A London Letter

Southland Times, Issue 20834, 24 July 1929, Page 12

A London Letter

(From Our Correspondent.) London, June 0. I remember a school of the preparatory kind which had the motto, “Keep on keeping on.” It is descriptive of what, must do who wants to see life from alii angles just now! Despite the fact that the. Derby does interest more people than any other race, London has ottered dozens of. counter-atractions this week! hour impor-. tant first nights, nearly a dozen Societyweddings, the private view of Sickert’s pictures, the opening of “Curtis Moffat, Ltd., balls, tea parties, opera! Blue shoes have invaded London! At the tea party Mrs Henry Mond gave for Lady Carlisle and the committee of her Romance of History Ball on Monday, there were ever so many pairs visible. Mrs Mond herself wore court shoes of blue kid. and Lady Diana Gibb, with a blue corduroy coat, blue frock and shady blue hat, wore some kind of rough reptile shoe died blue.

Lady Carlisle was wearing a most attractive black satin long coat, and skirt, with a blouse of the new material that, looks like silk muslin, patterned in faintly orange and brown and black stripes, and caught, to one side with a buckle and loop. Three halfcircles of diamante accentuated the sideways movement ami touches of the muslin appeared as lining to a long narrow panel, which fell in flutes down at the side. One of the most attractive parties of next week will most certainly be the one planned by Mrs Alec Tweedie, for it is a repetition of the moonlight party of hist year, when a telescope was set up on the roof of De*onshire House, and we danced in one room, supped in another, walked about the roof, and guessed what various lights of London represented, and generally had a gorgeous time, seeing London from a viewpoint quite

"'At Mrs Mond's tea-party we had her lovely “lacquer" tea-service, black and gold on the outside, and with some faint golden flowers and leaves on the fine white porcelain inside. “So pretty, it is u pity to hide, them with tea," said someone. And instead of Spoiling fresh strawberries by putting cream all over them, they were served up in all their red and tempting loveliness in black bowls.

The old. old question of “What is charm?" arose in a group of people talking in the fover of His Majesty’s at. the premiere of “Mariotte.” Yvonne I’rintemps has it, as someone said, "in chunks. No wonder her husband confesses that for two whole years—and for all I know- more—he never lunched anywhere without her. There was an outbreak of green that night. Mrs Wilfred Ashley had on a lovely fluttering frock of green-patterned chiffon, and one of her enormous ostrich feather fans to match. Lady Cholmondeley, whom one seldom secs in a theatre, sat with a party in a box with the faintest grey-green frock under her velvet and sable cloak. Che latter was fastened with a hook and eye measuring abount thre inches each of dia-

monds and onyx. Below, Lady Seafield was talking with much gesticulation of her pretty hands as usual, and she, too, wore green. Mrs Cunningham Reid, however, whose red hair calls for green, wore vivid blue instead. At the opera the other night I counted seven quite long trains to evening gowns. And I learn that there is prospect of a society being formed among young men to combat the fashion. They have not had the training of their fathers and grandfathers. And already there have been disasters —especially at.’theatres during that. last stampede into the stalls after the interval. Of course, the women are to blame: they have forgotten the art of lifting their skirts when walking downstairs!