A MAID IN MAYFAIR

Taranaki Daily News, 18 December 1930, Page 14

A MAID IN MAYFAIR

GOSSIP FROM LONDON TOWN. ‘ THE DUCHESS AT HOME./ . ... (From Our.Lady.Correspondent.) . 7' London, Oct. 23. ■ The Duke and Duchess .-.of York arc home again, arid public interest in. 145 Piccadilly . - seems greater than /ever before. Women'.seem to think that if they stand near the front of the house long enough they must eventually, see either the Duchess or the baby Princess. In any case they can go home to the ( suburbs’afterwards and talk of the cars which drove up ..to the 1 front door, and; of the liveried footman who opens it. Until now,, by., the way, the front windows;of ' the house have been completely veiled by long draperies of ivory net, finished down .the centre with gathered frills, falling from the top of the'frame to the floor. Now there are short “blinds” of the deep cream net variety so universally used, and the front "of the house has taken on a trimmer appearance. . . 7 IN MARBLE HALLS’ ... . Nd one .can complain that there is a dearth of social entertaining now that a Labour Government is in office. Many parties,are being given in the immediate future in.the charming drawing-rooms—-and dining rooms—of stalwarts of the Labour Party. Miss Ishbel 'MacDonald and Mrs. Philip Snowden have already been ‘‘at home”' several, times, in. honour of : members of the .Imperial Conference. But the hostesses who are being watched with most eagerness are Lady Cynthia Mosley, Lady Jowitt, and Lady Slessor. Lady Cynthia’s house in Westminister is one of the most perfectly appointed and richly furnished iii all London, and Lady Jowitt, who is already well-known as a hostess, also entertains in delightful surroundings. The Slessors, I hear,, are anxious to establish a reputation for the artistic arid exclusive quality of their parties, and have sent out cards-for a series of evening, gatherings which promise to be full, of interest, ' ■ ~7 ' ' ' , THE BUILDING RAMP.' : Whatever may be the matter with employment, th© house shortage problem seems to have been definitely overcome. New houses and new towns have sprurig up everywhere, and if you go about the matter diplomatically, you can rent your housri without being coerced into buying it. The influence of all this has shown itself very markedly on. the flats. Not very- long ago all the estate agents had notices promin--ently displayed • in ’ their windows intimating that they had “no flats to let.” Even if.you had the luck to find one in tile 'market you had to pay a thumping big. pieinium/ to get, into' it. All 'this is .nbw.changed.. Not only, are there empty flats everywhere (but.'rents are tumbling down to- an amazing extent. This "applies just as much to the luxury flats as to those you expect io get for £2 or £3 pei’.week. People in fact are making their homes farther and farther out of town—a simple business now that nearly/everyone possesses a motor-car. .WAYWARD WOMAN. ■ - Though every motorist knows that srnoking,. particularly, of cigarettes, is a dangerous practice for drivers,- since a suddear-draught .through an open ' car-, window may blow ash into the. eyes, wphien /cpritinue to be incorrigible, of'fenders against cpwiinon sense and; social eqiuty.-.'.'Heri.ce their .enthusiastic delight in tone of the. gadgets at the Olympia ..exhibition, '.whirih/encourages : their ■ devotion to'.' the riicotine role. - A cigarettelighter/ heated 'by< electricity, ignites-: a cigarette, placed in-a holder, so that the driver, jean- keep more ‘or’ less; of an eye on the !rpad while the ignition: process goes oii.. She has only, to press a button and stake her cigarette out of the .'accommodating holder "When it is . duly alight. I stood by and .watched, a queiie of women, handing up. their names and addresses 'for the novel cigarette-lighter to be. sent oh,to them, . . - ... MORE VICTORIANISMS. To the dignity of walnut suites autumnal chills now add the erstwhile anathematised portiere. Dismissed on hygienic grounds before the revival of the Victorian furnishing mode, it is now welcomed back' without misgivings as and essential contribution thereto, .thanks to the increasingly appreciated amenities of the. vacuum cleaner. The modern housewife can have the best of both worlds —all the solid comfort of the older epoch, plus the modern inventive touch that ensures the swift and thorough cleansing of old-fashioned upholstery and heavy hangings. The materials used for the resuscitated portieres take us back to the first beginnings of the Forsyte Saga days. Damask, phenille, plush, thick rep, . tapestry, brocade —the very names echo down the curtained corridors of generations.of super middle class respectability. . ■ •' I.L.P. DRESS DESIGNER. When the Socialist movement was in its infancy sartorial distinction was not the long suit, so to'speak, of feminine converts. I remember hearing, as a small child, a grown-up . friend of the family lamenting how one of the most beloved and revered of the women pioneers was so indifferent to dress that she would absent-mindedly put. on a frock back to front if intellectually preoccupied. The disaster almost occurred when she was due to speak at a public meeting. The younger generation of her followers, in terms of dress, are in another camp. Notable among the well-turned-out young women Socialists i© Miss Lucie Shinwell, daughter of the Secretary for Mipcs, who has just become engaged. Though, like Miss Ishbel MacDonald, she has had a domestic science training, her talents- have been concentrated on running her own business as a dress artist. STRIKING FRENCH TRIBUTE. A very beautiful example, of French sympathy for the loss of RlOl was told me by-a friend : who has just returned

