FEMININE INTERESTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18554, 29 April 1930, Page 3

FEMININE INTERESTS

PERSONAL AND FASHION NOTES. A Naval Wedding: One of the first social engagements of Sir Charles and Lady Alice Fergusson on their arrival in London was the wedding of the latter’s nephew, the ceremony taking place on the afternoon of March 15, the same day as the Rangitata passengers arrived from Southampton. The bridegroom was Lieut-Commander David Orr-Ewing, R.N., son of the late Mr C. L. OrrEwing, of Dunskey, Port Patrick, Wigtownshire, and of Lady Augusta Inskip; the bride was Miss Helen Mary Stuart Noaks, daughter of Mr and Mrs B. Noaks, of Transvaal. The bride’s parents are in South Africa, and were unable to come for their daughter’s wedding. The ceremony took place at St. Columba’s (Church of Scotland), Pont street, and naval officers formed a guard of honour. Major A. V. Anderson, Royal Engineers (uncle) escorted the bride, who wore a charming dress of ivory satin cut on picture lines, the full draped skirt falling to the ground at the back. A narrow edging of orange blossom and pearls decorated the rounded neckline. Beautiful old lace mounted on silver lame, and decorated with sprays of orange blossom, formed her train, and over it fell her tulle veil from a narrow fillet of orange blossom and pearls. A sheaf of Harrisii lilies, and white heather was carried. The three bridesmaids were Misses Pauline Orr-Ewing (sister), Jeat Fergusson, and Molly Redman. Their fillets of mimosa were worn with printed chiffon dresses in shades of daffodil yellow, flame, and brown. The frocks had fitting bodices held at the waistline with belts and full-flounced skirts. Coatees to match completed their toilettes, and they carried sheaves of flame-coloured tupils and daffodils tied with yellow satin ribbons. Dr Archibald Fleming officiated, and the best man was Mr E. O. Orr-Ewing < Black Watch), brother of the bridegroom. The bridegroom was in uniform. Lady Augusta Inskip, wearing a dress and coatee of sapphire-blue lace, with a straw hat to tone, held the reception at her residence, 10 Eaton square, and later the bride and bridegroom left for the South of France. Designs for Court Gowns:

Longer and fuller skirts and more moulded bodices are the features of the approved designs for Court dresses this season. Four designs for women of four different ages are being exhibited at the Lord Chamberlain's office, where women about to be presented at one of the forthcoming Courts can inspect them.

The design for the young debutante is in white satin with a graceful, wide skirt flaring at the hem, sparsely embroidered with diamante. The skirt is almost the same length all round, and the wearer’s feet will be nearly hidden by it. This design can be worn in colours, but it is expected that most girl debutantes will choose it in white. The train in each design falls capelike from the shoulders, the regulation length being no more than than two yards, while the natural waist-line has been introduced.

For the married women debutante the design in pale cyclamen provides an uneven hem-line, dipping at the sides and back and rising a few inches from the floor in front. As in the case of the younger debutantes’ gowns the bodice is closely fitting at the hips and has a rounded neck, cut moderately low.

Two other designs for older women are in more pronounced colourings, having attractive gold and silver lace decorations and traceries of diamante.

Three ostrich feather plumes ait worn with white tulle veils, which must be no longer than 45 inches. Long gloves are to be worn, and fans or bouquets may be carried. The first Courts will probably he beld early in May. An “Army” Drawing Room: Women who arc* contemplating new decorative schemes in their homes will be interested in the ruite at an hotel in Park lane, London planned to represent the Army and Navy. In the Army room the designer, Mrs Clara Fargo Thomas, has silvered the walls and ceiling, and on the fireplace wall has painted the serried ranks of the Horse Guards Parade in 1834, this being illuminated by lights thrown up from a heavy glass mantlepiece. The

curtains of hunting “pink” reflect attractively in the silver of the walls, and the side lighting is achieved through alabaster kettle drums. The furniture is of natural sycamore, upholstered in red morocco, and an unusual feature is the dado of hollowed blocks of wood, painted black, with the ledge in bright red. The Navy room has on its silvered walls a painting of Greenwich Hospital in the days of Nelson, and the curtains are in blue, bordered with red, with pelmets made to resemble pennants. The wall lights of alabaster represent prows of ships with draped flags behind, and the natural sycamore furniture is upholstered in blue morocco.

