A MAID IN MAYFAIR

Taranaki Daily News, 7 May 1930, Page 13

A MAID IN MAYFAIR

GOSSIP FROM LONDON TOWN. SNIP AND SNIPPY. (From Our Lady Correspondent.) London, March 13. Princess Mary is so devoted to horses /hat few people think of her as a great lover of dogs, too. She. has, however, a beloved Irish wolfhound and a tiny Cairn named Peggy, and both are her constant companions. From Peggy ehe > has bred some very good specimens of golden Cairns, lovely little things with expressive eyes and a great capacity for affection. They have been given to various friends, and one which I saw recently is proudly owned by Mr. Howlett,; who has been a member of the Royal Household for many years, in the capacity of keeper of the King’s wardrobe. He is a great favourite with the Queen and all their Majesties’ children, who appreciate to the full his devotion, to the King, especially during his Majesty’s illness, when he acted as a personal attendant to the King.. Mr. Howlett has named his Cairn Snippy, after His Majesty’s terrier, Snip. IMPROVING THE PEKE. And writing of dogs reminds me that the Ladies’ Kennel Association is going to do something this year about the Peke. Some of the members are a little tired of hearing the oft-repeated story of pampered Pekcs being taken to dog shows on satin cushions, and of their being nothing more than spoiled pets. There is tremendous character in a Pekinese if only it is treated as it should be, instead of petted unreasonably by women who must have some object on which to lavish their affection. So at the Ladies’ Kennel Association show at Olympia in May two sporting judges will put the Pekes through their paces, and they will have to walk, trot, and gallop for their prizes. If some of the ambitious youngsters make a draw of it, then that will be decided by a jumping test on a small scale, either on a trestle table or a chair. PRINCE GEORGE'S DUTIES. I hear it is extremely doubtful whether Prince George will resume, at any time, his , duties at the Foreign Office. He had spent about four months in the Eastern department before being taken ill last July. Digestive troubles were the original cause of his indisposition, but since then an affection of the nerves, bringing in its trail insomnia, has developed. In the first instance he was given, sick leave in the normal way at the Foreign Office, and his name duly appeared in the department’s official records, but this has now been eliminated. His doctors have, I understand, advised him not .to contemplate a return to sedentary duty, go for the time being, and throughout the current season, he will devote himself to such social duties of State as may be delegated to him by the King. Since the Court has been resident at Buckingham Palace the Prince has paid several visits to the King and Queen, and has lunched with them twice, but most of his time is spent at Sunningdale. THE COTE D’AZUR. Although; Princess Beatrice is stayAm on the Italian Riviera and the Duke Connaught is at his villa on the French Riviera, they are not so far apart as the fact would seem to imply. As a matter of fact, they caii take afternoon tea together any afternoon they please, for only a couple of hours’ motor drive divides them. It is a motor ride that takes you through some of the most glorious scenery : in Europe. The vista along the sea road from San Remo, through the quaint border town of Ventimille on to Beaulieu, and other French resorts, takes you ' through a positive fairy-land, especially if you nave the good fortune to traverse it by moonlight. Beyond the frontier of Italy the picturesqueness of the scenery beggars all description, with tropical plants of every sort and kind on one side of the roadway and a wild rocky coast dipping down to the Mediterranean on the other. On the French side the roads improve and tilings take on a more orderly appearance. ThO-. actual frontier line between the two countries is a tiny stream running'; between the cliffs, which trickles down into the Mediterranean. THE TWO HELENS. Mies Helen Jacobs, the American lawn tennis star, who come over on the Majestic, has, I hear, already made preparations to settle down to serious practice for the championship meeting at Wimbledon. She is the first of the American contingent to arrive, and evidently takes her chances seriously. And not without reason, for she went into the finals of the ladies’ championships last year, ; when she was making only her second appearance in the tournament. She was, it is true, completely outplayed by Miss Helen Wills. Curiously enough, it was the first time that these two ontsanding American players had ever met, a coincidence all the more remarkable from the fact' that both Miss Helen Wills and Miss Helen Jacobs are natives of Berkeley, California. The two will probably meet again this year. Mies Jacobs is tall and powerfully built and her play and her stylo are a. little reminiscent •of that of Miss Betty Nuthall. THE TEN-STEP. The Ten-step, which is proving such. a formidable rival to the waltz at the' London ice clubs, is not nearly such an intricate affair to learn as its name would imply.; It thas no connection at all, family or otherwise, with the onestep or the two-step with which we are familiar-in the dance room. As its name Indicates, it consists of ten main steps) with variations which bring the number np to fourteen at times. To the begin-

