The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-25

was King Edward, by the way. who
 when discussing the subject of court
 trains at dinner table. remarked that.
 ''The only thing longer than a court train
 is the bill that has to be paid for it. 1 People are making great outcry con- cernng the sleeveless backless and al- | most frontless condition that prevails in | the matter of evening gowns this season. | Of course, it is really quite shocking
 when one sees the almost startling nudity | al theatres dinners, operas and baiis. AS a matter of fact howe yer, it is also i a little difficult to understand why Eng | fish people above all others snoald spe- | cially protest in this matter. for as | | suggested a few minutes ago the matter | of the obligatory decollste is one that is laid down among the laws" governing 1 presentation at court.
 1 In the Victorian days, ladies from 1 Queen Victoria downward wore the most i frankly barred neeks. shoulders and arms | It was considered de rigueur. Queen AL 1 exandra with her beautiful. slim figure | snd slender arms could always appear absolutely correct AI gowns that on more eXpansively constructed female fig | ures were just a little trying Oddly enough, the present Queen, although ex- tremely averse to anything in the way of snort or uSnt SkTtS, mas no hesitation in displaying her splendid shoulders and bust after the extensive fashion con- sidered proper according to court regula- tions. No lady, unless she had some special dispensation owing to ill health or some extreme physical cause has ever
 been allowed to be presented at the Court of St. James with arms or neck covered or even yelled. Under these cir cumstances one wonders why there | sshf ha vi the prevailing mode or decollete gowns. It is nice point that. taken with the new idea of trainless presentation gowns, gives some slight indication of the changes that are taking place in our
 midst
 A rather interesting discussion is go- ing on in one of the London papers upon that old but never worn out theme contained in the question, When Do Women Cease to Attract ?'' Ii is the sort of thing that often comes up for Silly Season" controversy, but am attracted by some of the answers of people who ought to know what they are talking about Among their number is Major McEvoy, who is per haps the most famous and fashionable portrait painter of his time in England. Major McEvoy is as popular a luxury as d portraitist in this era as was John Sargent R. A.. a decade ago. He has committed to canvas most of the bea1- iful women of weaRh and position Tn London, and it is said that he has a waiting list" of would-be sitters who will occupy his time for the next three or four years. In regard to the age limit" of women, Major McEvoy holds forth as follows:
 Tt is a difficult question to answer Personally, I think one can lay down no rule; people develop so differently. There are girls of 19 who have inter- esting minds and reach their full de- en of 30 who are only just beginning to discover their potentialities. Some arc even later in developing and at 40 are extremely interesting and attrac- tive. In fact, there is no age limit where women are concerned; they can fascinate at every and any age, pro- viding they have the right equipment The right equipment? To my mind it is an interest in life which does not tire, an open mind and the love of beauty which gradually makes people beautiful
 ! A woman's view of the matter comes from Lady Dorothy Mills, who says:
 Tt depends upon what is the source of her attraction. When the source goes her attraction goes With it. When a woman wishes unduly to be attrac- tive she generally ceases to be so
 Briefly, there are two types of at tractive woman-the type that a man wants to pick up and pet; and the tyte that he wants to catch and tame But every age has it's attractions" MT. Arnold Bennett is very brief in his remarks on the subject He re- fuses in fact toa say when woman ceases to be attractive. ''The assump- tion Is that no one can say. It all de- pends on the woman" I think that 1t Is left to Madame Clara Butt the fa- nous English singer. however to touch the truest note in the whole discussion She says quite simply:
 Love keeps one young. While there is love in the heart no one can be old. The consciousness that one is cared for