Etiquette of the Nineties Returns Again in London

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17607, 24 October 1931, Page 10

Etiquette of the Nineties Returns Again in London

“THE London ballroom has returned j > to k grace and dignity that it 1 lost during mo war, and mat only tins , season nas been round again. Host- ) esses who deplored after-tno-war mum ; ners and'customs to tae point ot re-j fUsjng to entertain unless these could J be changed have had their way and a. j London party of the .moment is as j decorous as* early ■ and nikl- Victorian 1 balls wore,'" writes Marion Kyan in ! the Now Tork Hun. j “Of course-fashions have had their ) effect. Home' of the dances of yester- j year, which wore great fun in short' j skirts and chiffon frocks that were j quite light tor .romping, are very old-", fashioned now. The girl who appeared': skimpily clad at a bUil of tins.season ; would not have to be told she was out j of place —slie would knuw.it. -Not. for j her.the dreamy waltzes, the slow fox! trots, the square dance—but for the j young womau in a long, even, trailing j gown, of rich brocade; the woman j decorously eoiifed aiid gloved. Gloves are very smart in whitiq pink, crimson, blight green or any other color to match or. ImrmonisC with the frock or the slippers. :' . . . . “ queen Mary is said, to be delighted at the return to womanliness, wnich is one reason that Buckingham Palace saw a State ball aguin this season. Not for several years has there been a ball given there, the Hoyal parents feeling that there is enough dancing every- 1 where else and that the Prince of* Wales and his brothers do more of it than is really necessary. “The Prince of Wales has intro duced the most popular dance of the season, the Argentine tango, which he learned while in Buenos Aires. All the pretty girls he favors as dancing partners have had to take lessons so as to be up to his standard. That means oue must be a lie tie more proficient than he is, for the Prince is not a naturally good dancer. What proficiency he has comes froru much stmlv and much practice. “ When short, skimpy drosses were in fashion mothers looked as young as their daughters. Now, with trailing full skirts, strange little jackets, drooping hats or little oblong ones, like those in the family album, with a feather tickling the neck, daughters look as old as their mothers, and of the two mother is a better dancer, for she was brought up ou Btrauss waltzes and sho can manage her train adroitly or swing her full skirt coyly so as to afford a peep at a neat ankle, while daughter is just a little awkward this first season of discretion. ‘<And what does the London gilded youth, who had everything his own way only last season, think of it allf He may not come to a party in a dinner jacket now, but in “tails.” He may not drift in any hour and expect to book dunces with his favorites. He may not bo brought along as somebody's escort without permission of tho hostess. lie dare riot .“crash in” just because somebody he knows is there. He also is ou his good behavior aud has fullen in lino as meekly as the London society girl who only last season was a wild and wilful creature with as little clothing as she dared to wear and strange makeups that turned her lovely English skin deep brown, tangerine or brick red. “She is just her simple self these days in clothes of the nineties-and she. is a huge success. There have been more engagements •announced this season than for many years. Most of this year’s debutantes will be matrons next year.”