P RESENTS for women are comparatively easy to choose. Particularly so

since the War, when with many people it has become the custom to give pieces of apparel or minor house furniture. Why, too, should it not be possible sometimes to give a man things for the house ? In a household he makes use of domestic objects just as much as the housewife. Though it would be obviously depressing to give him a present of blankets, or table napkins, there yet remain plenty of things in a house which the most absent-minded man is aware that he uses. Knives and forks, floor rugs, occasional tables, electric light standards are the sort of things we have in mind. At Messrs. Heal's (among other shops) can be had, for example, boxes of stainless knives and forks with green or red handles, a box of half a dozen costing about 30s. Here also can be had some very pretty glass. The tumblers are in orange shading to clear glass and the cost is 2s. ed. each. The wine glasses (nature unknown) are 2s. each. Lamp shades and floor cushions might also be given to a man ; at Heal's there is a particularly good selection of these, especially the hanging " Star " fittings. These are made in glass, set in metal frames, and are, so to say, star-shaped in the round, price 50s. and 60s. They are sold in clear glass, but would be very much improved by a coat of transparent paint, as with the clear glass the electric-light bulb hanging within is too apparent. A year's subscription to a weekly or monthly review (the Spectator, perhaps ?), scats at a theatre, set of lectures or concert, and, of course, books, are all possible presents for a man. For the rest, there seems to be no escape from cigars, good hairbrushes, fur-lined gloves, and, for the rash, socks, ties and cuff links.

When we come to women, things are much easier. For instance, in the ease of the mother of a family, children's frocks, coats, and caps may be given. These can often be made at home, or, for the more ambitious, there is Messrs. Debenham's, where, for a great deal of money,. really well-designed (if not always particularly practical) clothes for children can be bought. Here also can be had. the ordinary wicker table mats in gilt, price about 2s. 6d. each, besides various pretty flower girdles and flower coronets for the evening. Alas ! here, however, there has been a falling-off, and hair ornaments are not so beautiful and original as they were two or three years ago, for fashion has moved away from such things.

At the Englishwomen's Exhibition Mrs. Ross Langtry (22 Rectory Chambers, S.W. 3) had an admirable collec- tion of buttons. Good buttons, as everyone who has had to do with dress designing knows, are very difficult to come by, but save that she has no paste or jewel buttons Mrs. Langtry has sets which are suitable for almost any type of dress. There are buttons in chessboard pattern, buttons in Bakst-cum- Omega designs, and buttons of a more severe eighteenth century sort. They look very strong, but the writer has no personal experience of their wearing properties ; they are, however, for the most part cheap, and average between 6d. and is. apiece, according to size.

Mrs. M. A. Smith (52 West Kensington Mansions, W. 14) has designed a very attractive series of hair ornaments, especially some pretty slides for bobbed hair. These slides look like miniature wreaths of flowers and leaves and are made of ribbon work. Most ingenious, also, are her very delicate ribbon and beadwork pendants, which represent little baskets filled with flowers. They are as fine as jewellers' work.

A good deal of the jewellery which was on view at the Englishwomen's Exhibition was too reminiscent of the arts and craft movement, with its chill colours and reliance on the onion motif but Miss H. M. Seaborne (" Courtnay," Alma Road, Bassett, Southampton), among a certain amount of jewellery of this rather commonplace type, had some beautiful long pendants of amber and amethyst, set in wrought silver, the pendant and chain being priced at about twelve or fourteen guineas.

Messrs. Liberty's shop shows a decided improvement this year. Many of us have felt that, except in the matter of. Oriental goods, Messrs. Liberty had become rather undtily conservative. This year, however, they have some new things. For example, a particularly good collection of Fair Island knitted jumpers which cost between £6 and 19. These are exquisitely knitted in elaborate patterns with very fine wools dyed with seaweed, they wash beautifully and are practically everlasting. There were two particularly beautiful jerseys, one made in shades of yellow and one in black and mauvy-pink. Here were also silk and wool jerseys made by the blind in a soft mixture of colours, not quite heather mixture, but more delicate in tone because of the exclusion of greys and browns. Also made by the blind were " sports " stockings, soft and exquisitely made in silk and wool, for 25s. Very attractive, too, were some Harris jumpers in wool; one, which was mainly a smoke blue, had a deep border of jade green, pink, mauve and a lighter blue in elaborate patterns. These were rather expensive, however. The wearer would also have to be careful to have some sort of slip underneath as .their texture is rough.

