FEMININE INTERESTS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18844, 6 April 1931, Page 3

FEMININE INTERESTS.

PERSONAL AND FASHION NOTES. Entertaining the Princes in South America: It is said that in Santiago, the capital of Chile, all the drapers’ shops ran out of kid gloves, as every woman and girl who was present at the parties given for the British Royal visitors wore long kid suede gloves, which, owing to the heat, are never worn in the usual way. Many lovely gowns were sent out from Paris, the most popular being long picture frocks of tulle, with numerous flounces from hip to hem, with shoulder straps of forget-me-nots. Fans are always used at night, and posies of fresh flowers. Chaperones are very much in force, and unmarried girls do not smoke or drink cocktails. The girls are expert dancers, and the two Princes, who took lessons in the Tango, just before leaving London, are able to enjoy this national dance of South America, to the tune of guitars, banjos and violins, played by troupes of native players. Yerba mate, the herbal tea which is drunk all over South America, is rather bitter, but the Prince likes it, and has often drunk it in London. The mate, made from various herbs, is not unpleasant to the taste, and if drunk constantly is said to prevent the hair from turning grey! This is possibly true, in view of the fact that I have known South Americans of seventy, and even eighty, with Jet black hair. In Peru, the two Princes visited some of the oldest territory in South America, for the coast of that country was already known to Blasco Nunez de Balboa, the great Spanish explorer, as far back as 1513. Four hundred years ago, when Pizarro took possession of the country in the name of the Spanish Crown, the natives fled in terror when they saw horses, which they had never beheld before, and the sight of the soldiers threw them in a panic. It is amusing to compare those times with these, for to-day some of the finest horses in the world come from South America. In Lima and Cuzco are treasures of every kind, adorned with precious stones, displayed in the old temples. Harness, in pure gold and silver, hundreds of years old, interested the Princes and even to-day the gauchos (cowboys) wear belts and cuffs of engraved silver with their “best” suits—huge sombreros, wide trousers, and red or yellow shirts. Woman’s Place in Time of Crisis: Mrs Eleanor Glencross, a very prominent woman in Australian civic politics, spoke at the Feminist Club in Sydney on “Woman’s Place in a Political Crisis.” She gave a clear idea of the ways in which she saw that the counsel of women would be of great value at present. The economic

situation pressed so heavily on women, and they were, practically, the ones who had to make what money there was go round as far as possible. Yet they had no control of anything, nor any real “say” in what was to be done to remedy matters. Women were usually “constitutional” people, and would advocate as peaceful methods as possible, but, she remarked. “Men expect us to be super-women before they will even think of giving us equal rights. . . They also control numerous ways of blocking us from getting into politics ” Mrs Glencross urged the establishment of a Board of Food Control on which there should be an equal number of women and men. She spoke of the “food barrows” which are a feature of economical life and which fill a useful purpose, bringing fruit and other food within reach of small purses, but which, she considered, only allowed "starvation profits” to those who run them. These people needed help, and there were a number of other ways in which the pressure on families could be lessened if the counsels of women were permitted and followed. It was mentioned as a most disappointing thing that the “All-For-Australia” League 1.-ad excluded women from any executive position. It was suggested as a possibility that the women would form a league of their own, and endeavour to make it sufficiently strong to force a certain amount of control where they felt it was urgently needed. 1931 Review Gowns: Mr C. B. Cochran’s 1931 Revue which opened its London run at Manchester promises to surpass its own brilliant predecessors in pageantry and original fashion notions says a London woman. Yesterday I sat in the Palace Theatre, W., watching a corps of dress designers examining and passing their own creations for the 23 scenes with Mr Cochran keeping an eye on every detail of the 300 magnificent costumes which will be a feature of tne production. The sensation of the show, so far as the women members of the audience are concerned, will be the dresses worn by the girls In the opening chorus. The sixteen girls will wear beautifully designed evening gowns, the tones varying from jet-black to icewhite. Starting at one end of the line the gowns will begin with a short fitting jacket in semi-double breasteu style in deep black velvet, with satir skirts, then the tones will gradually change till the last girl is in a dazzling white. In the final scene the chorus again appear in evening gowns, for which 16 new pastel shades have been created. Each of the voluminous skirts reveals a profusion of dainty net ruffles from a petticoat! Petticoats also appear with the dresses worn by the women principals in the closing scene. Miss Ada May wears a black velvet evening gown which is absolutely backless, crossed with a black velvet strap and a narrow band of diamante, and her petticoat is frill upon frill of white Valenciennes lace. Beautiful Christening Cake: At the reception after the christening, in Wellington of the infant son of Mr and Mrs lan Mac Ewan, Palmerston North, the outstanding fea. ture, was the christening cake which was a tier of his parents’ wedding cake. The cake was on a table decorated with baby pink and blue flowers and was very lovely. White sugar babes wrapped in sugar shawls decorated the edge of the cake so that every one who had a slice of cake received a sugar baby. A large blue bow was draped on the side of it and perched on one edge was a stork holding in its beak a rosy babe. On the other edge was a sugar cradle complete with sugar lace coverlet. The whole table was most unique and attractive and was the admiration of all the guests. “Wig-Hats?”: “Do not be deceived if you imagine you see a very' soignee woman arrive at an afternoon cocktail party hatless, her hair coiled in the fashion described as ‘earphones,’ ” says a writer in the “Daily Mail.” “She !s probably wearing one of the new feather-weight felt models just devised by a Mayfair dressmaker, who is anticipating this fashion of wig-hats suggested in Paris. When I examined this amusing hat. which is cafe au lait on one side and a darker shade of the same brown on the other, I noticed the very elaborate fine gathers down the ‘parting’ and the clever way in which the fine felt had been twisted to simulate coils of hair at the sides.”