Feminine Interests

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 683, 7 June 1929, Page 5

Feminine Interests

A NEW USE FOR FINE LINEN Linen is now produced in a texture so fine that it is as beautiful as silk, and in tints so lovely that it is as decorative as brocade. It is not surprising, therefore, to find it employed In a number of ways hitherto reserved for more lightly-priced fabrics. A delightful bed treatment, for example, is achieved by using patterned linen in mauve and rose as a drapery for the wall above the bed-head. This type of drapery caught at the top and sides with rosettes of carved wood, confers upon an ordinary divan couch the dignified air of an empire bed. If the bedspread be fashioned of the same material the result will be excellent. A charming way of suggesting space in a narrow room is to fix a couple of tall, slender mirrors on opposite walls and drape these with hangings of linen, say in grey and green, catching them at the sides with clips of glass or china flowers. The room will seem to have a couple of additional windows, for the draperies will look like window- curtains. With the return of the vogue for Victorian furnishings comes the drapery for the toilet-table and its mirror. Very fresh and dainty is the boxpleated dressing-table skirt of yellow and blue linen, edged with a pleated ribbon ruche. The linen drapery to the mirror is caught hack w’ith ribbon bows, and the dressing stool has a loose cover of the same material, similarly bedecked. Linen emerges from the w-ashtub so unperturbed that it makes a big appeal to the housewife who has to consider expense and rule out renewal costs as far as possible.

Women the World Over

A YOUTHFUL GENIUS Music is the birthright of Angelic Morales, who was discovered by Jose

Lhevinne and educated at the expense of the Mexican Government. She is now 17 years old and recently made a successful debut at the Carnegie Tlall. A VETERAN TYPIST Madame Talagrand is said to be the oldest typist in France. She has held her post on the staff of the Palace of Justice in Paris for over 50 years. “CUPBOARD LOVE” A wealthy person has many friends. Recently Madame Berthelot, of Paris, inherited about £2,000,000 from a relation in the United States, and immediately she was beseiged with letters from the four corners of the world. The demands of her would-be friends became so insistent that she was forced to go into hiding, and the news of a second large bequest, this time from Australia, made her weep with distraction. “I was happy until I became rich,” she declared, but now it seems that I shall never find peace again.” A WOMAN LECTURER At the National Gallery, London, a woman lecturer was recently appointed. She is Miss A. Laurie, daughter of Professor Laurie, the well-known authority on Old Masters. Miss Laurie, who has been acting as assistant at the gallery for the past year is 23, and the audience at her first lecture comprised about a hundred listeners of both sexes. MODERN MOTHERHOOD A large family does not hamper Mrs. Frank Gilbreth, of New Jersey, United .States, in her profession of consulting engineer. She has 11 children, but has been chosen among the delegates for the conference of the International Federation of University Women in Amsterdam, representing 27 different countries. Mrs. Gilbreth will read a paper dealing with “The Reconciliation of Marriage with a Professional Career."

“CHALK PLEASE" Although billiards may be looked upon as the after-work pastime o£ business men, many women become very proficient at the game. A saloon, solely for the use of women, has recentlybeen opened at Cheltenham, England, and four tables are constantly in use. The instructress is Margaret Lenman, champion billiardist.

VOGUES AND VAGARIES (By MADAME JEANNE VARREZ) j It becomes obvious that the short i jacket is to be one of La Mode's most favoured garments throughout the present year of grace. Short jackets figure in every collection, and I am assured that they will be worn more I frequently than long coats with dresses ! of all kinds. Invariably they are cut j on straight lines, maybe just a little | longer than the traditional cardigan ] length; but often a variation is . achieved by cutting them in tab fashion—longer at the back. Also featured in the collection are light capes in both woollen and silken materials, from short to three-quarters length, and designed for morning, afternoon, and evening wear. There is every indication that they are to have a fashionable vogue. Numbers of frocks show lingerie fronts. Such gowns are cut with very wide front openings, and are not every woman's wear. Various fabrics are used for the lingerie finishes, from fine law-n edged with real lace to rich satins and supple silks. Tucks, fine pleats, and folds continue to play their attractive part in modern dress. One dainty gown of chartreuse-romaine had the whole of the blouse portion tucked so ingeniously as to result in a definite pattern of intersecting ovals. The skirt, hanging straight and slim, showed straight tucks near the waist, and was finished with a narrow sash tied at the back. Train-like tails and gracefully dipping hems characterise evening frocks. Particularly beautiful are the lace models; and black net, though everywhere in evidence, loses none of its individual charm. One such frock was finely shirred from the waist to hips, whence it fell, full and flowing, almost to the ankles. The back of the bodice bad a foundation cut away to give a novel opening like a deep M.

The long-sleeved frock is the recognised model for restaurant and theatre wear. , The long sleeves are offset, as it were, by a pronouncedly low deeolletage, almost as if Fashion were intent on limiting the sphere of usefulness of such a gown, for it offers no happy compromise for the woman of slender purse. The low deeolletage emphatically marks this new creation as a restaurant or theatre garment, ruling it out of court, despite the long sleeves, as a ceremonial afternoon dress.

Meanwhile, black continues to be the godsend of women who must dress well on limited allowances. Morning, afternoon, evening,—black is for ever and for ever correct, and full of charming possibilities in the way of helpful accessories. Fidelity to black, for instance, means that one cleverlychosen black wrap can do duty with two or three frocks. Then there is the all-coloured hat and matching pochette for chic brightness; and the standardised hosiery and shoes that make for consistent elegance, and that can be indulged in a little more extravagantly when one has not to invest in three or four different coats for as many different gowns. Black shoes and stockings—of the right

tund—are not cheap, but they are worth the outlay. The millinery salons are most intriguing. There is an unmistakable revival of the Watteau model. No less definite resuscitations are the “picture hat’* and the “Bonnet”, the latter perhaps gaining favour from the revival of interest in Dutch art. There is no gainsaying the piquancy of the Dutch-bonnet type of hat on the right wearer, but it is essentially a mode for the young. The picture hat is hinder to older women, and especially so in its modern treatment, with brim-manipulation brought to a tine art in the matter of individual line.