Royal Academy

Clothes were the keynote, last week, of the opening of the Royal Academy exhibition in London. The pictures were of that conventional, familiar stripe which appeals to all well-bred Englishmen. But when Eagless Margot Asquith, who always enjoys her own idiosyncrasies, appeared in a cubistic gown of black and white chiffon, many a dun-clad dowager began sputtering to her companions. The newspapers talked about it, too.

London's tailors had another grievance. After studying the clothes represented in the portraits, the editor of Tailor and Cutter spoke editorially for his trade as follows: "A portrait does not gain power by adding a coat which no self-respecting scarecrow would don. Nothing is added to the effectiveness of the canvas by omitting buttons, ignoring seams and maltreating collars and lapels." Of Artist Augustus John's Portrait of a Man he said: "A more graphic title would be Portrait of a Man in a Home-made Suit." Of Artist Sir William Orpen's portrait of Sir Ray Lankester: "The design of the sitter's suit shows dots and blotches as large as buttons. On what loom, one wonders, was such a fabric woven?" About all that the tailor-editor-art critic approved was Artist Oswald Birley's portrait of George V in black jacket, double-breasted fawn waistcoat, grey striped trousers.