LONDON FESTIVITIES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 124, 27 May 1937, Page 19

LONDON FESTIVITIES

(By "Barbara.")

NEW ZEALANDERS' COURT GOWNS

LONDON, May 7.

Riotous colour is London's prelude to Coronation. The usually sombre city has burst forth in sudden brilliance. In direct contrast to the last few weeks she is now radiant, triumphant!. It has been a near thing —these last weeks those who love her best have feared for her dignity. Never have her streets and parks appeared more hideous, ' Her loveliest buildings have- been scarrec by unsightly scaffoldings—the unbeautiful beginnings of Coronation stands. All along the route workmen have been busy bracing hew wood against old stone, erecting miles of steel framework, where the fresh, green grass of the parks should be. . Kensington Gardens, empty of her usual lively inhabitants, has become a soldiers' camp —a maze of tents, messrooms, an^ tarpaulins. In short, London has been in i a mess. . . I

And now, quite suddenly—as if overnight—she is magnificent. She 'wears her medals superbly. It is as if every yard of bunting, every fringe, flag, and furbelow in the Empire had been commandeered to dress her up. The stands are a blaze of royal blue and

gold; red, white, and purple. Main thoroughfares are decorated in uniform brilliance. Bond Street is a procession of white banners, each with a coronet of red, or gold. Fleet Street is looped about with coloured cords and strung with banners, blazoned in gold "God Save the King." Individual buildings tell different stories—expert artists and architects have devised decorations of outstanding interest and originality. Everywhere Empire unity is stressed —New Zealand's fern leaf takes a proud place beside the other Dominion emblems. Messages of good will to King, Queen, and country are reinforced by concrete. hopes for peace and prosperity. Round the Palace, up Constitution Hill, along the Mall, and outside / the Abbey the display reaches a peak of magnificence. This week has boasted two Courts, at the second of which a number of New Zealanders were presented. Before they left the Savoy Hotel for the Palace I called on Mrs. Jordan, wife of the High Commissioner for New Zealand, and Mrs. Nash, wife of our Minister of Finance, and did the sketches you see on this page. At the right I have drawn Mrs. Jordan's frock, an exquisitely-cut • gown of green metal brocade. Two crystal clips held her train in place, another decorated the wide hem, and her belt buckle was a magnificent affair of jade and crystal. Mrs. Nash wore the lovely gown drawn at the left of my sketch. Of gold and peach brocade and cut on the cross, it had a train of peach ring velvet embossed at the hem with gold flowers. Both Mrs. Jordan and Mrs. Nash carried feather fans to match their gowns. Getting to and from the Savoy was an adventure in s itself—every street was jammed with sight-seeing traffic and it took my taxi three-quarters of an hour to drive the length of Piccadilly alone, in the face of which'the current bus strike seems almost merciful. A number of people came on from the Court to the dance, which I attended after doing these sketches. They were full of praise for the beauty and colour of the scene they had just ieft —the gorgeous uniforms of the men and the superb dressing of the women. In answer to Coronation pomp the London dress designers have played upon an entirely new and different colour scale. They use strange, exotic shades, direct opposites? of the straight-forward combinations used for the decorations. At a recent show special stress was laid on the exquisite play of orchid pink against dark blue (not navy, but a brighter, more violet shade). We were shown dark blue day coats with accessories in the weird hew pink that is only a little less vivid than the colour used by Gaugin in his South Sea pictures: evening dresses of either shade accented by the other—one of the most lovely was an orchid organza with a billowing skirt, down either side of which ran a wide blue panel—and enchanting blue chiffon negligees worn over orchid slips. Negligees and lingerie in strange colourings are another innovation. Rust chiffon and triple ninon make the most exquisite underwear when finely tucked and trimmed with real lace. Dark blue is even used for corsets and when trimmed with a contrasting colour is perfect for underwear. All underwear is definite in colour, unless it is all white, and hand

tuckings, bindings, and embroideries are the most noticeable feature. In place, of lace narrow bindings of contrasting fabrics or contrasting colour are-decorative and easy to launder. If you make your own underthings you can hatfe fun thinking up new ways in which to trim them—try a lover's knot on either leg of your panties, a blue bow appliqued on the chest of your white satin slip, or an applique butterfly motif at the neck of your nightgown.