FEMININE INTERESTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18540, 10 April 1930, Page 3

FEMININE INTERESTS

PERSONAL AND FASHION NOTES. Sir Philip Sassoon’s Private View: When the Queen went to tea with Sir Philip Sassoon she found a setting eminently suitable to her spring-like ensemble of powder blue cloth and toque to match. Both the halls and the “galleries” d;.l?.orated with masses of hyacinths of every shade in pots, daffodils, carnations, red and white camelias, violets, petunias and tulips. The fragrance of all these lovely spring blossoms greeted one on the doorstep. The object of her Majesty’s visit was to inspect the wonderful loan exhibition of eighteen century English conservative pieces, and this she did thoroughly, spending over two hours going systematically round the 152 exhibits. The Queen’s example was followed by many visitors to the private view of the pictures, who had discarded fur coats and tweeds for lighter and brighter attire. Lady Cynthia Colville was telling her friends the history of her really beautiful Paisley coat, which she wore with a small velvet, feather-trimmed turban of caramel brown shade. She had greatly admired a Paisley coat that the Queen wears, and made no secret of her intense admiration for its lovely colouring and pattern. So you can imagine how delighted she was when the King and Queen gave her a coat almost similar to that of the Queen, with the re vers turned out in a gaily patterned striped cloth. Lady Joan Verney, who came with Sir Harry, wore a smart coat of black moire silk and a little black hat; Captain Malcolm Bullock brought his small daughter and his step-daughter, ! little Peggy Primrose. Prince Paul of Greece -was a morning visitor, and so was Lord Woolavington. Marjorie Lady Nunburnholme, Mrs George Keppel, Mrs Meyer Sassoon, Mrs Baldwin, Lady Hylton, Lady Mount Stephen and Sir Clive and Lady Wigram, the later in a chic tweed coat and brown velvet beret, were a few who paused to admire the wonderful flowers as well as the pictures. Relics of the Ballet: The memorial exhibition of Russian art at the Claridge Gallery was to many a sad occasion. For it really was a memorial to Serge Diaghileff, without whom the Russian ballet as it is known will never be seen again. Madame Karsavina, who opened the show, described him as the greatest master mind the theatre ever knew. One of his most devoted pupils and admirers, she joined him almost as a child when he first formed his ballet at St. Petersburg, and she danced in the last ballet he ever saw. He rose from his sick bed last July, to see her dance in Petrouchka.

Madame Karsavina, whose book, “Theatre Street,” was published recently, is a striking woman. This particular afternoon she was dressed in black, with a fur coat and closefitting black hat with a tiny turned-up brim. Her black eyes sparkled behind a short veil, and from her neck hung a big silver-work ornament centred with a lapis lazuli. The show contained what were the relics of the ballet, and it is doubtful if they will ever be brought together again. The Hon. Mrs Evan Morgan, Sir Philip Sassoon, Lady Juliet Duff, Mr James de Rothschild and Lady Howard are a few who contributed to it. There were signed photographs, original costume designs and posters, books, original manuscripts, costumes and designs for scenery. One wall was covered by the work of Leon Bakst, who may be said to be largely responsible for the trend of modern decoration. A few of those present were: Mr Arnold Haskell, president of the newly-formed Camargo Society, which intends to produce ballet, the bearded and benign Mr Evans, Countess Norah Wydenbruck and her husband, who were with Lady Oranmore and Browne and the very youthful Mme. Genee. At the Fair: The British Industries Fair at Olympia was essentially an exhibition that appealed to women. There were, for instance, novelties in furniture, such as a hammock for eight people that could be converted into a bed, something fresh in cocktail cabinets, and a smoker’s cabinet, and newspaper rack and a bookcase. Colour predominated in everything for the house. More than thirty shades were found in linen tablecloths and serviettes to match the design of the room; there were six different colours—amber, dark blue, butterfly blue, puce, ruby, and green—in glassware, and new patterns in vases, flower pots, rosebowls, fruit bowls, biscuit jars, toilet trinkets and lampshades. A woman buyer from the United States was seen admiring the newest designs in leather bags, ranging in price from 10/- to £7O; the latter was of crocodile skin that would not blister or stain, and had a dainty diamond watch on the outside. She was also interested in a “snatch-proof” handbag, which is linked to the wearer’s wrist, and cannot be stolen. Business men watched with curiosity a typewriter that can be adapted for 70 styles of types and 20 languages, and maps with washable surfaces for | planning marketing schemes. I'n the sports goods, toys and games section, were the light golf bag for week-end travelling, and the steel golf club shaft, which is making its appearance in England. The toys included a train that ran for 2i miles, a speed boat that would cut through water for two miles, and animals that played see-saw. Empire farms sent huge quantities of eggs, ham, honey, apples, and canned fruits, and among the displays was a model of a New Zealand dairy iann and dairy factory. Within half an hour of the exhibition opening, buyers from more than 30 countries had passed through the turnstiles. A good number of orders were booked, including one for £40,000 worth of aluminium ware and cigarette cases.

