FEMININE INTERESTS,

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18583, 2 June 1930, Page 3

FEMININE INTERESTS,

PERSONAL AND FASHION NOTES. Fashion Arrives with Amy Johnson: When the charming and dashing Amy Johnson arrives in Sydney, it seems probable that Sydney girls will greet her all wearing Amy Johnson hats. The Jason’s Quest hat reached Sydney on May 16. Like Amy, it is cute and smart and dashing. It is the brilliant idea of Mr Gordon Englehart, who trades under the name of Gweneth, and it fits closely to the shingled head after the style of Amy’s aviator cap. Two wings meet in the centre of the forehead, and widen over the ears, and these are clever! v to give the effect of flight. Of all Australian felt, the hat is stencilled in a cloud pattern to represent the climatic conditions through which the game little English girl has passed, and the Moth ’plane, Jason’s Quest, is embroidered in brown Australian wool, making towards Australia, the land of the Golden Fleece, which is also embroidered in its own rich wool.

Mr Englehart will present the hat to Miss Johnson when she arrives in Sydney. Like another Jason, she is bound not in quest of a mere golden fleece, but for the land where the fleece grows.

The idea is only adapted to modern events, and is in feality quite an old one. When Dr. Jameson conducted his famous raid in South Africa more than thirty years ago, a preliminary to the South African War, Imperialists took a joy in wearing “Dr. Jim” hats. Now the little flying ace seems likely to eclipse all other popular figures, so we must needs all wear Amy Johnsn hats.

The British Embassy at Washington: Britain has every reason to be proud of the new Embassy in Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, where Sir Ronald Lindsay and Lady Lindsay will take up their residence in June. Two years ago, when the American National Fine Arts Commission passed the plans, drawn by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the architect, they commented that the proposed edifice was “appropriate for the uses intended, expressive of the dignity of the British nation, and imbued with charm.”

Standing on a site of three and a half acres, on a rolling slope, amid sheltering yews, and built of brick and Indiana freestone, it is of the Queen Anne style, two stories high, with high pitched roofs. Two L-shaped wings will be used as the chancery. In the main section on the ground floor are reception halls and drawing rooms designed for official functions and other social purposes. The second floor will be the living quarters of the Ambassador and his family.

Of especial magnificence is the ballroom. Thirty-three feet by fifty in size, it is separated from the spacious entrance hallway only by pillars of Vienna marble. The floor is of black and white marble. Set in the walls are pilasters of marble, the space between these being panelled with mirrors extending from floor to ceiling. It is illuminated by the beautiful chandeliers that adorned the old Embassy. In all, the building contains 97 rooms. The new furnishings of the mansion have been chosen in England, whence they are being shipped by Sir Lionel Earle, who has charge of the equipment of all Government establishments.

As to the grounds, Lady Lindsay has taken entire charge. Lady Lindsay, who was Miss Elizabeth Sherman Hoyt, of New York, before her marriage, was a professional landscape gardener. She is still very proud of her achievements in this sphere, which can be seen in several estates in Ohio and Long Island.

The Perfumes Favoured by Queens: Queen Elizabeth had a special weakness for perfumes. One of her cloaks of Spanish leather and her shoes were scented. Perfumed gloves were also in great vogue during her reign. Queen Bess’s favourite was apparently a good rose, and like many another royalty, she had her own personal recipes. Those lovely sisters, Queen Alexandra of England and the Czarina of Russia, shared a preference for white rose, and the tragic Empress and the late Queen Olga of Greece were both very fond of chypre. Queen Victoria is said to have shown a preference for English “Ess. bouquet.”

Musk was the favourite of Empress Josephine, who had a predilection for strong-smelling scents. King George IV., once he acquired the habit, after getting a whiff of that r sed by the Princess Esterhazy, found his perfumer’s bill mounting with the years. In 1821, the sum was £l6/17/6; seven years later it was £SOO/17/11. The lovely Cleopatra, befitting her beauty, spent a great deal of money on her perfumes and unguents. “She used the worth of 400 denarii of spices, but once, to anoint her hands, which was wafted away on the air and lost for ever.” Extravagant creature! Perfume now must be adaptable to the mood of the moment. Milady has an important engagement. “Lure of My Life,” her usual perfume, is not quite right for to-night—it has too many soft notes. What will it be? Ah, just the thing! “Midnight to Dawn.” It is strong and vibrant, with an intoxicating note. So “Midnight to Dawn” is deftly dashed on, and Milady begins to vibrate.

Your Taste in Teapots: Judge a woman by hei ceapot. There is such an assortment of shapes, sizes and colours nowadays that the cherished specimen brought out for your benefit at afternoon tea may be taken as a good indication of the character of your hostess.

Teapots were never more beautiful than they are to-day. Look at one of the earliest made by Elders, the famous Dutch potter. It was of red clay, decorated in relief by means of metal stamps; yet it commanded a price of from one to two guineas, or at least five guineas of our money. China gave us the design for the teapot along with the magic leaf itself.

