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Hokitika Guardian, 16 November 1933, Page 3

FEATHER COATEES AND RUFLES

FEMININE VOGUE OF FLOWERS

The feminine treijd of recent fashions has brought several charming re-, rivals, which are greatly admired after several seasons of excessive plainness in dress. *

Feathers have become very popular, with the best dress designers, and in a restrained form they are appearing or) many new' hats. Upstanding' feather, frills are placed round wide arm-holes; clusters of ostrich feathers rest on the shoulder; short,, hanging capes and cape sleeves are edged with deep feather ruffles,- and Faradi -re plumes in brown trimmed the front of an evening dress of silver bronze sequins seen recently.

In the shops one can buy coatees and capes of ostrich and coque feathers in white and all pale shades; also ruffles looking like enormous blooms made of goose and swan feathers—one seen in, white with a black velvet dress was •.charming. An entire coatee of ostrich feathers, all hanging one way, white shading to faint pink', was a beautiful finish to a gown' of platinum grey crepe.

>■ Even mere welcome is the flower vogue, which one can adapt to every •"type of dress, from th l? neat little but-ton-hole of a single bloom worn with a tailored suit to the very elaborate ruffles placed on evening dresses. A I lovely lace dress in deep cream colour had four roses—looking exactly .like natural Gloire de Dijon roses—laid liac round the front of ilie decolietage. Huge silk and velvet roses are fastened mi lilt leit should'),r strap down the from, of the bodice. An evening dress in purple velvet had wide pieces extending from the shoulder strap, and underneath, resting on tile tops of the arms, were shaded silk and velvet roses. A pretty floral “necklace” consisted of a circlet of white gardenias tied with a black soft sash at the back, the ends reaching the waist. A cluster of white violets, without leaves, is a favourite touch of cue of the most " celebrated dress designers. He places them in the front of simple, black evening bodices, or at the waistline of afternoon frocks. Another lovely dress in mountain-ash ivd tarletan had the entire “ofF-the shoulder” collar ‘ made of silk and muslin flowers.

An evening scarf that was simplicity itself to make, consisted cf a three or four-yard length of heavy chiffon or georgette crepe. This was folded in half.. The edges were caught together on one side (about half a yard from the fold) to make a' loop used as a. sleeve, and the arm was slipped through the loop, the rest of the chiffon being brought round the back and front or, the bodice and thrown over .the opposite shoulder. Down the front edge of the “loop sleeve” were three large silk and velvet flat roses the same lour as the scarf. . In flame red it locked marvellous over a black lace '■go.vii, and in vivid gentian blue it was a wonderful finish to a plain white satin dress.

All evening gown in wine velvet had a capelet, that just fastened at the throat and swung loosely to. the waist at the back with huge, silk and velvet roses, in groups at the bottom. Flowers chosen with care can add a wonderful chic to a simple gown or ensemble. The thing to remember is that t'hey ‘should look part of (the dress scheme, introducing perhaps the only touch of colour, either lighter darker, or a bright contrast. If other coloured accessories are used, such as shoes, gloves, scarf or handbag, then the flowers should match these. Never introduce an odd colour -into a well-thought-out scheme, because it is the attention, to these small .details that proclaim the well-dressed woman rather thfin the amount. spent on her wardrobe.

QUEEN’S ROOK GARDEN, Visitors to Balmoral Castle .who drive down the magnificent avenue of conifers, silver spruces, and cedars, always catch their breath at the sudden sight hear the Castle walls cf a rock garden ablaze with flowers, says a London correspondent. Thi s is the garden' planned by the Queen to suit the dry and sandy soil of the Highlands, and it is the glory of Balmoral. The Queen designed a big semi-circular garden, banked up with grey rock and sloping down to a tiny green lawn and a pool in the centre. Tliero’are two entrances, each guarded 'by a simple iron gate, and on one gate are the initals of the Queen and on the other those of the King. Visitors Walk cjjown a shallow flight of Intone steps and then 'gaze up around them at the show of Alpine plants—some of them sent by Queen Maud.

