MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 October 1931, Page 7

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

(Notes by

Marjorie)

TALLEST TWINS. DO-YEAR-OLD DOWAGERS. The Dowager Countess of Lytton and the Dowager Lady Loch, who celebrated their 90th birthday recently. are probably the tallest women twins in England (states the “Daily Mail”). They come of a family remarkable for height. Their father, the Hon. Edward Villiers, a brother of the fourth Earl of Clarendon, was 6ft. 2in. The pi esent Lord Loch is even taller than his grandfather was. for he stands 6ft. 4£in. in his socks. Ills mother stated that she and the Dowager Countess of Lytton were as tall at the age of 12 as they are now. “Modern girls,” said Lady Loch recently, “probably think it is rather smart to smoke, but my twin sister and 1 smoked when we were about 12 years old! Our uncle, Lord Clarendon, who had seen women smoke in Spain, used to give his daughters cigarettes, and they would pass some on to us now and again. I continued to smoke when 1 married —which was before 1 was 20. I remember that I wore a crinoline, and a bonnet with a ‘curtain.’ “We went to the Isle of Man after the marriage, for my husband was Governor. And there 1 soon gained a reputation for being ‘fast’ —because 1 dared to walk out alone in the snow, carrying a walk’ng-stick! Whenevei I went, out for a walk a footman was supposed to walk behind me; but 1 generally managed to give him the slip.” She thought that girls were as pretty 70 years ago as they are to-day. “And they never used lipstick, nor did they dream of plucking their eyebrows.” Lady Loch and the Dowager Lady Lytton were only two years old when their father died. He was the Hon. Edward Villiers, a brother of the fourth Earl of Clarendon.

SHOULDER LINES WIDER. CAPES AND BERTHES. The return to the vogues of the ’eighties and ’nineties has resuscitated many of the cape and berthe ideas. The epaulette is also there, and by such extras the slope or width of the shoulder-line is entirely altered (writes the Hon. Mrs. C. W. Forester, in the London “Daily Telegraph”). The wider shoulder is undobutedly more ' becoming to the average English woman, as it balances the hips and waist, better. Particularly in the evening the sloping shoulder is best when width is added by the arrangement of the cape or berthe. Sometimes the cape is carried much lower, finishing just above the waist. The wider effect is also suggested by a short bolero with a. top-capped sleeve or epaulette. Most of our dress artists are insistent that width is far more becoming than the old bottleneck shoulders.

Possibly our shoulder-lines have altered, for the early nineteenth century miniatures showed the most elegant and graceful ladies, with a very sloping line! Now, if allowed io slope, shoulders must first be widened.

The berthe or cape is a graceful evening addition, but for day wear I do not. admire the epaulette, which appears braided and trimmed in military fashion on some of the earlier autumn tailor-mades. Blue and gold braid, with belt of the same, and a soft dark felt hat, may look right on a navy serge suit, but it is apt to hint of a stage effect, somewhat at variance with the best conception of our Englisfh tailored suits. NEW DANCE TEMPO. Something new in the mode of dunce times was exploited with considerable success at the official opening of the London dance season at the Royal Palace Hotel recently. The Cuban rhythm—as this latest variation of dance tempos is termed — is almost certain, if the appreciation shown last night can be taken as any indication, to give a decided impetus to ballroom dancing popularity. This new rhythm may be described as a syncopated tango; the tempo is such that dancers can invent their own steps by combining th© tango and thd ordinary slow fox-trot. No special knowledge of any variation of dance is required.

