A WOMAN’S LETTER FROM LONDON

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1511, 14 February 1901, Page 32

A WOMAN’S LETTER FROM LONDON

'.ess remains pretty well -as when I wrote about it. There seems to be eturn to the eelskin skirt by the best es. Gold remains the rage tor trimmI helped out by black Velvet. Gold 1 are very smart, I think. A great lof pale blue and gold is worn with lay, “old-toned’’ lace, a.-,, happy common; but there is simply no end to fcvay trimmings can be fashioned. ■ of gold on white glace -silk, strips lie .blue- panne stitched oh, then on Ihite ground tiny French knots workI black silk, and finished off with a I stitching of black velvet bordered ■gold. Ribbon work is used too, but H much as it might be. Chenille emRry is immensely used, and last of ■the new cry—beads in the loveliest Is combined with embroidery. There ■act, a perfect “boom in beads. ’’ AH' Hyellers show long necklaces in beads Singled with pearls, slices of bril- ■ huge flat pieces of turquoise or Hock edged with a. rim of gold and Id ’ into' the links of chain. Ropes ■l mixed with pearls and amethysts ■fiamondsi and pearl. There is I no end to the variety of the craze ■baric gems. Bead necklaces made ■ finest Venetian beads strung on ■.read are the fashion of the hour, ■ure dear to buy. I was asked 30s Bie yesterday; but if you have the and the' taste you can make them Hf. Choose first of all a dozen or handsome big Venetian beads. them so cleverly that they Re malachite or rough turquoises, there are the black kind with on them. These big thread with tiny turquoise, amethyst beads, taking two passing the threads on which your beads through the large intervals. They can be off with two tassels of beads or whichever you like. The the newest, and the necklace enough to go round the neck needs no fastening. They most decorative things. I am to' beads at last. Of course all things, are tremendously and beautifully made, the tints and blend with the colours

i spite of all this, pockets are e allowed in our gowns, and are comfortable than having to carry

L one’s hand. For walking pur[re are quite a. number of shorter Is winter, well cut, and clearing td. I saw a, charming Eton skirt real, hand-woven Galway flannel, t thick curl on it that can. only Yir sending to the cottages in Conivhere the material is all hand|t is a. warm material, and takes Such colours on a Indscape are most grateful, and Ibdued light never look too loud. I clear crimsons and currant reds

in the straAvberrv pinks which l so fashionable in friezes this nd another thing to commend he fact that they are less comteed not suggest that the shoe bm with short skirts should be [pioach, and that the petticoats mould be of the very best. These Iwell as gloves are now much betfetood by English Avomen, and 1 [that taking dress as a, Avhole it [red immensely. I spent an hour Ivv last Sunday,. and noted with l the extremely Avell-eut gOAvns

e hand of the tailor is on every >: cne sees. The old idea, of the rs little gown seems to have ged. There is a “build" about kv and a firmness of fit that

obtain. Of course women have tr trade and know how to put 1 and get seams pressed, and U much used, is done with acLnd yet I belieA r e most of the [from the establishment of woBrnploy tailors for the heavier [ trimmings are from feminine Id fitting and draping also, tendency this season to do away lorm collar and replace it with Iboa. Two of the smartest wo--1 Row last Sunday wore sable l quite short, coming into' a l the waist and pouching over I ere no collars' at all, the neckI gown showed up at the throat, Rly adornments to the coasts Rllars of pointed lace in a thick Ke, while the wide sleeve had Hof black Brussels lace with

deep ruffles falling over the hand. Tne toques worn with these coats were comparatively small, more like low round hats, not the Trimmed Nimbus which is so terribly ran.pant in winter, and the sxirts were long, of black glace trimmed witu deep bias bands of black velvet.

The hair is certainly worn low down on the head. Wherever one goes you find the percentage of women wearing this coiffure is increasing. It is the' only way to show the shape of a good head. A nd it surprises one to find so many pretty heads in the stalls of a theatre after sitting for more than two years among the hoop style of coiffure which does no credit to the shape of any head, were it as lovely as that of the Venus of Milo herself. But in all sudden changes of hairdressing there is the fact to fight that the Avaved way, the extreme undulations have left their mark on the quality of the hair itself. Gone are the lovely smooth tresses, glossy and silky as nature intended them to be. And indeed the proper state for one's hair to be in is to look well done at thei back of tbe head. The usual way to arrive at this stvle of hairdressing is to wave the whole of the back hair, dividing the side pieces from it and inserting roll pads over which the side pieces are turned back, fixed into position with neati combs, while above the full knot at the nape of the neck a. comb with a good heading is ! placed. The front of the head looks much, as we are accustomed to see it, raised well over a pad, and waved off the face, only allowing a strand or two of curl to appear. Flowers are worn on each side sometimes, just over the ear. at others on both sides

on the top of the head. This lias to my mind a Japanese effect, and I: verily believe it was brought into being after "'Madame Butterfly" and ‘"The Moonlight Blossom/' which plays, in common with “The Geisha,’’ brought the mode Japonnaise so much into fashion. But tho woman most admired at the moment is the cue whose hair is smooth and shining, neatly dressed and free of exaggeration. Onduluers have driven our hair dry and ugly, while the craze for dyeing has taken all its own gloss and beauty from it for aye.

