VICTORIAN VANITIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 August 1938, Page 8

VICTORIAN VANITIES

BROUGHT UP-TO-DATE. NEW USES FOR OLD THINGS. Victorian elaboration is appealing to the woman of today. Among the latest fancies is carved ivory work, sometime exquisitely enamelled, or inlaid with mother-of-pearl or tiny precious stones. Old ivory prayer books, carried regularly to church long ago in the mittened hands of Victorian dames, are denuded of their torn and faded leaves and made into delicate boxes for dressing table or drawing room, to hold trinkets or cigarettes.

Perfect pieces of ivory carving, fine and lacy, can be mounted and made into unusual “little finger” rings. Two long hat pins—outrageously long, they seem —with round button-like tops each inlaid with flowered sprays in mother-of-pearl are to be transformed into clips or brooches by a clever woman who specialises in this Victorian ivory work in London, The most novel adaptation of all, however, is that of the little ivory hammer used by bewhiskered business men of years gone by, at their board meetings. A modern beauty specialist claims that this is excellent for face massage with its smooth rounded ends. For hand exercises, she uses solid ivory balls which should be rotated in the hand to keep the fingers supple and smooth.

Tiny little ivory match boxes can be carried in the handbag. A carved ivory hand holding carved flowers is in the spirit of modern design for dress clips, while the laborately carved roses set in gold snake mounts look perfect at the neck of a plain black frock. '.i, ,

A little curiosity among all the carved needle and toothpick cases, thimbles, paper knives and little gewgaws is a tiny fan which opens out to show seven leaves—one for each day of the week. This the lady of the house wore at her waist on her chatelaine with her keys, and each fan leaf was used for notes. A tiny pencil is slotted into one side..of the fan. .