.ner it appears more difficult than the waltz, but it is quite as easy to learn and the sensation is more thrilling than the sensation of the waltz. Ice dancing is necessarily more difficult to learn than dancing on a. parquet floor, but once the art is mastered, there is no comparison the two. The rhythm, the. movement and the variation of steps, which are the joy of ballroom dancing, are all.present on the ice with the added attraction of- tremendous exhilaration. BRIDES IN NIGHTDRESSES. . The making of hats on the heads of their wearers has brought a new type of milliner into the West End. She is a most attractive personality. and usually boasts a sense of humour as well as artistic fingers. She makes her hats in some tiny salon which looks crowded if more than half a dozen people squeeze into it, and yet manages to hold a show of them from time to time. One of her number gave recently the most amusing “parade” I have ever been to. Each hat had its own name, usually a very expressive one, and they varied from “Kid Sister” to "Step on It,” the former being intended for a quite young girl and the latter for the woman motorist. Hats for a bride and bridesmaid were worn by girl mannequins who appeared in beautiful crepe de chine nightdresses, "crowned” with the latest thing in “halo” head-dresses, the nightdresses being the nearest thing available in the salon to bridal wear. CLOTHES, NOT COCKTAILS. The Queen’s dressmakers, Reville’s, had their spring dress-show this week, and what a contrast it was, in dignity and expert stage management, to so many of the small impromptu parades which have been going on during the last ten days. The stage was hung with curtains of silver tissue, huge bowls of red tulips and white lilac stood at either side of the mannequins’ staircase, and the salons were packed with people seriously interested in clothes rather

than cocktails, but delighted with the 'music of an excellent band. There is always a bride at these parades. On Tuesday sho was tall, slender, and very young, and carried off a beautiful white georgette gown with twin trains with just the right air. Her cloudy tulle veil was fastened to pale golden hair, and she carried a sheaf of roses of pink and pale gold. COURT DRESSES. I saw at this dress show the Court dresses of which the Queen has expressed her approval. If they are all as beautiful as these models, this year’s Coiirts should be very picturesque. Even the youngest of- the debutantes are to have frocks which touch their toes, and, needless to say, the Queen thinks the new long-skirted fashions for evening wear ideal for so stately a function as a Court. Little close-fitting bodices and full skirts which flow out from them at the natural waist-line are most becoming to the very young, and seeing them side by side with the short frocks of a year ago you realise the dignity and importance they give even to the ycuthful wearer. The mannequins, by the way, have changed their style to suit the new feminine frocks. They walk more slowly, very gracefully, and with an air of leisure. FROM ONE EXTREME. Women who are not too enamoured of the long trailing dresses which spring I has brought with it this year are com-! forted by the sight of a great many of the simplest of house frocks at the dress shows. Indeed, at one very smart parade recently a mannequin appeared in a black model so severely plain that it might have been worn by a parlourmaid dressed for the afternoon. Bodice and sleeves were almost tight-fitting, and the skirt was short and had only a moderate amount of fullncm. The distinctive touch was given, however, by triangles of dead white satin, which appeared on the Puritan collar and turnback cuffs.- A-great many of the new' daytime frocks could hardly be described as either fluffy or feminine, and the contrast between' ’ these and tho flounced georgette gowns for evening wear, with their draperies and trains, is very marked.

A NEW DUCHESS ENTERTAINS. The new Duchess of Westminster will find her first big country house-party no sinecure. She is expected back from Biarritz with the Duke next.week, after a honeymoon shared with friends, and they will both go up to Eaton Hall, near Chester, to get ready for their Grand National guests. They are; to entertain, a party of sixty, and, as well as the racing at/ Aintree, they plan to give their guests a very full programme. The Duke has his own master of music, and arrangements have been made with him for a dance band which is to play at dinner and in the ballroom each night. The party’will go in a fleet of cars to the racecourse, and at one of the best “jumps” the Duke is having a marquee erected at the side of the course, where the Duchess will play hostess to her friends. LADY OF THE SMILE. I should have guessed Marie Studholme, who died this week of heart affection at her Finchley villa, to bo more than 55. She takes memory back to jolly pre-war times, when she was London’s picture postcard queen and one of the most popular Gaiety girls. Most bachelors of that era regarded Marie Studholme’s expansive but darling smile as an essential ornament of their dressing tables. Radiant, vital, and pretty in a petite style, she shared in the zenith .of the musical comedy vogue, and was the star in all the biggest successes of the George Edwavdes’ regime. She was born near Bradford, and did not make her stage debut till she was 17. She married Mr. Giles Borrett when she was 23, and her last London appearance was in “Her Ladyship” -17 years ago. MASKS AND FACES. Gloria Swanson,. whose first talking picture, "The Trespasser,” is being generally released this week, resembles Pola Negri in one particular, for it is a positive shock to meet either

|of these film stars in private life. Pola ! Negri is a woman of almost queenly ! presence, dresses with almost quaker- ; like simplicity and is as unlike the j stage vamp we remember on the films ias could well be imagined. As for | Gloria Swanson, the impression you gain I after seeing one of her pictures is of a tall, slim and graceful woman; not very pretty, perhaps, but extremely striking in appearance. In real life she is dainty: and petite. I met her at a theatre in Paris while she was in Europe last year. She was beautifully dressed, but it was hard to believe that this unpre- i tentious, but exquisitely pretty little: lady, Was one of the greatest emotional; actresses of the screen. ,- . “FROM THE SKIN OUT.” The courage—l suppose it would be; called—of the young men who have entered the women’s dress business in the last few years rather Jeaves one gasping. They have certainly gone into their subject very thoroughly, but it is a little difficult not to laugh when you hear pronouncements on all kinds of intimate dress details coming from such very youthful lips. One of these I charming young men, whom every girl.' seems anxious to consult at the moment, announces quite plainly that in order to make a success of hie frocks, which have a Spanish flair, he must dress his clients “from the skin out.” You arc doing wrong to order a dance frock from him, apparently, unless you are prepared to lot him supply you with every other dress accessory, even to your handkerchief and its perfume. Lingerie, stockings, slippers, must all harmonise, and then the frock is perfection.