LEAVES FROM A FRENCHWOMAN'S DIARY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 27 July 1929, Page 10

LEAVES FROM A FRENCHWOMAN'S DIARY

THE LOVE OF BLACK AND WHITE (By C’ulliue Bonfl'—frn- “The Mail”). . Tlie Parisienne. has remained, true to her love of black fend -White for many years. -She fools that no ‘.coloured gown or wrap, or hat, hovybvcr gorgeous, has quite the relincir.but of a chic black one, and she ,declares: that black, with Subtle touches of white, can be one of the most daring colour combinations in the realm of fashion. • During the last, few months, how* . ever, there:has been.a .certain, waver-' iug, and, while black i? still well-be- ■ loved for ceremonious wear,, the threecolour scheme lias . commended itself to VFrenchwomen ■ for sports, country, and sea-side clothes. THE FAVOURITE THREE First, of all it was the tri-colour, and the introduction of red white and blue into the toilette became a national mark of ggod; taste! Now we make for ourselves other Schemes, : siich as fed, white'and green; or yellow, red and blue. Two yellowy, and .■oncblue, two blues and one red, andt ijlackj white . arid red; are other-colour harmonies that have their devotees. • WHERE THE ‘STAGE LEADS A.famous designer,,who.dresses some of', the most' beautiful! stars of. the' French stage-showed- tb iris a .suit of the .inost charming. iA-' skiffc. (rio.t tod short, you. understand !-) . of. • white kasha,- made;'With lri;o .fluted godet's on one .side,’wad acEOhipanie'd -by a. sweater of white .wool’ la.ee; ‘arid ’to wear ovw both, was-a-, beautifully tailored reefer coat,of scarlet kasha.. The. 6carf

was of: light. navy blffe; kasha,, .long aird'narrow .the .oelt'.wa’B of plaited silli in red,, white. and', blup, .while the closely fitting‘lf eiffjei of white. felt .had crossed hands of scarlet and blue felt. ' PRIMROSE AND NAVY Another version pi ..this, three-ioiie scheme was, a. .long, loose, .coat. of light navy wool crepe,. Woth.:6vef "a. primrose yellow wool! lac'e juniper . and: a. skirt of two tout's 6f yellow wool crepe beautifully encrusted ..one .on- the other. Tli© cpUar. v pf ' tlie : coat .. had slots eachside through whichwas .pullcid a long scarf of the wool ,la6e to hang down the fronts of. the. epat’ like revers. Tflart; you must' adfnit’, .was an idea quite new aiid afnarjl Tije hat to, complete the;ensemble,Was a eloelic .shape of primrose moufflon .felt; with .a hand of grained.ribbon,iii yellow and iiavy. THE SCARF PLAYS ITS PART The-scarf is. a splendid medium for showing • off.. our, nc\¥,-found taste for colours, aid' everywhere you sec scarves of 1 crepe! dc _cliine,.. geprgettc, tussore, and buntiug-e-the material of wh ich' we make,’our. Mgs!. , . The big square - scarf. has, grown, up a lid become the evening- shawl! The long narrow scarf now takes first place in the daytime; 'it is‘usually of one tone, with, ends made, gay by wide stripes of three, cblotu-s.--A black one tovwear with a ; tailleui’ of. heavy crepe will have broad diagonal stripes of. any throe colours Madame loves best at the moment. A cleverly, made and easy-to-wear scarf is fashioned of two triangles joined at-the tips.by one other little t'riaiigie—the. small< piece, to. go about the throat so that one may. not looked, choked ! These triangles..arc always of different' colours. As for scarves of bunting, tltey resemble exactly (be gay strings of Hags from which 'they are borrowed, and look too charming for words with plainly tailored frocks iii white, navy, or yellow. THE MATCHING SAC You do not heed rue to say that each «,f those sr-hi ves must have its mateli-