One end of this long garden is near the stone tower of Balmoral, ’upon which, of course, flies the flag when the King and Queen are in residence, ‘and from which comes the chimes that divide up the Royal days. The head gardener naturally arranges ‘that this should be an autumn rocl> garden rather than a summer one, so that it may be in full bloom on the arrival of the ’ Queen at the end of August. Thg Queen gave special permission to, a woman artist, Miss Flora Pilkington, to sketch this garden before the arrival of the Court this year. She is the only

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artist who has been allowed to paint both tile Balmoral and. Sandringham gardens. At the same time, Miss Pilkington did sketches of the Wade bridge over the Dee, which is shut to the public when the lying and- Queen are at Balmoral. .

TOWN-PLANNING IDEALS

THEIR IMPORTANCE TO WOMEN

i', Town-planning might be called an ex- ; tension of good housekeeping, says a i young New Zsaland writer, Miss Delap 1 Stevenson, in an article in the London - Morning Post, drawing attention to the t great importance to women of recent - developments in connection with towni planning in England. It is an attempt to achieve, on the larger scale of beauty 1 and, harmony which i.s a woman’s ideal i in the, • arrangement, and furnishing of i her own house. ! It affects many practical, details of ~ life, for on it depend the amount, of noise, danger to children from traffic, ' and dirt from roads and factories which shall be allowed in a residential district. It arranges the position of shops, how near they must bo for convenience, and how far to keep them from spoiling the character of pleasant avenues. Haphazard- modern development has been found disastrous to natural beauty and it has also, militated against comfort and convenience. The idea of townplanning is orderly arrangement and development. In England under the new .system factories are given a suitable site on a railway, artificial, read, river or canal wl lie the residential districts are set in * t most attractive .position. Existing or historic buildings are ,»*:i;o'ui v piv-1 M" vucl Another question is that of shops The “little shop round the corner” is convenient, but i,oo many of them soon begin to spoil a neighbourhood and make it commercial instead of residential. Under a town-planning scheme, the shops are therefore gathered into groups. The smallest group would ' be of about eight simps, and this would give enough types—grocer, butcher, chemist and so on—to be able to provide almost every ordinary, commodity. By this scheme, though on e might have a little further to go before reaching ' the first shop, once there, one would j find everything together. Having, called { at tile greengrocer's, one would not. need to make an expedition to the other end of the to>vn in order to pay the fishmonger.. . . . ~,q .a ,

, Besides setting in surroundings which are quite,,-clean,...convenient; and beautiful; •town-planning is responsible for other advantage s. For instance, though unity In' the* original plan, greater economy cf services such as light, water and drains is possible. The architecture itself is likely tp .be bett; r under a carefully werked-out scheme, and the preser.ygtjon of the beauty of, the countryside is more easily accomplished. • ..So far, only one women: in. England lias qualified as a member of the TownPlanning Institute. But there is no part of the nation with more power to set a high standard in houses and. their surroundings than the women who look after them, and it is for women to watch what it going on in town-planning and make their influence.felt.

In New Zealand, as makers and builders of homes and towns in a young country, we have had ample opportunity to profit by the mistakes of the Old World, and, in Napier since the. earthquake, efforts have been made to rebuild the town according to a definite and harmonious plan. But there is still much that we might learn from the English Town-planning Institute’s, suggestions, and oil nothing do we so riiucli need to insist as on the preservation of sufficient open spaces and areas of beautiful native land.

BEAUTY PATCHES 'Beauty patches originally came from Arabia, and probably began with the astrological signs, but drifted into conceits like small boats cut from black court-plaster. In Georgian times they were made of black velvet. The beauty patch made its appearance in England jin the seventeenth century and was supposed to have been worn principally by candlelight to enhance the delicacy of a creamy com-, plexion. However, the fad grew to such an extent that- at the Restoration a bill was read age .list its use.

| In France is came into existence with the powder and rouge at the gay court of Louis XIV. The coquetry of the beauty patch was a finished art with court beauties. Historical documents such as paintings by Dronais dated 1763 show that even little children were elegantly dressed, their hair powdered and their cheeks plasted with cosmetics. ' ! <■