Shop Talk

There will be no more dramatic moment at the theatre or club than when Russek’s new cellophane cape sweeps down the aisle. It couldn’t be simpler or more distinguished and it is in bright Mephistop heelian colors. How you wear it makes all the difference. It takes the braggadocio of a bersagliere plus a monkish calm. Practise it in front of your mirror.

The Near-End of summer, meanest of all seasons, is the time for a new coiffure. The change lends a note of cheer to your return to town. Your suntan is fading, dental work is imminent, and the new cook says the kitchen is too small. With every day bringing fresh agonies you need all the cheer you can get. What kind of coiffure will it be? Here is a train of thought to numb the pain of finding moths in your fall suit. Sit in front of your mirror and try things with a comb. Better still, go straight to Antoine at Saks Fifth Avenue; his interest in you means a lot. Together you can discuss your type, always a fascinating topic, and by the end of several pleasant minutes together you will have worked out a head that is the height of fashion. You have only one face, but there’s no end to what you can do to it if you are clever with your hair.

W. & J. Sloane on Fifth avenue is a store which I always associate with the best in life. Their furniture has, dash, spontaneity and a far – sighted knowledge of what the public wants. They choose it cleverly with one eye on style and workmanship and the other on, well . . . their amazing consideration for purses has not yet been conquered by inflation. Because antique and modern fireplaces and mantels have been in so much demand in the past year or two they have opened a separate shop in the basement which houses a collection of original and fine reproduction of these pieces. The lines, grace and finish of each one are a pleasure to behold. They are ready made or made to order.

The light of dawn is nothing we want to have anything to do with, and the nasty way it comes sneaking into our bedroom has been annoying us for years. No sooner has it got its silly rosy fingers through the windows than our sleep becomes worthless. We can’t draw the blinds or close the shutters or pull the curtains to because we are a fresh air fiend. So we have had to manage as best we could with a silk handkerchief tied in a knot that made our head ache, or a twist that came loose and fell apart. Well, an unknown fellow sufferer has just invented Sleep Shades, and our heart goes out to him in deep thanks. Here is a little black mask with everything arranged for you. It is cut to fit around the nose and fastens lightly but firmly with elastic cords. It does not budge and keeps you in the dead of night until you are called for breakfast. What’s more, it will produce enough night for a nice nap anywhere at anytime of day.

If You keep house, you long for someone to invent a new meat. If you see clothes all day long you groan for a new fur. Schiaparelli has discovered one. They call it “Ondatra,” a beautiful silver-gray fur, used in the smartest sports fur coats in Paris and New York. When it marched into the collection there were wild guesses as to what the fur could possibly be—Russian mongoose, Chinese what-not, or the seal that they make moccasins of in the Province of Quebec. They were all wrong. It is neither Russian, nor Chinese, nor Canadian. It is a native of Paris, a purely Parisian rat, that.

New York has taken to its heart.