Lady Iveagh, M.P.: * Mr Baldwin has appointed th«. Countess of Iveagh, M.P., and Sir George Bowyer, M.P.. to be deputyehairman of the Conservative and Unionist Party organisation. As Lady Iveagh has been elected chairman of the Council of the National Union for the coming year, it will not be possible for her to take up hef duties as deputy-chairman until the middle of 1931. During the intervening period Viscountess Falmouth has consented to undertake these duties. The latter will consequently be responsible, under thb chairman of the party for the women’s organisation. Lady Iveagh was brought up in an atmosphere of public service. When her father, the late Lord Onslow, was Governor-General of New Zealand, she acted as his secretary, and it is said that she is the twenty-second member of her family to sit in the House of Commons. When she married the Hon. Rupert Guiness in 1903, she took an active part in his municipal and Parliamentary work. Her first

“speech” was made during the time when they were engaged be married, and since then she has shown herself a most capable and persuasive speaker, her maiden speech in the House being much commended. She has been Chairman of the Women’s Unionist Organisation for the last six years. In the role of chairman of the National Union her immediate predecessor was a working man. but this is not the first time a woman has held the position. Dame Caroline Bridegman was the first woman chairman and her year of office was remarkably successful. Pandemonium at Christening of Baby: Hundreds of wildly agitated women caused pandemonium at the christening of Sally, the baby daughter of Sir Neville and Lady Pearson (Miss Gladys Cooper), at Highgate on March 3. For an hour before the service was to begin the women had been gathering. Nearly all had children in their arms or in perambulators. They got out of the control of the two policemen present and swarmed in through the gates and filled the churchyard of St. Michael’s. When the Bishop of London and his chaplain arrived thev found the way completely blocked. The two policemen managed to force a way for the car, which drove at a slow pace to the church door.

A rush of women who had crowded round Sir Neville’s house in Highgate Village signalised thp arrival of Sir Neville and Lady Pearson with the baby. Accompanied by Lady Pearson’s two elder children, Master John and Miss Joan Buckmaster, and Lady (Arthur) Pearson, they gained the church protected by the two prespiring policemen. The crowd of women then surged unchecked into the church and crowded round the font, leaving no room at all for the godparents. In a loud voice the vicar ordered all the people to sit in the pews or leave the church at once. It took the vergers ten minute* to bring them to some sort of order. Sir James Barrie, a tiny elfin figure in black, had slipped through the crowd entriely unnoticed to his place as godparent. The other' godparents were Sir Gerald du Maurier, Miss Maxine Elliot, for whom the Hon. Mrs Inigo FreemanThomas stood proxy, and Countess Howe, for whom her daughter, Lady Georgina Curzon was prozy. To Lady Georgina fell the honour of handling the baby, a placid, darkhaired mite with her mother’s famous blue eyes, to the Bishop of London, who gave her the one name, “Sally.” The beautiful and simple service was sadly marred by the disgraceful behaviour of women who stood upon the pews, conversed in loud voices, so that twice the Bishop was obliged to stop and look admonishingly at them, dropped umbrellas and bags upon the floor, and surged forward to see the baby before the service was concluded. Hurriedly Sir Neville and Lady Pearson, the baby and the godparents walked across to their house, where a teaparty was held. In the vain hope of seeing more of the baby, many women and children stayed clinging to the house railings for an hour, until they were dispersed by the police.

Twenty Years to Make a Bedspread: A bed spread, every stitch of which was worked by royal fingers, held pride of place among the exhibits in the home industries section at an argicultural show at Stellenbosch, South Africa, recently. It was exhibited by the GovernorGeneral, the Earl of Athlone, who explained that his wife. Princess Alice, had started it twenty years ago. When Lady May Cambridge, their daughter, was old enough, she joined in the work, which was completed recently in South Africa. The bedspread, which is mounted on pink satin, ig a perfect example of detailed and difficult fancy needlework. It depicts scenes from classical mythology. Lady May Cambridge is a coqsin to the Prince of Wales. Fine Examples of Petit Point: Both Princess Mary and Lord Harewood do petit point, and have examples do their work at Chesterfield House and at Goldsborough. The Princess finds it a delightful occupation for the longer winter evenings, in the country. After a full day’s hunting she ano her husband ofter settle down on either side of the huge log fire in her comfortable “blue” boudoir, to work at panels for footstools, a screen, or a chair seat. The Duchess of York, on the othei hand, prefers quite plain sewing. Littlp linen rompers which Princess Elizabeth wears in her nursery are made by her mother, and sewn with the daintiest of stitches, and it is said that she Duchess prefers the finest of darning to any form of needlework. Turtle Soup Out of Fashion: The traditional turtle soup at the Mansion House has been ousted in favour of Russian bortsch, states an exchange. It appears that when the Court of Aldermen dined recently with the Lord Mayor for the first time within a century at least there was no turtle soup, heretofore, the usual prelude to a Mansion House banquet. The city banquet has been a last refuge of the genuine turtle, but it now seems that the soup is going the way of turtle fins, once one of the courses at the Lord Mayor’s table. Nevertheless, the City Father’s are reported to be quiu. pleased with the Russian soup. Nails To Match Jewels: Of the fashion for nails painted to look like diamante I wrote some time ago, remarks a Londoner. In this, at least, we have been ahead of Paris. Similarly, women in London have worn nails coloured to matph their dresses, but some women *in Paris are now going one better and showing nails decorated to match their jewels. The most striking effect in this direction was exhibited by the attractive wearer of a white satin gown whose nails were coloured green to match her emerald jewellery. Green shoes and a green handkerchief completed this very modern outfit.