A Column for Ladies.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 15 March 1910, Page 4

A Column for Ladies.

» —-- QUEEN ALEXANDRA'S JEWELS. Queen Alexandra lias lately had her immense collection of jewellery' completely overhauled, and some portion of it is to he reset in accordance with the newest fashions. The Queen has always been very devoted to jewellery of every description, and her collection is today one- of the finest in Europe. It is kept in large burglar-proof safes, ■at Buckingham Palace, and the Hon. Charlotte Knollys is the only one who carries the key to thifi. A few years ago a careful inventory ,Was taken of every jewel the Queen possessed, and the result was surprising. Since that time, howev.er the Queen has made large presents of jewellery to several members of her family. The Queen is constantly having her jewels reset as new ideas occur to her, while tho Duchess of Argyll has drawn several charming designs for her lately. Her Majesty's jewellery is all carefully put away in sets. Each set rests upon a properly designed tray of white velvet, and the whole of the Queen's jewels are carefully locked up each night hofore she retires to ■rest. Tt is a proud boast of the Queen's that out of her extremely large collection she has never lost a single article in her life. HATS AND FLOWERS. For some time past flowers Iwive been neglected by the milliners, but the latter seem unanimous in their decision to make up for lost time. Riviera hats are being prepared with the brim of chiffon-velvet or silkgauze, and the entire crown of flowers, such as La. France roses, clusters of Neapolitan violets amassed closely together, bunches of lilac, etc., with an unstanding finish consisting of a cluster of leaves with here and there a sngegstioh. of buds. Very dainty was a hat of Tuscan straw made with a wide brim, lined underneath with black velvet, turned up sharply on one side; round the crown was wreath of roses made in soft silk muslin, some white and some pale pink, with sprays of maidenhair fern and pale green velvet loops intermingled. Just at present the waxen white camellia streaked with pink and accompanied by its naturally glossy foliage is prominent in the flower-box, while before long we shall see used in lavish profusion lots of violets, roses, gardenias, and field flowers, made of velvet or silk muslin or soft silk, absolutely true to nature in colouring and size. Flowers of gargantuan proportions are said to have had their day, and to a largo extent so are those of colourings foreign to nature. THE TURBAN TOQUE. If hats still tend on the side of more than ample dimensions, so do toques which envelop the whole head, and none more so than the draped turban tonne which is modelled on, Oriental lines, made of fabric wound so closely round tho ; head as to push the hair very much forward on to the forehead and 1 over the ears. Tt is seen in fur. in satin, in silk, in embroidered stuffs, and also in material to correspond with the the dress or coat. ; Each one suggests the idea of yards and yards of material having been wound round the head, but of ■ course the material is draped about I a shape. It is uncommonly reminiscent of the rea lturban headdress worn by Indians in the London ; streets.' At times the effeat is very , delightful, the crossing draperies of soft silk or chiffon _ velvet suiting somti fact's*, at the side there may 1)0 a jewelled ornament consisting of a large emerald or sapphiro. OTHER SHAPES. The tricorne hat.with a wide artistic roll is still in great favour, and sometimes lovely roses made of " the finest and softest velvet cnishJ ml and squeezed with artistic fingers to simulate real flowers and set ' round these hats and then are veil- > wl yith black tulle. The new Bler--5 iot'tonne is made of velvet; its [ shape lias a sort of upper cohering that is reminiscent of the headdress ' worn by watchmen of olden times: this shape is more striking than 5 pretty and needs to be • worn'; its trimming consists of a. ■ scarf of coloured ribbon ending in ' a closely pleated cockade, > set to stand very high, in keeping with the 1 character of the hat. Indeed, rib- " bon cockades in bright colours, veil- ' ed with tulle compose the trimming 1 of many hats of a more severe nat- ' ure useful for travelling and morn- • ing wear. I A CONTRAST. i Latest picture hats of the finest possible Tuscan straw or chip consti- • tute a striking contrast to the mat- • erial of which the new straw toq- » ties ai'3 made. Much of this is so j thick and heavy looking as to rei semble matting; sometimes this i thick straw is inter-woven with wide 5 strands of rich velvet or satin ribbon, artid it is possible to arrange i that the.se two combined will pro- ; vide plenty in the way of trimming i without the addition of any other . detail. Napoleon hats and tri- . comes are to be found among the fine classes of straw, the upturned brim being of contrast to the colour . as viewed from its outside. i THE CHEERFUL GIRL. 1 A lady contributor philosophises that tliechief points about the happy girl are these:— She has so much to do that she lias no time for morbid thoughts. She never thinks for a moment that she is not attractive, nor forgets to look as charming as possible. . She is considerate for the happiness of others, but it is reflected back to her as from a looking-glass. She wakes cheerfully in the morning and closes her eyes thankfully at night. She believes that life has some 7 serious work to do, that the serious f work lies very close to the homely, i everyday duties, and that kind r words cost nothing. She is her own sweet, unaffected, j womanly self; therein lies the secret ) of her popularity—of her success. • t MASAI MARRIAGES. j The Masais are an African abori.- iginal race that has strange cusj toms. The parents sell their girls into matrimony, a.nd take consolation from the cattle and goats which I result. A fine-looking Masai girl will cost her husband "two cows, " two bullocks, two sheep, and some goat-skins." Amongst the Baziba j the usual price for "a well-round-ed, handsome maiden" of about fif- ' teen, is ten thousand cowries, or a little over twelve shillings. The I price for maidens over that age is , apt to drop very rapidly. An ! older woman or a widow often bring less than six shillings. When the Masai were a-fighting, tribe tho " citizen soldier could not marry un- • til he wffls from twenty-seven to \ thirty. Nowadays, they marry younger. Financial transactions i are rendered difficult by the fact that the cowry shell is still the ' chief currency. One thousand cow- ', ries go to the rupee, worth about sixteenpence. "Seven dollars worth is a good load for a man." The weight makes commerce diffi- \ cult, and the Germans are trying to introduce a new nickel coinage, , based on the rupee. The chief difficulty, however, is to make the com small enough. |