from the Pyrenees. It was in one of the tiny mountain villages, perched on the rocks, where but a small community dwelt. . Receiving M. Tardieu’s instructions to keep a day- of mourning, the villagers were unable to find any crepe, or, indeed, to purchase it anywhere in the neighbourhood, to place around the only Union Jack they possessed —this a relic of war days and of tiny size. So ' the school children searched the mountain-side, and gathered some .“immortelles,” which they made into a wreath, , Then, hoisting the • French■.flag,., they .fastened to it- the tiny Union Jack, with the wreath of the (immortelles over the British flag. IMPERIAL MODE. The new Empire-gowns are making many more converts to long frocks. Apiong them is Miss Gladys Cooper, who, until her. wonderful dresses .for “Cynara”. arrived by air from. Paris, had set her face sternly against the departure from skirt-brevity. And the coiffeurs.hre going to have a lovely time. Nothing cap shake their prosperity. ' Short. frocks brought them shingle fortunes, and now th© shade of the Empress Josephine hovers beningnr ly over their salons. For Josephine curls are corning in, of course, with th© high-waisted gowns. Already the periwig' propaganda ' goes forth. Special shampoos, frequently administered, are to be an essential of the new hairdressing mode, and the “fixing” of the curls at swiftly recurrent intervals will keep M. le coiffeur smiling as blandly as did the shingle. 7 / ' BERET BASQUE.- • There, is a certain charming young saleswoman behind the counter of a Grand Magasin on th© Biarritz road who is still -marvelling at the queer fashion enthusiams;of the mad English. The amazincr .vogue of the Basque beret, now allotted a smart shot silk lining to make it worthier-of its new role, is outside -her psychological orbit. 1 imagine her emotions are coincident with those that would be experienced by a Lancashire mill girl if fine ladies suddenly decided to make clogs de rigueur for ballroorir wear. /Every British visitor to th© Basque country;who has a sister or sweetheart at home brings back the inevitable souvenir,, and the bi-lingual senorita helps them tactfully with their halting French and .smiles - sympathetically, if uncomprehendingly, on. their eccentric kink. ' G.B.S. Mr. Bernard Shaw’s refusal the other day to address the assembled pupils of a we*ll-knowri girls’ school, and his promptly accepted offer to adjourn, to the school swimming bath, there to demonstrate life-saving strokes, was entirely characteristic. Some of Mr, Shaw’s critics talk as though it were just deliberate publicity,- whereas it was quite spontaneous'good humour and sagacious understanding. How we should have loved it, in my school days, if one of the loquacious celebrities who visited us had displayed equal courage and . skill. Mr.' Shaw'denies all sporting hobbies in “Who’s Who,” but his astonishing vitality,; which enables him to give life-saving displays in the 70’s, is? not : du© .'to? .vegetarianism '■ alone. Every .day [when-he is- in , London, summer or. winter, Mr. Shaw goes to the R.A.G. for.a swim before breakfast. . ■ reach-me-downs. : 1 . ■ go -many of the? SvelLknown London and Paris ‘dress'.designers.-ar© now including ready-to-Wear -.-clothes in their salons that women’s . dress problems • seem well on the way to. settlement. .Quit© apart from ' being considerably cheaper than' those made- to order from selected ■ models’, ready-made '. frocks afford ■’ the' prospective purchaser- an opportunity of . trying on., a. number, of different styles before coming to a definite decision. And this, obviously, has its, /advantages. ..A-. slender, sylph-lk© mannequin , may look wonderful-.iff,- a Paris-gown of the.last-minute.material in the newest; colour. Nine out -of ten of the average; women who adniire it would, however, probably look all wrong if they atteriipted to wear its-duplicate. But a selection of . a dozen or more <rowna jn different- styles and colours) to be tried on at leisure by the potential wearer, does away at once with -the puzzled query: “Will'it suit me?” Last week a woman was summoned by cable to join her husband abroad two or three months before she expected to go. She walked straight into a famous “reach-me-down” salon and cam© out a few hours afterwards having bought the whole of h er travelling trousseau and mo§t of the clothes she intended to take with her. 1 THE PERSIAN INFULENCE. The Italian Pictcure Exhibition in London gave society many ideas for entertaining last year. Now we are within sight of the great Persian show at the ’Royal Academy, and already there are threats of a wonderful Persian season as a result. Quite late in December there is to be a Persian ball at Grosvenor House. Mrs, Arthur McGrath, better known as Rosita Forbes, who has done so much exploring in the East and written a good deal about it, is to be chairman of it and put the promoters on to the rght colourful and artistic lines. Instead of. the usual stereotyped pageant, an “illusion ’ called “An Evening in Persia” .will be staged, and; societ/ women will, impersonate some of the beauties who appear in the historic Persian paintings. Small tables are to be set up all round the ballroom, and these are already being booked by enthusiasts anxious to learn more, of Persian influences, and at the'same time to benefit one of the London hospitals.