Feminine Interests

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 503, 5 November 1928, Page 5

Feminine Interests

Paris Goes Dotty

Spots are Everywhere

Fashion in Paris has been “dotty” all the summer, writes “Germaine.” She has received every encouragement, too. There’s something surprisingly smart about this vogue tor ! dots. No wonder it has proved infectious. As the season advances, the fancy j dot does not wane, because the scarf i decides to have yet a further say in the matter. It shows many variations in one form, or another gives an air of jauntiness to every kind of frock Apart from its smartness, those who have a horror of that sunburnt square l or •<v > ” g n[ j yet mother reason for going dotty, too. I Yachting clothes are more attracI tive than ever. While many women j

this year have invested in flannel | suits, others have been unable to re- | sist the fascination of the jersey ] ensemble. One of these, carried out in coarse navy fisherman’s jersey, had its roundnecked sweater striped in broad arrow lines of bright blue and white. The skirt was plissee, and the threequarter length double-breasted coat of serge, had the approved brass buttons. A white stockinette jumper-dress, its deep cowl collar striped in green and yellow, was also designed to wear beneath the same coat. Low Crowns Again Low crowns. They are back again! I We must get used to them Most j women are glad, for high hats suit j the few. The little felts and velours j are the thing for autumn wear.

They are in fine felt, soft velvet, and lustrous panne. Black and white will be very smart, also black and coral-red, with sometimes an added, and most effective, touch of silver. While again, several colours —as, for example, fuchsia-red, and purple, and pale and dark grey, or beige and brown, and bronze and copper—are alternating in the little pull-on hats entirely made of rows of narrow ribbon. Tissue velour, very soft and llgjit, forms a number of the new millinery models, and the reign of the hat brooch has not ceased to be. The open and floral pattern are reigning favourites, and the stud-shapes, too. New Hat Daggers One of the latest ornaments is a small motor-car in paste, which gives a very sportive effect to a black felt hat. Pearl hat-pins, large ones, are very becoming adjuncts to velvet hats. Sometimes, the cire flower will be seen, in a matching colour to'the felt, or in white if the hat happens to be a black one. It is whispered that aigrettes will be worn in the near future. At present a hat trimmed with aigrettes is generally worn by “grandma,” and has an old-fashioned, early Victorian aspect. Will the ostrich feather hat return once more? What we shall see in the near future, is a little fur toque to match the fur coat which will cover our georgete or crepe de chine frocks when the winter days come. An attractive hat of black silk ribbon frayed into threads, except for narrow sections, is an interesting novelty. It is so arranged that it looks as if it were black shiny hair elaborately waved all over the head, with interesting little ear-sections The everlasting turban pei'slsts, and will persist, all through the winter, If the information which 1 have gained here and there be correct. After this, the most popular hat will be the beret, but the beret, grown out of all proportion, resembling the old-time Tam-o’-shanter. At Deauville, the hats seen are very attractive, and here, I must contradict myself. Just now I said that aigrettes were early-Victorian, so old-fashioned do they appear when worn on the hats of the elderly ladies who fancy them. But at the Casino, I saw a woman wearing—this was in the Salle de Jeux—a cap of green lace, matching her green lace frock —with brilliant green aigrettes thrust through the side, and two other women were wearing caps of horse hair, with insets of fine lace. ( A hat that attracted much attention in the afternoon was one of deep delphinium-blue straw (with a diamond brooch fastened in the crown), measuring nearly a yard across the sides of the brim resting on the shoulders.

“A DISH OF TEA” THE SOCIAL HOUR To be invited to a “dish or tea” is always an invitation to pleasant and intimate chat. On bright, small boy answered the question in his “common sense’’ examination paper, “What is a tete-a-tete?” as “Two people having a good time over tea.” Yet how few people take the necessary precaution in brewing this delightful beverage? There are just a few golden rules. First, the pot must be heated with boiling water, and the tea itself infused with water that has just boiled. Tea made with water that has boiled once or twice will only make a vile infusion.

It is a great mistake to use cheap tea; dust and bits of wood do not increase the flavour, and mean false economy, besides. The most delightful of all teas is billy tea, where the flavour of the wood on which it is cooked imparts au unusual and unforgettable taste. In countries where tea is almost a rite it is considered that the tea, to i be just right, must never have crossed the sea. Anyone who has drunk Caravan tea, distilled in a samovar, and served in a glass, with its silver holder, will think of the pale golden liquid, flavoured with a slice of lemon, as the tea of one’s life. Both Chinese and Russian tea drinkers do not look upon milk as a necessary adjunct, but use lemon. In galleries where they keep tea caddies belonging to Captain Cook or some other famous man, you will note that the box is air-tight, for air destroys the delicate aroma which should be always found in tea. The vogue for China tea is growing. For one reason, doctors recommend it, as it is devoid of tannin, the cause of so much indigestion. In Italy tea is still to a great extent looked upon as a medicine, and can always be bought at the chemist’s shop. English people living abroad have to pay a heavy price for tea, as there is a big duty. But the teadrinking habit has grown very rapidly j on the Continent, and little tea-shops have sprung up everywhere. It is noticeable the number of men who frequent our tea-rooms at four o’clock —an indication that the gossip hour is no longer women’s sole prerogative. ROLLED STUFFED STEAK For this you require about two pounds of steak—choose a large, thin slice—and a seasoning prepared as follows:—Quarter-pound of bread crumbs, one tablespoonful each of chopped parsley, onion and ham, seasoning to taste and sufficient milk to moisten the whole. Spread this on the slice of steak, which you have previonsly beaten out and seasoned on both sides with pepper and salt; roll the meat like a roly-poly and tie it firmly. Melt about two tablespoonsful of dripping in a frying-pan, put in the roll and brown it all over. Remove from pan, place in an earthenware casserole, pour round it one pint of good stock, cover, and took for one and a-haif hours in a moderate oven. When cooked, thicken the stock with one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, well blended together, add ketchup or Worcester sauce to give the required piquant flavour, remove string from the roll and serve In the casserole.