A MAID IN MAYFAIR

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1932, Page 14

A MAID IN MAYFAIR

GOSSIP FROM LONDON TOWN. , AT THE GERMAN EMBASSY. (From, Our Lady Correspondents). London, Oct. 20. Mayfair is eagerly expecting the arrival in London early next month of the new German Ambassador. This is to be Baron von Hoesch, reputed a most charming and hospitable German patrician of considerably wealth. But both the new ambassador and his acting Charge d’Affaires, Count Bemstorff, are bachelors. This may add to the attraction of the German Embassy without necessarily detracting from its social eclat. I fancy the magnificent - residence in Carlton House Terrace, overlooking St. James’ Park from the top of the Duke of York steps, is now the only Embassy in London, except that of LES.A., which is without an official hostess who is the wife of the Ambassador in charge. It was from the dining room windows of the German Embassy that the ex-Kaiser liked to survey the vista towards Buckingham Palace, and perhaps visualise his Potsdam Grenadiers goose-stepping down the Mall.

PRINCESS OF THE KITCHEN.

Princess Sybille of Saxe-Coburg who was married to-day to Prince Gustav cf Sweden, will find it an easy matter to fit in with the regime of the Swedish royal household. For next to Princess Ingrid of Sweden, of whom we hear so much nowadays, she is probably the most domesticated princess in the whole of Europe. She has studied domestic economy theoretically, and the chef at the romantic old castle where the wedding took place,' has seen to it that she has had a thorough training in the practical art of cookery. She is a great friend of Lady May Cambridge, and it was at her wedding where she acted as bridesmaid, that she first met her husband. Princess Alice, Countess Athlone, is, of course, her aunt and she spent some time with her in South Africa. Princess Sybille is extremely fond of dancing and is very popular with members of our own royal family. Blit for political considerations, the Prince of Wales.and Prince George would probably have attended her wedding in person.

CUTS AT ETON.

At the present moment the most painful, cuts at Eton are perhaps not those associated with disciplinary twigs. The Eton Economy Committee, to be in the fashion, has solemnly banned those fanr-y waistcoats which gave such joy to many adolescent mentalities, and has followed that up: now by abolishing the familiar grey football knickers. Hitherto these emblems were the chst'ished preserve of young gentlemen who had played for their house. Now they become common property for all. This is worse than handing round Mons medals to 1917 Derby recruits. But these small economies leave parental. critics cold. They would like to see the Economy Committee gird up its loins to the task of -abolishing Eton jackets and collars, and finding some cheaper and less absurd kind of hat for schoolboys than a silk topper. I fancy these wild ambitions will be, frustrated’ dismally.

PLAYS ON APPROVAL.

In these hard times no new idea is allowed to go long without being generally tried out. So we may .be in for a season of plays on approval. The management of the Ambassador s Theatre is setting the pace. Some pre-war yld fogeys may remember the sealed detective story which could be returned, and the purchase money refunded, if the reader’s interest was so inadequately aroused by the first part of the tale that he or she did not even trouble to break the seal that held the denouement of the mystery in a literary watertight compartment. This is the idea now being exploited by the Ambassador s Theatre with its new play “The Left Bank." If any playgoer finds the first two acts boring, they can leave before the curtain rises on the third act, and be sure of getting their money back at the box office. It strikes me as a bold but rather risky experiment.- . \

FASHION PLATES.

An exhibition of fashion plates 18501900, was opened 'at the Bethnal Green Museuni on Tuesday and will remain open until November 20. Preoccupation with dress as an art, rather than as a matter of utility, was probably more pronounced amongst women of the Victorian era than at any time since Elizabethan daysi The consummate artifice displayed in fashionable attire during the 18th century, was confined within a strictly limited circle, but Victorian interest,was widespread, and a number of journals, with expensively-produced colour plates illustrating the latest Parisian styles, found ready and extensive support in England and abroad. It is chiefly from these that the material for this exhibition has been drawn. It comprises about 350 plates, ranging in date from the time of the Great Exhibition to the close of the 19 th century. With them are some original drawings for dresses by Albert and also a- small group of costumes and models. This show illustrates how modern fashion development in some of its features tends more and more towards details characteristic of Victorian times.

INFANT WELFARE CENTRES.

