The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1948-09-30

HAZEL
EYES
BY Hazel Brunnon

the FaIlS OCAoN
least that's what those who have
travelled in France before VIII
tell you. s., Ia.
b,,t the Parisians seem short
tempered, suspicious, distrustful
and at their best present a cyni-
cal, unhappy picture
Prices are high and every shop
keeper seems bent on taking.
the tourist before he gets taken"
L,lxury items can be had but
thew come so high that only the
wealthy can afford them. Silk
night gowns for instance, all
beautifully hand made, sell Tor
around $l25.00 American money.
Before the war, of course, they
were much cheaper. Opera glass
es and other such items in which
France has always specialized are
hard TO find. They are for ex-
port only.
Food and clothing in France are
still rationed. The bread and
butter ration is felt more severely
nv the French than any other
item. Food is plentiful in the
black market where the opera
tions are extensive. Most OF the
neonle in the cities have to
Supplement their rations with
food from the black market in
order to exist. People in the coun-
49, <a~o ~yovxy xuoll.
Smart restaurants ike
Maxim's and Tour d'Argent,
where Princess Elizabeth and
phillip dined on their trip to
Paris, are reasonable in price
when compared with places In
New York. You can dine cheaper
at Maxim's in Paris than you can
at the Starlight Roof OF the Wal
dorf. Still a dinner check for two
win run from ten to fifteen
American dollars.
One Of the delights OF the; city
is dining in the restaurant nign
IN in the Eiffel Tower overlook
inc all Paris. The food IS excel
lent, music good and the view
superb. Often a fashion show Is
thrown in for good measure.
The luxuriously furnished per-
fume bars of houses like Guer-
lain were a delight to visit es'
pecially in view Of the difference
In prices there and here. the
great fashion houses showed
STYLES that were too expensive as
well as impractical for American
taste and use. Hats were just ex-
treme and expensive not pretty
ar smart. The French r slowly
beginning to awaken to the fact
that fashion has developed IN
#AYnerfca TO a point where Inc
word from Paris is not NECESSARY
" law any more. The habits ana
requirements of American women
are going to have a great oeal
more influence on Paris designers
in the future than they have IN
the past.
The impression one gets OF the
French people is that they don't
know where they're going. They
seem to feel keenly the humiiia-
ton of being occupied. One critic
said the French people would
feel the effects of the occupation
for a hundred years. Every
Partisan you'd meet would talk
about the part he played In the
resistance if he was not a mem
Der of a fighting unit or ne
would talk Of some daring tning
some member of his family die
in the underground. All OF them
seem whipped down mentally.
morally, and spiritually as wei
as physically.
Down on the French Riviera
there are plenty of hotels anc
even though clean they are pretty
run down. The Mediterranean Il
lust as blue and beautiful as ever
pictured, and the sunshine a:
dazzling.
The most interesting thing t
me was to sit on the boardwalk
and watch the people go by. Seer
here were peoples of all nations
MANY of them without homes o.
ties of any kind. Many had flet
Hitler's Germany. All seemed u
have plenty of money.
There was and is a definit
shortage of men in France.
During the evening n goes y
sidewalk cafes and open air res
taurant overlooking the Sc
where there is music and dancing
There may be seen young at
tractive girls who come alon
and sit at a table ordering a sol
drink or at most a glass OF wine
When the music starts a youn
man, or one not SO young, WI
come up and very formally In
yite one of the girls to dance
She always accepts. The other gir
may or may not be asked. AT tn
conclusion of the dance he es
corts her back to her table an,
goes on his way to another CIR
another dance.
Many visitors in France &c
the impression that France as
nation has run her course 49,.
that she will never again be
first rate major power. Event
since the conclusion of the secon
, World War seen to justify tn
viewpoint.