SCHOOLGIRL “TROUSSEAU.” PREFERS ARTISTIC COLOURS. A tour of the famous dress stores of the West-end just now, while tho school-time shopping is at its height, reveals the unmistakable fact that the modem schoolgirl requires as eon!-' pletc a trousseau as the modern bride before she goes off for her first term — with the difference that, all the choosing of styles and colours has already been done by the headmistress (says the London “Daily Telegraph”). “There are no casual clothes in the schoolgirl's wardrobe this winter,” the head of the girls’ outfitting department at a famous store states. “It is no longer a question of school uniform in the morning and private clothes in the afternoon. The clothes chosen by the school authorities are suitable for all the various occupations of the schoolgirl from the time she gets up in the morning until she goes to bed. for weekdays and for Sundays, too. All the materials are dyed specially for each school to the bright reds, Lincoln greens, and Udo blues that are now most popular, and all the dresses are to have higher waists litis winter, and till the hats lower crowns and a tilt to the brim.” Green in shades from a soft reseda to a deep apple green is the choice of one school. During the daytime the girls wear a green wool crepe frock ■vith a. belled waist and fawn collar, and over it during working hours a darker green linen overall, belted, with large pockets and attractively smocked at the shoulders in red and white.

' For games there is a green gym tunic with white flannel blouse, a green blazer embroidered in red and white for summer, and a green knitted pullover for the winter. The overcoat is green and the beret green with the red and white school badge, and there is a simple green velvet frock for evenings, prize givings and special occasions. UP-TO-DATE UNIFORMS. For Sunday wear a pleated skirt, silk juniper and school tie, with felt hat and overcoat, all in blue, is the choice of another school, and one of the advantages of these up-to-date school uniforms is that they can be worn in the holidays, and will look far more trim and suitable than many of the “casual” clothes bought by mothers for their daughters. Great care now goes to the designing of clothes suitable to the average school, girl's figure and colouring. The djibbah, copied with modifications from the garment worn by the Arabs, is now preferred by several well-known schools to the tunic, either in grey, blue, or green. A school in Northampton has decreed tunics of shot fawn and blue with blue blouses for the morning and for games, and blue rep dresses wit|i knickers to match for the evenings. In the summer term these, girls have attractive dresses of flowered shantung, again with knickers to match. A great concession is the permission to wear three-quarter hose—like boys’ stockings below the knee —in the summer term, and stockings are now in all cases grey or sunburn brown. Black-and-tan are demode. The modern mother is therefore not called on to provide for her schoolgirl daughter any clothes of her own choosing. Though the trousseau may seem large, there has lately been a 25 per cent, drop in cost prices. “CHAMPION BAKER.” TWO BRIGHTON WOMEN. Thousands of bakers in all parts of the country were defeated recently by two women in the competition for the National Association’s hundred guinea challenge cup at the Confectioners and Bakers’ Exhibition, Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington. Bakers from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales gathered eagerly to hear who among then 1 colleagues had gained the trophy, which carries with it the title of the “champion baker” of the United Kingdom. Then the announcement was made that it had been won jointly by two Brighton women, Miss Davies and Miss Cowley. This is (he first time the trophy has been won by women. The runner-up was a Loudon baker, Mr. J. R. Irons, who received a silver medal. Third place was won by another London man, Mr. L. Jenkins, of Hampstead. OYSTER SHADE POWDERS. While it is unlikely that women will return to tho dead-white powders of the Edwardians, the oyster shades introduced by a Bond-street beauty specialist for wear with the new autumn purples and greens are very much whiter than any of the powders of of previous seasons. Strong colours, like red. purple, green, and cornflower blue, demand that faces should not show a. trace of tan, hut have a pale matt surface, with coral pink colouring. This specialist makes her clients b-.te their lips until the blood rises to the surface before she gives them the correct lipstick. What eye-shadow the smart woman will choose this winter is to depend upon her health. When she is cheerful and full of vigour, a very soft grey-blue eye-shadow is to be very lightly traced indeed under the eyes. Brown eye-shadow should be reserved for the dull days of winter and whenever a woman is tired or depressed.

BItIDG E- BIDDING SYSTEM. JI is expected before the year is up some one will have invented a bridgebidding system that tells partner your business ’phone number and your wife’s maiden name. I—Detroit 1 —Detroit News. At the Children’s Halloween Fancy Dress* Dance held by the Grey Caledonian Society, Master lan Wright, dressed as Cupid, was awarded the special prize for best dressed boy under live years of age.