I hear the controversy is again going on as to thfe utility of infant welfare centres. Some of the local societies of medical men have protested to the borough councils that the centres are unnecessary, and in the interests of economy should be abolished. That view is warmly disputed by the women voluntary workers who do most of the work. They point out that, apart from the modest fee paid to the doctor, the rent of a couple of rooms is the total expense, and that the timely adyice given to young or ignorant mothers, especially in cases of malnutrition, often prevents serious illness. It should be explained that no medical treatment is given at the centres. When that is necessary, the mothers are referred to their doctor, or to a local hospital. The borough councils have reduced their contribution in some cases, but they are not disposed to close the centres.

GRACEFUL GESTURE.

If one wants to encounter the true “noblesse oblige” nowadays, it may per-

haps be more readily met in Bohemian Chelsea than in commercialised Mayfair. These artists have original minds, and have hit upon delightful ways of paying little compliments. I heard the other day of a grand lady, the wife of a distinguished man whose portrait was being painted by a well-known Chelsea artist, sending a. bouquet of flowers as a tribute to the painter’s niceness during the sittings. He had been very tactful and considerate with the great man, and the latter’s good lady appreciated it. But the gesture met with more than an adequate response. Not to be outdone, the portrait painter sent the great lady a beautiful little sketch in oils, duly initialled, of that bouquet. It may not have taken him long to dash it off, but, with those initials on the corner, the sketch was valuable as well as captivating.

CLUBS NOW-RAPIERS THEN;

Most of the fashionable patrons of Ranelagh, London’s smartest outdoor rendezvous, use steel clubs for their week-end golf. How many of them realise that, less than three centuries ago, in the days of Charles 11., a very different kind of steel flashed over the grass at what was then known as Bam Elms? In the club entrance hall hangs a rapier that figured in a historic duel. This was fought-between the Duke of Buckingham and Lord Shrewsbury, whose beautiful wife had, after innumerable notorious love affairs, become openly the duke’s mistress. In the exchange of rapier thrusts, the injured husband was mortally wounded, and his fair fallacious countess went- gaily off with her lover. Dressed as a page, according to Walpole, she actually held the duke’s horse during the fight,

RESTORATION MANNERS.

As in Dumas’ novels, the duel included seconds as well as principals, and, besides the fatal injury to the earl, one second was hurt and another killed. Later, though his duchess was alive and undivorced, the duke married the countess, but on her brother, Lord Brudenel’s petition, the House of Lords made both the guilty parties find security for future

behaviour in £lO,OOO. When Buckingham drove the countess home with him, the duchess,, according to Pepys, said it was not for her and ; “the other” to live together in' one house. To which the duke responded, “Why, madame, I did think so, and therefore have ordered your coach,” which Pepys describes as “a devilish speech.” In these days of feminine slimming, it is interesting to recall that, whilst the injured duchess was rather podgy, the countess was slim and svelte. So we may have changed our manner, but not our predilection?. SUCCINCT BUT EMPHATIC. Not long ago 1 was asked to witness, and append my attesting signature to a legal document on behalf of a business friend. We repaired to the usual commissioner of oaths, and the ritual of the law was duly and solemnly enacted in that gentleman’s intensely commonplace office. Two witnesses were required, and the other one, furnished by my friend himself, was an office typiste. She was a personable young woman in the thirties, very neatly,.yet attractively apparalled, and, though slightly suspicious of the legal rites and ceremonies, obviously full of self-reliance. The elderly lawyer who officiated asked, before she signed, whether she was a spinster. His clerk struggled .with a guffaw, and even the lawyer’s lips quivered, when the answer came,.plump and emphatic. “Absolutely!’’ EVENING SHOES. There are infallible indications that evening shoes, for women if not for men, are going to take on an even gayer note. Brightly hued evening gowns are to be fashionable during the coming months, and presumably this more highly decorative tone in footwear is to keep pace. West End shops are showing some fascinating evening shoes in silk and satin, with a wide variety of brilliant colours, and often with an elaborate frilled decoration. The latter artifice is rather a cunning one, for it has the effect of masking the shoe a little, and thereby making the fair wearer’s feet appear remarkably petite. For this reason alone, apart from the charming effect, no doubt

this frilled vogue will be extremely popular. Boot experts have declared that our ladies’ feet are nowadays larger than Victorian beauties tolerated. Well, we can camouflage them quite artistically.

DECORATIVE FRINGE.