The area occupied by the exhibits was 250,000 square feet, and there were 1000 exhibitors.

Royal Approval of Long Skirts: While the dates of the Courts this year have not been definitely fixed, it is almost certain that four will be held —two in May, and two in early June.

When the coveted summons card is received —and the list will contain fewer than 3000 names of women, although the Lord Chamberlain’s office has been flooded with applications—it will be accompanied by details of the dress to be worn.

Suitable designs for gowns, chosen from a number submitted, by the Queen herself, may be viewed at the Lord Chamberlain’s office for some time before the Courts.

Apart from certain regulations, the Queen allows her choice of designs to be swayed 'by the prevailing fashion, though she lets it be known if she disapproves of any particular tendency.

It is known, for instance, that the Queen has not liked the very short skirt of recent seasons; nor does she ike a shingled head. This year’s long skirts will almost surely meet with her approval.

For the presentation list, the prefjrence will be given to young unmarried women, so that more than half

of those who curtsey to the King and Queen will probably be debutantes. ! Miss Ishbel Macdonald will attend i at least one of the Courts, but as she is not married, she will not be able to make any presentation. Mrs Snowden will present the Lady Mayoress and Lady Terry. Uncommon Design for Bathroom: Lady Noble has always been a very artistic person, and loves beautiful home surroundings more than anything else. Especially does she insist on beautiful walls, since they form a ( background for one’s everyday life. ' Her bathroom has just been entirely redecorated. It has textured walls of Mediterranean-blue shading upwards irtto a duck’s egg green, which spreads across the ceiling. On the walls one sees tropical deep sea fish in relief. i Editress of Braille Magazine: One of the most popular volumes among the 13,000 on the shelves of the Braille Library of the Sydney Industrial Blind Institution is the Woman’s Braille Magazine, the only one of its kind in the world. Such is its popularity that each month’s copy bears a small notice on the title page, written all in Braille, of course, asking the readers not to keep it too long, and to expedite its return. This magazine, which has brought great comfort and pleasure to blind women all over the State, is edited by Miss L. E. Hudson, of Summer Hill. She started this successful venture six years ago, and most generously gives much time and thought to writing editorials and selecting articles to go between the covers. All the contributions are sent in to Miss Hudson in Braille from all over the State, and she carefully reads them all, making selections and arranging for copies to be made for the second volume. Only two copies arc made of the magazine, and this is circulated among the blind women—going into country districts, and sometimes a copy is exchanged with American Braille Libraries. I A Pretty Story: A pretty story comes from Goldsbreugh, in Yorkshire, where Princess Mary gave a party for the village children. Her elder boy, to whom that part of Lord Harewood’s estate will pass when he is ready to make a home for himself, accompanied her to the .ie senool where the guests were having tea. He was to have shaken hands with some of the grown-ups, but he was so overjoyed at the sight of the huge Christmas tree that he stood lost in wonder in front of it, leaving his mother to offer all the greetings. It was a wonderful tree, lit with tiny coloured wax candles—for there ( is neither gas nor electricity at Goldsj borough—and containing a toy for every child in the village. j Sisters Inherit £2,000,000: { Two sisters inherit a fortune of nearly £2,000,000 under the wills of Mr Gerard Henry Craig Sellar, of Princes’ Gate, London, and his mother, Mrs Gertrude Sellar. Mr Sellar, who was unmarried, was a director of a number of companies, and was at one time assistant private secretary to the late Mr Joseph Chamberlain. He was the son of a former Liberal Whip, and was a great yachtsman. Mr Sellar left unsettled property of the gross value of £1,729,151. In- this will he bequeathed £125,000 to his mother, and subject to a number of smaller legacies, he left the residue to his sisters, Edith Jane Craig Gemmell

and Rosalind Craig Maitland. The ; mother, however, died thirteen days J after her son. She left £350,000, which ! is also inherited by the sisters. Peace Enthusiasts: Mrs Mary Hamilton. M.P., has come back to the House of Commons after a lightning lecture trip in America. She is in time to see the launching of her new novel—a war novel—and to tell the various delegates to the Naval Conference how enthusiastic she found the American people were about the Conference. “I was in the States the day the Five Power Conference opened,” she said. “An all-night journey landed me at the Grand Rapids, Michigan, in time for a meeting preceded by a lunch. Out of the seven or eight women who sat at my table no fewer than five of them had risen at 5 a.m. that morning in order to hear over the wireles the opening speeches of the Conference. "That typifies the interest taken by American women in the proceedings at St. James’s Palace. “These women see that everything they care for is bound up in peace, and the casting out of fear and suspicion from between the nations, which is caused by the irregulated building up of armaments which threaten peace. They see, too, the huge armaments bill as a waste of good hard earned money.”