FEMININE INTERESTS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18832, 21 March 1931, Page 3

FEMININE INTERESTS.

PERSONAL AND FASHION NOTES. Romance of “FJS.’s” Daughter: Lady Eleanor Smith daughter of the late Lord Birkenhead, is, in some ways, perhaps the happiest young woman in London. She has recently returned after a six week’s holiday abroad—the first holiday of that length for three years—to learn she is a “best-seller.” Her second novel “Flamenco,” is nearing the 20,000 mark—all within a fortnight. She thus realises a 16-year old ambition.

"What does it feel like to be a bestseller?” she was asked.

“It’s very agreeable,” she said. “Writers are about the only people who’re making money, aren’t they? They and a few doctors, perhaps.” Not long ago her brother, Lord Birkenhead, said he would have to earn his own living. When asked if that were true in her case, she said: “Well, I don’t have to, but as a matter of fact I have been doing so for the past six years. I don’t see why a woman shouldn’t earn her living Just as much as a man these days.”

She agreed with the suggestion that one of the secrets of happiness for a woman, whether married or single, lies in having a career of her own. “I’ve always wanted to write novels,” she said. “Not long ago I found seven in my old rooms. They’d been written from the age of about twelve onwards. Then I burnt them all. One was called

'The Wilful Curate’—rather a good title, I think.”

She laughed. She laughs easily. She Is a slight, dark woman, with brown eyes, by turns vivacious and thoughtful, and with a trick of pushing her fingers through her bobbed, dark brown hair. She said that her greatgrandmother was said to have been a gipsy. And her novel, “Flamenco,” is about gipsies. Her first book, “Red Wagon,” was about circus life. She has many good friends among circus people and gipsies. “Flamenco,” was written in six months. “I was very tired,” she said "at the finish. I write everything by hand. Everything you create seems to take something out of you that can’t be put back.” When asked if she could imagine herself going on writing novels till she is old, she said: “Yes, if anybody will read them.”

She doesn’t pai;st, she said, nor has she ever acted. “I ought to paint,” she said, “because almost everybody on my mother’s side can, but I can’t. My brother writes poetry, but I don’t.” She said she is very bad at business. “I’m very vague, leave cheques about that get lost—and have to be stopped—and so on.”

Mr Victor Gollancz, her publisher, said that the initial rush for Lady EleanOr s book was one of the quickest he remembers.

Wedding of Miss Joy Vemey: One of the loveliest bridal processions ever seen was that at the marriage at St. Margaret's, Westminster, of Miss Joan (Joy) Vemey, only daughter of Sir Harry Vemey, the Queen’s Private Secretary, and Lady Joan Vemey, a Lady-in-Waiting, to the Hon. Gustavus Lascelles Hamilton-Russell, Grenadier Guards, eldest son of Viscount and Viscountess Boyne, and nephew of the Earl of Harewood.

The wedding will probably be best remembered for the prominent part which Princess Mary took in the arrangements, her obvious enjoyment of the beautiful ceremony, and the subsequent reception at Chesterfield House, her London residence, which she lent for the occasion.

The Princess put off Court mourning and arrived with the Earl of Harewood at the church dressed in a soft leaf brown velvet coat, her fair hair tucked under a brown chenille cap which finished with a line of gold tissue on her forehead. For the first time, probably in history, the “royal” entrance to St. Margaret’s was not opened for a member of the King’s family. The Princess elected to enter by the ordinary path and her car was held up with scores of others to await its turn for setting down. Then she and Lord Harewood stopped for a second or two to say a few words to their son, the eight-years-old Viscount Lascelles. who, * with his three companion pages, awaited the arrival of the bride. After the ceremony the Princess smiled and chatted with other guests as the young couple, the bridesmaids, and pages got into their cars, and laughed with Lord Harewood and Lady Boyne at Lord Lascelles’s blushes when a bridesmaid took him on her knee because there was no seat for him. She made way for photographers anxious to get a picture of the bride and laughingly pushed through a little knot of guests to get to her own

The rail, slender bride, was in a gleaming gown of white satin, the low neck encircled with orange blossoms, and from the waist the very long skirt fell to form a train. Her tulle veil was held by a wreath of orange blossoms, her only ornament was a pearl necklace, and she carried a sheaf oi Madonna lilies. Immediately behind the bride and bridegroom came four little pages dressed in the picturesque uniform of the Grenadier Guards of 1815; the uniform comprised a scarlet tunic, faced with blue and heavily trimmed with gold, and with it were worn white breeches and gaiters and a bearskin. Each page escorted a small bridesmaid in a long flowing frock of cream chiffon and apricot velvet coatee. Lady Mary Cambridge, the five years-old daughter of the Marquis and Marchioness of Cambridge and grand-niece of the King and Queen led the little group with Gian Origo, a tiny Italian kinsman of the bride. Lord Lascelles. the eldest of the pages, escorted his cousin, Rosemary Hamilton-Russell, and took his duties very seriously. After them—all in deep cream frocks of chiffon with apricot velvet coatees and wreaths of velvet leaves in thier hair, carrying bouquets of apricot coloured carnations—came eight grown-up bridesmaids, Lady Georgiana Curzon, Lady Margaret Bingham, Lady Caroline Paget, the Hon. Elizabeth Legge, Miss Virginia Graham, Miss May Fanshawe, Miss Marjorie Scott and Miss Jean Hamilton-Russell.