Despite the subtle manoeuvres and enticements of the fashion autocrats, ladies seem remaining constant to short hair and rather longer skirts. Probably the former, however the latter may vary with the seasons, is now not a fashion but a firmly ingrained habit. And so, I fancy, are tinted finger nails. The fact that Western beauties dye their nails will, in geography textbooks, rank with a similar fact regarding Eastern belles who affect black teeth. Paris was the Western pioneer of dyed nails, borrowing the foible from the Middle East, and we have lately had in London an enterprising Paris traveller in dyes who had each of his own finger-nails coloured a different sample shade. I saw one platinum blonde at dinner a few nights ago who had maroon nails on one hand and green ones on the other. Soon we may have fashionable young men wearing on their finger-nails their school or rugger colours.

NELLIE TAYLOR.

Miss Nellie Taylor had a genius for friendship, and a host of friends are bewailing her untimely death. When she married Mr. Buckmaster, the former husband of Miss Gladys Cooper, she left the stage for good, and refused many tempting offers to return. Her reluctance to do so was ascribed by many to illhealth. But this was not so. She never had any real affection for the footlights, though she starred successfully in several notable musical comedies. But she ran a very successful little florist’s shop in the West End of London, where, incidentally, quite a number of society girls got their training. It was a tribute to her winsome character that she enjoyed to the end one close friendship which she might little have expected to retain, in view of matrimonial jars that were at one time very much in the public eye.

ADVERTISING IT.

One of London’s famous stores has come out with a really attractive gesture. All its shop walkers and counter assistants wear prominently displayed on their torsos, a pretty blue-and-silver badge with the gallant slogan, “We are all optimists.” It is calculated that such a brave gesture must have its reactions on the purchasing public, and encourage them to be and buy British.' It may be a good move. Who can fathom the mentality of shopping crowds? Yet it plainly has its severe limitations. I can picture some ironical backchat by customers in some expensive luxury shops, if the salesmen or saleswomen are adorned with “We are optimists” badges. When the customers inquire the prices, and learn them, they may be tempted to suggest that the optimism is of tho “super” variety.

STARS IN PANTOMIME.

With Mr. Leslie Henson and Miss Fay Compton as members of the caste, it seems to me that the Christmas pantomime at the Hippodrome will be a sound thing. It is to be “Dick Whittington," which should afford Mr. Henson, one of our very best stage comedians, a splendid chance to create laughter, and give Miss Fay Compton’s svene figure and dashing presence. just the right setting. It has been said.that it will be Mr. Henson’s first appearance in pantomime, but that 'statement ignores the dim and distant past, It is exactly 22 years ago now since Mr, Henson first played a pantomime part. This was in “Sinbad the Sailor,” at a suburban London theatre, and the distinguished actor was then making his stage debut. Miss Fay' Compton is, of course, by no means a novice as principal boy. but I think this is London’s first chance of glimpsing her thus.

SIMIAN EYEBROWS.

One of the peculiar attractions of the “British Ass” is that you can never guess whom it is going to kick next. Its cool, scientific dissection, under the guidance of Professor Suk, of the film-star face, will bring gladness to the heart of the mere male, who is growing weary of seeing replicas of Hollywood wherever he looks, in street, or office, or home. The young woman who stoically and without wincing “yanks” the hairs out of her eyebrows in order to give herself the innocent child-like expression, may possibly pause now she is made aware that she is in reality only following a custom adopted by negro and Mongol maidens when they fear they are becoming passee. Worse than that, Professor Suk suspects that the Hollywood eyebrow is a device resorted to by the monkey to hide, presumably, the ravages of time and simian profligacy.

LOVE OF COLOUR.

COMBINING NEW SHADES.

“Women seem to be more in love with colours this autumn than they have been for years (states a writer in the “Daily Mail”). Last year a certain bright green and a flame colour were the most popular shades, and one saw them ad nauseam. Recently in Bond Street I saw a well-known debutante in a frock of bright blue with a little wjne-coloured velvet jacket, scarf, and beret. The effect was rather attractive, although some of the passers-by seemed hardly able to believe their eyes. “Even if women wear black now they seem determined to brighten it by bright red, green, or one of the new wine shades which have suddenly sprung into popularity. But as a rule, and judging from the gaiety which seems to reign in the West End in the morning, and in the restaurants at lunch-time, they are combining colours which would have seemed to us outrageous last year, and are wearing them with great success. “Dressmakers get queer commissions sometimes. Two or three famous West End designers have had orders for sarees from Indian princesses this year. They must be made to a certain length for a Hindu and to another length for a Mahommedan. And recently Mr. Norman Edwards, the Hollywood designer, who is now in England, and who insists that his clients shall act as his models, stated that an Indian pripcess has asked him to create a gown which she can wear with a magnificent cape collar of square emeralds.”—■