ing sac—something large and flat as a portefolio, with a narrow fastening rim of gilt or silver, or a big bulgy affair with a mount of light or dark tortoise-shell. Most- certainly life is never dull, for we must always find the right bag that is to go with the right scarf that is to go with correct toilette we have just put on! MOMENTARY MUSINGS There are some natures that seem incapable of realising that what they call "gusli”,may be a -perfectly natural expression of sincere feeling. Because they Themselves suffer from perpetual repressions and restraints, they canuot conceive that there arc oilier types who are afflicted by no such self-consciousness. There is a vulgar sort of “gusli,” it is true, that proclaims its facile insincerity from the housetops. But there is another kind that simply means the brimming-over of an honest and spontaneous gratitude, admiration, and affection. It is perfectly easy for any generous and understanding soul to differentiate between the two. We cannot all possess that delightful art of abandon that is never afraid to speak eloquently from the heart. But we can at least credit others with its possession. We can refrain from eyeing askance every charming gesture of siucerely-meaift-flattery, and instantly debuting what the gentle, flatterer is “after.”. There are quite a number of people in this World who are “after” nothing except sending up the average of human happiness and joie-de-vivre. And if they essay to achieve this end by the timely Utterance of felicitous phrases, and .the substitution of frank,flattery for frozen ~ reser,ye, ; they . .merit, something sweeter than cold-eyed suspicion in return. M. de F. FAINTED DOORS IN PEASANT STYLE Visitors to Holland arid, Hungary must have noticed how bright and cheerful the little village houses look, with their doors painted in gay. vivid colours . and himplc bold patterns. It would .probably prove a little too uri.conventjonfel, to come home and paint our own front- doors in a similar manner, but tlierc is no reason why the inside doors, should not be decorated. The bold geometric simplicity of the most successful Dutch .door-paintings will blend delightfully with the plain austerity of modern furniture; and the work is easily carried out by tlie enterprising amateur.

The door should first be enamelled witji cellulose paint in the chosen background colour. When the surface is Wim dry, the design can be blocked in with eliarcbal. If ..you like,, you can take... the .'measurements 'of the. panels anil draft qut 1 the pattern on paper before.transferring: it to the door. It will be easy to evolve some simple design of, squares, triangles, and so on, by means, of ruler and.c.ompasses; or per'haps a .largo needlework transfer. might be adapted for your purpose. The. chief point to; bear in mind is to keep .the whole, pattern as plain and unobtrusive as possible; the moment anything “fussy” or over-elaborate creeps into the work, the entire effect will bo spoilt.

Wlicn the. design, is drafted out- satisfactorily, the different parts of the pattern, cau be painted in. Use quickdrying enamels,’and be sure not to let any of, the colours run into cacli other, Tlie tints used must necessarily depend oir the furnishing of the room, but a n attractive cofnbinatibn is primrose; yej.low woodwork, and a design in black, white,. scarlet, and jade green. On an .apple green door, a pattern in bright Delft blue, cherry-red and white, will look delightful. Pictures should be few, anil tlie furniture -very plain,

to harmonise with the gay simplicity of the door-paintings. R.M. THE BOOK-LOVER’S LIBRARY DEALING WITH “OVER-FLOW” VOLUMES (By Mary Lovat)' If you are a book-lover, von have doubtless been baffled at times by the rapid way in which your collection out - grows it's existing .accommodation. As

books.arc “friends” that must not be discarded, you feel it is up to you to devise some means of coping with, the situation, although you may not be able to afford hew cases. Fortunately, there are various ways of getting over the difficulty. One is to attach little racks to the sides and the back of your writing table; so that a row of books may be placed round three sides of the desk. An arrangement like Ibis lends'distinction to the table, and, at the same time, provides easy, access to books of reference, ac-count-books, guides, and so forth. Cupboards also are capable of providing space for overflow hooks if shelves arc arranged on their. tops. Charming effects may be secured by designing the series of shelves in pyramid form to give a slender line to the whole. They need not be deeper than the. widtli of the volumes, so that there will be plenty of space iii front for a bowl of flowers, a statuette, or an inlaid box. If you add dividing uprights of wood at intervals round a “dumb waiter,” you may turn it into a useful stand for books. It will live inconspicuously in a corner of the room where it will take tip no valuable space.