PEEPS AT PARIS

Hokitika Guardian, 22 December 1930, Page 7

PEEPS AT PARIS

ARTS AND FASHIONS.

now TOURISTS ARE DUPED

(By .Melanie ill the “Dominion”)

I have just had the pleasure of tak-

ing a young'friend for her examination to the State School for Decorative Art, and as the method of conducting these is so different from ours, it is interesting to hear how j i is done.

At tlift stipulated hour 108 young women presented themselves lor the 20 vacancies, having jirevionsl.y —in the case of foreigners—skowii the receipt for the quarter’s rent, necessary the secretary assured me for peace sake, as he is not aiiMcms to have police coining down on undesirables. A letter from nation’s representative and passports furn shed further proofs of respectability. Beyond that foreigners competed on exactly equal terms with the French* The first formality was passing round the hat—not in our sense—but with nil the letters of the alphabet in it. One student then pulled rut a letter—H in this ease. At once the vigi’ntor cajhd 1 names of candidates beginning with that letter, and as each was called she gave up her admisson card, and then passed in to choose her place, most important since the first test was a plast er head. Three of these were placed in different parts of the huge hall, empty except for n few stools, which ench girl took till the last ones (lotterG) had nothing .nmoh in the way of place or seating accommodation, 'for it is not the custom of the French to study persona! comfort. The hubbub was terrific an dthe elder ly lady in charge would every few pi nutes shout, “Less talking, please £ this is a concoups,” hut no one took the slightest notice, and borrowings of pencils and paints, with suitable remarks were the order of the day-—or rather of three mornings.

’ Oil the second afternoon was field tfie geometry examination, a delightful farce, for all and sundry helped each other, and when I went round the exhibition of work held after, not one had mistakes, marks being allotted more for presentation. The beauty of it was that no work was given in till the last day, those that had a little more spare time went back to their geometry and touched it up, likewise their unfinished heads. The final and fourth day consisted of a close study of some flower or leaves —in this case a branch of parsley—on which was to he based a decorative design for a hook fiyleaf. Still chatter and interchange (subrosa) of ideas, with screams from the lady. No inks, etc., were supplied, and tables which even the parismonious authorities recognised as necessary, were planks of wood roughly joined together and put on trestles, wit lithe resulting sardine congestion. No names appeared only numbers. I must say that the results justified the freedom given, - for the variety or work was very marked, and in spite of help ail'd narrow quarters, there wag no doubt ns to the test being thorough and fair,

General culture' is of a high order here. Can you imagine an English—lei alone a. colonial—wine-keeper having a large notice in his window, urging people to buy hiis wine because it was tile beverage beloved of Catullus, Pliny, Horace and Virgil?

“PARIS BY NIGHT.”

Not long ago a prominent actress threatened to sue a •French agency for breach of contract in that it did not want her any more as the “wild woman” in a Parisian cabaret visited as I part of the trip, “Par.’s by night.” We all know that many of these places are mere “•frame-ups” to let the tourist think that lie is really seeing naughty Paris in a way unknown to most! For about 15s he is promised a peep behind the scenes, which he certainly gets, but not in the way he thinks. Far from being the haunts of apaches, of which there are mighty few left, thanks to frequent clearances by the police prefect, M. Chiappe, lie is paying to be laughed at. In this case Mjne. X. revealed that her show was supposed to he the meeting-place of criminals, so when the innocent victim came along, he was regaled with tramps, hired at Is per night, dummy figures supposed to be drug addicts ,and discreetly kept at a distance, a wild woman who, after fierce encounters with her landlord, was forced to sing with her partner, also as it happened, an opera singer “taking a holiday,” nnd so on for about 20 minutes, when the thirsters after knowledge were whirled to another “show.” I have met more than one student who made nn honest penny to pay his university fees by joining a gang of “roughs” at night nt the bidding of an agent, No, the tourist of a week does pot see this side of Paris, especially if he has his female belongings with him.

FASHION HINTS

Changes this season are marked and we can no longer pride ourselves on comfortable short frocks, so easily made at home. Everything tends more to Victorian ideals, mysterious frills and volants envelop lovely women whose charms increase as they are hidden. Only oneks back may be on full view, even arms up to the elbow are clothed in soft suedes matching the gown if you are rich enough. Fortunately for hygiene, tailor-mad-es —all the go now —are still only halfway down the leg, but regrettably fit in at the waist, so that we must hie back to blouses, with their too ■ often slovenly look. Jackets fit neatly in at the waist, and are adorned with buttons and belts. As for long coats, they'are now an important part of the wardrobe, and trimmed with much fur up and down the arms, huge collars up to the ears, and smart little mufFs to match, they are undoubtedly attractive. Their lining, by the way should pretty nearly match the material, and the dress underneath. And if you want to look “it,” have a hat made of the same material, likewise a scarf and handbag. If you have plently of fur—bunny is popular here—make a large band outline the whole jacket, crossing and buttoning in front, Evening dresses, alas, are careering along in more and more, expensive styles and the latest idea is to have contrasting colour, Erovb with pinkj