Garments made of hand-woven silks and wools serve many of the same purposes as knitted things. The Hand Loom Industry (89 Earl's Court Road, W. 8) has some extremely beautiful silk at 27s. a yard. All hand-woven materials are, of course, extremely long wearing, so that their price is not quite so alarming as it appears at first.

" Samarkand " (53 Ledbury Road, W. 11) has, besides exquisite silks, some attractive hand-woven dresses in a very coarse weave, which has almost the suppleness of knitting. They are a pleasant change from knitted frocks. These dresses are sold for about five guineas.

The Alstons' Weaving Studios (50-51 South Molton Street, W.), though their colour is not quite so good, yet have very charming stuffs and at lower prices. For pure woollen material about 12s. 6d. or 13s. 6d. a yard is charged, while a beautiful mixture of linen and silk is us. 6d. All the weaving studios seem to make a speciality of jumper lengths. The pattern which forms the border to the material is repeated in little pieces, which can be used for cuffs and neck.

Mrs. Spcarpoint (12 Cadogan Road, Surbiton) makes leather flowers, which vary in price from 4s. 6d. to 8s. 6d., extraordinarily well ; a spray makes a delightful trimming fOr a country hat. She assured the writer that they will stand any amount of rain. It is a pity that the colours incline so much to rather dull russets. Miss Mabel Bruce Low and Miss Irma Graeff (55a Church Street, S.W. 3) have very pretty painted matchboxes at reasonable prices (2s. each) and charming candleshades, specially painted with nursery subjects, such as figures from Alice in Wonderland and from fairy tales (12s. 6d. to 25s.). They also have very pretty alabaster powder jars for toilet cream, the small ones costing about 8s. 6d. Other makers of pretty matchboxes are Miss Juliet Strangways and Miss Doris Lindner (Miravia Studio, Poplar Cottage, Addlestone, Surrey). They also have very pretty napkin rings, arid charming cigarette holders, made of quill and parchment, for 6d. each. It is a pity that these clever workers should have become so sentimental over their book-ends and Beggar's Opera figures. Even a statuette can be monumental, and Polly, Lucy and Macheath lose a great deal in losing their astringency. The same might be said of Miss Ethel Sleigh and Miss Phyllis Simpson (11 Dove Mews, Rosary Gardens, S.W. 7), who make original figures and portraits of people, children and animals in pottery. They are exceedingly charming, but we wish the makers would occasionally take off their rose-coloured spectacles and see their sitters as they are. No doubt, however, the sitters are delighted.

We must once more congratulate Miss Dorothy Willis (34 Gordon Place, Kensington, W. 8)- on her charming roughly-painted goods " for cottage use." She has stools, tall candlesticks (heavily -weighted to stand by the bed), wastepaper baskets, flower vases, and so forth. Many of the flower vases, for example, are ordinary jam-pots painted with blobs of bright colour. They wear well—the present writer has two, bought for nursery use over a year age—the colours do not wash off, and they are difficult to upset. Pretty, bright- coloured napkin rings can be had for 9d. each, while large biscuit- tins, roughly but attractively painted, cost about 3s. 6d.

Mrs. Armstrong (The Bucks Cottage Workers' Industry, Olney, Bucks) has lace-edged handkerchiefs for sale.

Those at 3s. 6d. are pretty, but with lace a little coarse in execution. A voile blouse at 25s. seems better value, it is hand-made and trimmed with hand-made lace. A beautiful handkerchief can be had for 6s. 6d., in honeycomb design. Messrs. Robinson and Cleaver have fine linen handkerchiefs, many of them of most attractive drawn thread design. They vary in price from 9d. to over a guinea each.

Presents of clothes must, of course, be chosen with very great care for the wearer's taste. For those who might not perhaps care for the hand-woven materials we have mentioned there are furniture brocades from which tea-gowns can be made. Furniture brocade makes a delightful substitute for the very costly draper's brocade. At Messrs. Peter Jones, for instance, a brocade could be bought at 6s. 11d, a yard, 50 inches wide. Three yards in this width make an ample dress length. At Messrs. Burnett and at Messrs. Haynes (of Spring Street, Paddington) beautiful silks and brocades- can be had which will be found to be very much cheaper than ordinary dress materials. Other presents that suggest themselves are bulbs growing in bowls, fountain pens and sofa cushions, which can be made at home.

On a former occasion in writing of toys we were called to order by a reader who alleged that our article was a series of cryptic advertisements. In support of this con- tention he complained that we mentioned the names of shops! Let us therefore point out (1) that shops are included in this article regardless of whether they advertise or not ; (2) that our object is to serve our readers, and that general remarks as to the charm of some article with no indication of where it can be bought are more annoying than helpful.

We review books, why not Christmas presents ?