St. Margaret’s which was decorated with white ffowers, was filled with social celebrities. Lynx, raccoon, rabbit, fox, lamb, monkey—almost all the animals in and out of the zoo seemed to have been pressed into service to ornament the coats of the guests. Miss Vemey, whose father has been private secretary to the Queen for more than eleven years, received hundreds of wedding gifts, but their nature and the identity of the givers was kept secret. The gifts were arranged in a room at Chesterfielo House, the London residence of Princess Mary. The King and Queen sent an ornament, set with diamonds and sapphires to the bride, and Princess Mary gave a silver kettle.

Guests at Wedding Reception: After Miss Joy Vemey’s wedding ceremony at St. Margaret’s a reception was held at Chesterfield House, and the guests were received by Princess Mary and by Lady Joan Verney, the bride’s mother, who looked very attractive in soft ruby velvet trimmed with sable.

The Dowager Lady Harewood, all in black, hau with her little Miss Ursula Kenyon-Slaney, dressed in slate blue, and an older niece, Miss Sybil KenyonSlaney, who is a lady-in-waiting to to Princess. Lord and Lady Lloyd found many friends in the beautiful reception rooms. Lady Lloyd, a cousin of Lord Harewood, wore a beautiful wrap of cherry-colour chiffon velvet, with collar and cuffs of mink. Lord and Lady Anglesey, whose daughter, Lady Caroline Paget, was a bridesmaid, were talking with Violet Duchess of Rutland, and Mr and Mrs Edward Lascelles, she in black velvet, were surrounded by Yorkshire friends. Lady Kathleen Pilkington, in a picturesque ensemble of soft rose velvet, was accompanied by her elder daughter, Mrs Gordon Foster, who was very smart in black, and Lady Mexborough had with her Lady Beatrice Savile, her second girl. Lady Bradford brought her debutante daughter, Lady Anne Bridman, who wore a beige coat and beret, Lady Bradford herself being In black with a little scarlet velvet hat. Marjorie Lady Nunburnholme wore the popular black with touches of white and Miss Dorothy Yorke was all in black.

One of the most picturesque and gracious figures at the reception was the Dowager Lady Airlie, in a long fur-trimmed coat of rich black moire, and the Gainsborough type of hat which she always wears. Mrs George Keppel wore a sable coat over a black gown and had a touch of slate blue on her black velvet hat. The Marchesa Origo, who has the care of two of Miss Verney’s pages—her own small boy Gian, and Mrs Forbes-Adam’s little son Desmond—was very smart in black velvet, with a huge corsage spray 01 lilies of the valley and white lilac. Lady Alice Mahon wore a black velvet wrap with a chinchilla collar, and Lady Abergavenny was in red with a swathing of red velvet on her black hat. Lady (Godfrey) Thomas shared with her husband the care of their small son, Michael, who was a page. She looked very attractive in black.

,T, he New Shades for 1931: Here is a description of tile ten

leading shades adopted by the principal fashion houses of London for the new season:

Honeycomb.—A dainty fawn, closely resembling the delicate waxwork of a honeycomb, suitable for afternoon frocks.

Flamingp.—A light yet rich shade named after the wing feathers of the iamingo. This shade will be popular for both day and evening wear. Cactus.—The dusty green of the cactus stem.

Burnt Almond.—A light brown suitable for tweeds and lighter fabrics. Lagoon Blue.—A rich and beautiful shade, between royal and sky. Hyacinth Blue.—Hardly a blue at all, very hyacinthine. It suggests a pastel grey which has been spending holiday on the Cot d’Azur. Topaz.—A beautiful reproduction of the rich golden mystery of the topaz stone. Prunella.—A pretty variation of the tender colouring of the leaves of the prunus, which are among the earliest heralds of spring. Willow.—A green, this time definitely of the almond green class, but with lust that little difference which the fashion experts know how to add so as to give an old colour a new significance. ' Ruby.—A rich, but low toned red, appearing to glow from within like the jewel from which it takes its name. The fashionable woman will have duller legs. Shiny silk stocking are no longer to be worn, the newest stockings being entirely without sheen. Of the new shades for street and afternoon wear the following will be the most popular: Caravan —a muddy brown; Nomad —a <t eper shade: Algiers—a .soft brown shade; Piccadilly —a fawn shade for wear with black; and Rendezvous—a pinkish-brown. Other lighter tones introduced are Sun-brown, Beechnut, Rosita (a higher tone of gun-metal), and Rose-toupe. For evening wear they will be Naturelle, Flesh-pink, and Aurora, and almost all stockings will be worn without clocks and with low square heels. In an Ex-garage: The craze for living in garages and mews—preferably in Mayfair—still spreads. An ex-garage, near Lady Seafield’s new home in the Grosvenormews has been cleverly renovated by Mrs George Mitchell, who has made a Chinese boudoir of a one-time coalcellar. An alcove here has been transformed with the help of Chinese gates into a make-up cupboard, with a frameless mirror on the wall and builtin drawers to take cosmetics. The house is full of good ideas. Flat mirrors in bedrooms and bathroom conceal shallow wall-cupboards; shiny mahogany furniture, such as the gramophone and the patent wardrobe, have been covered with brocade or velvet to tone with the colour-scheme, and the case of the grand piano has been “pickled’ ’to match the grey oak beams and refectory table in the lounge.