Among curious teapots of the early eighteenth century those in variegated clays have a peculiar charm which must have gone well with the furnishings of the period. Jazz patterns were used even in those days, and when one contemplates a priceless specimen in a museum one wonders whether it owes its survival to the fact that the shopkeeper could not sell it until it acquired antiquarian value, or whether its owner did not care to use it. House teapots were very fashionable at one time. An example in white glazed ware was on view at the Historical Exhibition of Staffordshire Pottery at Stoke-on-Trent. There were tiny teapots and great swaggering teapots with bacchanalian designs, which on inquiry proved not to be teapots at all, but punch-bowls masquerading as teapots. Miss Millions at Work? A “social revolution” is sweeping the fashionable Park Avenue, New York. Daughters of haughty houses and sisters of aristocrats are trying a spell of work as a novel change. ( Gone is the traditional cocktail hour. ‘ In Its stead, the new “craze” is to face the anger of a cranky employer, who

has just found that his new secretary can neither spell nor handle a typewriter. Gone are the boulevard strolls and shopping sprees; “elbow-shoving” in the crowded subway is the movement of the day. It is the daughter of a socially prominent family who leads the van of this new march off the line of the Progress of the 400. With practised eyes she surveys her blue-blooded candidates. A chiffoned Miss So-and-So, perhaps a trifle weary from last night’s supper dance at Pierre’s or Sherry’s, is turned away unengaged, turned back to her sables and limousines. Her Debussy technique and her Paris-acquired accent render her unsuitable as telephone operator for a wholesale garment store. The Lady in the Van of the moverrlerit takes it seriously. “This is the new social consciousness,” she says. “No longer is it smart to be idle. One must turn one’s hand, however daintily manicured, to some useful task.” Naturally, real shop girls, typists and secretaries, who actually have to work for a living, are up in arms. They accuse the silken, petted daughters of the wealthy of robbing them of their sustenafice just for fun. Brilliant Woman Air Pilot: Heroine of many brilliant aerial feats, Miss Winifred Spooner, the British pilot who has been awarded the blue riband for women fliers by the International League of Aviators, acquired the art of flying six years ago, and has since been an ardent enthusiast. Two years ago. she created a big sensation in flying circles by not only competing for the King Cup but by gaining second place. In fact, it was only bad luck that prevented her winning the coveted trophy, for she lost ten minutes near Birmingham on the last lap owing to bad weather. In the same race last year she flew splendidly and was fifth, being the first woman home. Her most notable performance during the year was her brilliant effort in the race round Europe, when she competed in the 4000 miles international touring race for light aeroplanes. She was the only lady participating, and was second to Captain Broad for over 3500 miles. She was awarded 12th place out of 65 entries. Miss Spooner manages an air-taxi service of her own at Stag Lane Aedrodome, where she is kept very busy. She has just returned from Kenya, having been exploring for aerodromes and studying the question of air transport. Her flight from Nairobi to Croydon was a fine achievement. Miss Spooner is tremendously popular among the flying folk, chiefly because of her intense modesty and grit.

Women and the Law: At the Conference for the Codification of International Law, which was field at the Hague recently, several women were among the official members of the various delegations. Great Britain was represented by Dr. Ivy Williams as a technical delegate. Dr. Williams was the first woman to be called to the English Bar, and is the only woman appointed on the delegation. She is D.C.L. (Oxford), LL.D. (London), and a barrister of the Inner Temple, and gained a certificate of honour in the Bar final examination. She is law tutor to the Society of Oxford Home Students, and has already published two international works on the Swiss code of law. Dr. Williams speaks French, German, Italian and Russian, and has spent many years abroad studying foreign systems of law. Belgium also sent her first woman barrister, Mile. Marcelle Renson. Another barrister, Mrs Schonfield Polano, represented Holland, and Germany sent a woman member of the Reichstag, Dr. Marie Elizabeth Luders.

New Colours in Shoes: For a long time one has felt safest in the shoe world for daytime with black, brown, biscuit, or grey, but the 1930 range is far wider in choice of colouring, states a London writer. Greys are there in much variety, both in dark and light shades, the one trimming the other. A silvery kid pump has inset trimmings and heel of dark elephant-grey. Beige suede looks its best with a decoration of chocolate kid.

But blue in dark navy or a tone lighter is quite as practical, a touch of white kid being introduced when it comes near the sandal. For the street the plain pump in darkest navy, with a tiny leather bow and possibly a little punched design round the ankle, is one of the newest styles.

Mrs Menjou Buys a “Cart-Wheel Hat”: Mrs Adolphe Menjou, wife of the popular film star, has been visiting the Paris dress shows and buying frocks, with an eye to camera angles. She likes the new “sky-scraper” models—so called because they make women look twice as tall, and are built up in layers —and she bought one of the new “cartwheel” hats, which it is prophesied will oust the skullcap this summer. Let us hope that women who ride in buses will not take this rumour too seriously!.. Women’s College Observatory: Bedford College, London, has become one of the very few women’s colleges in the world to possess its own observatory. The students are now being introduced to practical astronomy as a cultural rather than an examinational study. A telescope formerly used for the instruction of Royal Artillery officers at Woolwich has been installed in the new wing of the college, and this observatory was formally opened by the Astronomer Royal, Sir Frank Dyson, F.R.S., recently.