Fur is, of course, more worn than any other coat this winter; it seems to me that from being an article de luxe and worn only by wealthy people it has come to be considered an article of common use. Broad tail, black and white and caracul, with facings of' ermine, are to be seen by the hundred anv day you walk down Oxford street. But here and tliei'e one sees cloth costumes finished off with smart ruffles of glace silk at the neck; these especially on moist warm days when furs are a burden intolerable; the glaces ruffles edged with mink or marmoset, and has long scarf-like ends reaching to the gown’s hem. But- the neck gear, which consisted of a thing resembling a brace of animals with more tails than nature ever gave them has become more or less obsolete. It was a cumbersome finish, and was also common, so the fashionable dame eschews them, and wears a long flat boa, widening at the foot like a stole, and wadded and lined with satin. Lace peeps out of everything. No sable muff is complete without its lace ruffle, and on cloaks and coats of the precious pelt lace is used unsparingly. Sable cloaks are worn over visiting gowns, and are to be seen in Mayfair pews on Sundays; afterwards they filter into the Row, and are seen again at smart “at homes." Sunday dining out has become a cult, only you invite your friends to dine at The Carlton or Prince’s; few parties are given in private houses on the Sunday, though the pleasant and kindly custom of keeping a knife and fork for a stray guest on the Sunday supper table still exists in okl-fashioned family circles. We have got so accustom eel to secular music on Sunday that it is diffacu.it to recall the time when no music save an excerpt from an oratorio or select-ms from “Hymns Ancient and Modern ivsre heard after supper on the Day of Rest. The custom of ignoring sacred music m favour of secular is not at all to tne credit of the rising generation. It was tne one evening when such beautiful tilings as “Oh, Rest In The Lord," “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth," and many more masterpieces written for clinrclies coukl be heard unspoiled by the intervention m the mundane and vulgar music which too often makes a road in a London subrn’C hideous. Hymns seem to have gone quite cut of date. And yet I can remember how we enjoved singing them in the far wilds of the “Northern Territory on Sunday nights, where the very loneliness of the place drew the little band of white men and women together for the refreshment and rest of the fine words from the Ancient and Modern collection. I am not of those who think that the acme of perfection was only obtained m the sixties and seventies. It is a sign of old age to cavil at the present; but I know that people desired less in those despised decades, and were content with simpler surroundings. We owe much of the present strife and stress and effort to be “smart" to the rapid success in business made by Americans, who lead the van in the pursuit of luxury- The old aristocracy of England are much simpler than any American. They have an inheritance of old and beautiful things'—furniture, books, pictures, and other possessions. They are born into an atmosphere of good servants, and the' whole life of them is lived without much thought for much else than the natural excitements of the chase, fighting for their country if they are in either of' the services, but for display ofv an abnormal sort they are very apathetic. The greater portion of the nobility live decent, quiet lives, and indeed there never was a period in English history when peers worked so hard, for a living or took so many Crown appointments. “Herod" I knew would hardly survive Christmas. It is welcome news that Mr Tree will supplant the tyrant by “Twelfth Night,’’ which will be played by as strong a. cast as it is possible to get. Mr Tree plays Malvolio, Mr Robert Taber Orsino, and he is> sure to' give it that grace which marks all his impersonations. While for Sir Toby Belch who could suit the part better than dear, clever Lai Brough, whose Bardolph in “Henry IV." I shall never forget? Miss Maud Jeffries is to be the Olivia, and Viola, presumably Miss Lily Bray ton, whose spurs, if ladies wear such things, were won under the banner of Mr Benson. Miss Lena Ashwell, whose performance of Mrs Dane in “Mrs Dane’s Defence/’’ still draws London, made the' ; ' Vrittiest speech I ever knew an aetr esaoso intake at the O.P. Club the other Miss Ashwell is not oflly a clever*actress, Ifiit she is an intellectual woman. She d|ew the attention of her audience to the fact that the temperaments of women largely decide their success as actresses. The temperament is an unchangeable part if anyone; I think Ave used to call “temJoerament" disposition, but in any case The spots are not changeable. The question of success lies in the accident which fits the temperament to the part the actress has to play. The more comedy the better for the pathetic side of character, for Avliat is more necessary for the actor’s art than the portrayal of contrast. And where' you find the ready smilei you quite as often see the glistening of the coming tear. In other words, what makes an actress is her emotional capabilities, and the control she has them under. Miss Ashwell is amusing and witty, bnt behind her fun. there is a. knoAvledgei of life; and again she has the true woman’s love of home and cosy surroundings. Thus, when Ave look to a successor to 1 Miss Ellen Terry, it Avill most surely be found in a. disposition like Miss. Ashwell’s—that sunny temperament which is so captivating to the playgoer. I have left but little space to tell you of needle-work novelties; but there is a new handbag which I like, and not at all a difficult one to make. You should choose some pretty tint of lilac satin, cut it into an oblong shape (rather a fat oblong), and cut a lining of the same colour and material, or a shade lighter; the

drawing-string is placed fin or sin from the top, leaving a- broad piece to hang down. But you embroider the turnover Avith some straying stalks of violets the blossoms downwards, and scatter a feAV on the bag itself. The drawing string should be of satin, Avith a long loop, and you should make it large enough to take your purse, opera glass, and handkerchief. It would be lovely in ivory white with violets, daisies, or any blossom which would-*,, suit this style of decoration. Morning Herald." ..