Shop Talk

J. and J. Slater has long been one of the passions of my life. Mr. Slater, as I’ve said time and time before, has no inhibitions. He believes that there should be imagination in the designing of shoes. He’s willing to try new ideas. When they are good he makes another substantial contribution to the general attractiveness of life. Just a year ago he showed his spirit by opening the Madison Avenue shop which definitely altered the face of the street. It’s Spanish, with gay red letters and bright little windows. Inside it consists of a large oval room where mirrors give an impression of endless length. The shoes are, as they’ve always been, provocative and so beautifully made they’re a joy. Practical postscript to this rave: the children’s shoes are adorable. And you get the little red leather ones you’ve always hunted for. Slater works on the never-too-young-to-start principle.

Considering the large percentage of your life spent in and about the house, it’s rather silly not to give a great deal of thought to its furnishings. Pennington at 221 West Forty-second street takes this problem very seriously and it is in this mood that they announce the opening of a new department featuring Modern and Neo-Classic furniture to be known as the “Penmodern” wing of the Pennington Galleries. They emphasize the fact that the selections in this new wing will not only comprise furniture of distinct modern lines and Neo-classic creations, but also period pieces that have sufficient modern trend to make it possible to gracefully combine the modern with the traditional. In conformity with Pennington policy, prices will be moderate.

The Kathleen Mary Quinlan travel bag that created such a furore when it first appeared earlier this season has now been done up in new and gay fabrics for holiday gifts. The case itself, in colorful and washable fabricoid, is complete with a large pocket and mirror, with room for comb, compact and lipstick. The fittings are naturally the lovely jars that Miss Quinlan uses, their color smartly contrasted with that of the bag. They contain the four basic preparations for the care of the skin, make-up lotion, a miniature box of “poudres de perles,” a tube of liquid finishing cream and, as added features, a jar of non-greasy hand cream that magically softens and whitens elbows and hands, and a bottle of eau de cologne. It’s just another Quinlan triumph to put all these things into one case and still keep it small and a thing of real chic.

The St. George pool in the Hotel St. George, just across the bridge in that sector of the country known as Brooklyn, is just another bit of paradise in a fine atmosphere of deep green glass and transparent water. All of the water comes from artesian wells which have been sunk to depths of 200 feet beneath the hotel and it passes through filters and heating coils which bring it up to the proper temperature for swimming purposes. It is all very invigorating and exciting and you owe it to yourself to hop over there and find out how that bug-a-boo “daily dozen” can be made pleasant and interesting when taken in the right surroundings.