me, ‘You know, Miss Wilkinson, all our girls come from good families.’ “While I agree there are some women who are able to regard their wages as pocket money, there are large numbers who have to earn their own living.” Miss, Wilkinson referred to this “modern idea to regard the employer as a. sacrosanct person.” “I know in tho House,” she said, “we all bow our knees In humble adoration before the man who is able to give employment to any person, who is willing to give employment on any terms.”