WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 16, 13 July 1911, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted bv "Eileen"). ROYALTY AND FASHION.

There arc two instances in which I Royalty does not lend the fashion (writes the London correspondent, of the Adelaide Observer). One is in dress, for there are few women who would care to copy the rigid rules laid down by Queen Mary in the fashions of 'her toil ette, fashions which if worn by a less exalted person would be called "dowdy." The other is in the matter of dance programmes. At the State ball at Buckingham Palace the programme consisted of three quadrilles (which most o/ the guests liad long ago forgotten how to dance), fifteen waltzes, three polkas, and finished up. in the truly old-fashioned way with a gallop, a nice, decorous, not too lonipy kind of gallop. But all the smart ball-givers, in a kind of frenzied revolt against the dullness of the Royal programme, have devoted their lists exclusively to the one-step and the Boston.! The two-step is occasionally introduced, but it is voted old-fashioned, for it was danced all last year. The "smart" ballroom of to-day presents a most appalling sight. There is neither grace, charm nor dignity to bo found in modern dancing The dancers career madly and ill-mau-neredly trom 011 end of the ballroom t« the other, performing nt> particular kind] of step, and each one doing a kind of a hop, or kick, or glide quite different, to that of his partner. There seem to be no rules of the game, as iit were. Feet are by no means the most important, part of the body in the performance of new dances, as arms are apparently more used for propelling, their owners about the floor. The modern ballroom is a vulgar aiul unhappy sight. There is not the vestige of a wnKz left to preserve its uignity, but there, even if there were, the dancers would tear through it at breakneck speed and introduce their own variations. Their Majesties are both fond of waltzing, and at the State ball the King waltzed with l.adv Mar and Kellie, one of the really pretty women in society, and 1 Marquise d'llnutpol. The Queen waltzed with Lord Churchill and a German officer 01 the Emperor's suite.;

THE LATE QUEEN VICTORIA. Writing of the unveiling of the Victoria monument, the Westminster Gazette says:—"One commanding impression.'' writes an eye-witness, "lias been left on all minds by the ceremonial. It was the triumph of the lady in the blackdress. A thousand writers have described the wonders of scarlet and steel which rejoiced the eye in the streets of London. Yet the whole of it seemed to fade awav at the approach of the lady in black. Without her it was a glorified circus: with her it was one of the most moving scenes that a great city has ever witnessed. AD that appealed to the heart or the imagination was concentrated and summed up in that solitary figure. All the elaborate precautions taken by conscientious sight-seers to ensure the recognitvm of the escort of princes and the carriages laden with princesses were waste labor. They flashed past, leaving a vague and rather disordered impression of splendor, while the figure of the Queen fastened the eyes and filled the thoughts. No one can have seen it without feeling the force of this personal emotion or without realising that the j hold which the Queen haa upon the affections of the British race is something unique in the history of monarchy." If our children and grandchildren are to realise wnat Queen Victoria was to her ! time and generation it will only be by [ remembering "the lady in black" as they ■ look upon the Queen in white marble. Both figures are necessary to give us the clue to her commanding influence. On the one side, she had all the virtues and many of the characteristics of an English wife and mother of the middleclass; on the other, an exalted sense of the greatness and dignity of her position, and the respect due to its occupant. Looking at the rich and fashionable people in search of amusement, she expressed the opinion that they were "all a little mad," and in that madness sTife had no part. For her destiny and duty prescribed a commanding part in public affairs, but she had no sympathy with emancipated ideals for other women, nor with any of the modern movements which broke loose from the old traditions, While acting with strong confidence in her queenly capacity, she was diffident and modest about her personal gifts and talents. In sending her "Journal of Life in the Highlands" to Tennyson, she described herself as "a very humble and unpretending author, tke only merit of whose writing is its simplicity and truth," and she meant exactly what she said. She spoke frankly to] others, and she never .resented frank speech to herself. "It i 3 no use consult-' -V-" she said, "for lie only echoes my| opinions." It wa-s these qualities ofi I simplicity and truth which gradually | made their impression on the British | people, and won for -her the confidence, wheh she possessed in an extraordinary degree, of ordinary men and women. She seemed to be the guardian of common sense against flighty statesmen, and of the ordinary man's View of right and wrong against a frivolous society. In her letters to the police she spoke at a woman of sentiment, expressing the sentiments of those whom she addressed, and hitting the mark with a certainty which would have been wholly beyond the reach of any clever secretary. She was effective because she did nothing for effect. With the old Queen on the throne the monarchy was no far-off glittering pageant in a palace, but a near and vi»ible presence, diffusing sympathy and, common-sense from an exalted home.

THE NARROW SKIRT The Royal prohibition of the narrow skirt is a timely endorsement of the fact, daily becoming more apparent, tlmt the intelligent woman is at last bringing intelligence to bear upon dress, says Miss Evelyn Sharp, in tJhe Manchester Guardian. Tt cornea at a moment when one of the most interesting aspects of fashion i* to be found in the struggle perpetually going on between modern woman and j the fashionable dressnmker. A practi-1 cal garment, such as the short walking) S V" "t, appears in response 'to the busy J

woman's long-felt want of a skirt that will leave her hands free to carry a baoy, a despatch box, or a flag of liberty. The fashionable dressmaker at once pounces upon it, narrows its dimensions to breaking point, ties a tight sash round it just below the knees, and makes the unhappy wearer hop like a kangaroo. On the other hand, the fashionable dressmaker borrows a peculiarly unbecoming mode of Eastern dress from the harem, and the practical woman, quick to see its possibilities, evolves from it a charming and serviceable walking costume, for which the latest French name is "le petit galopeur."

HEALTH OF WORKING GIRLS One of the most interesting causes in Mr. Lloyd-George's new Provident Bill will be that dealing with the question of underground workrooms (says an English writer). In London alone there are thousands of girls working in badly lighted, uuventilated rooms below the. street level, and the effect upon these workers is well-known, not only to the girls themselves, and to the different unions which stand up far their interests, but to the insurance «ompanics and friendly societies to which they subscribe. Lung disease, chest complaints, nervous illnesses, sight weakness, and otner disabilities bring those who work underground more frequently on the sick allowances of benefit societies than those who are housed under more healthy conditions; and so the benefit societies require a higher premium from the underground workers.