Knitting for the Beautiful People

In 'Catches in the Social Stream', the gossip pages of the Palm Beach Daily News, next to advertisements for the Beach Club, the shoe shop Henri Bendel - 'Wherever you go you'll see the smartest feet in our famous Belgian pneumatic-sole slippers' (even available in 'mirror' cloth) - and news of orchid festivals, garden tours and fashion shows for 'the smart set in the social colony', is a short piece on the Colis de Trianon.

Colis de Trianon
Knits for Soldiers

'Kits for the soldiers of France' is the solgan of the 'Colis de Trianon Versailles,' with the Palm Beach branch of this famous organization doing splendid work for this worthy cause this season. Many of the smart set have joined this organization and their regular meetings at the varied homes of the members are alternated with knitting at every conceivable social funtion from the Everglades Club's Sunday concerts to the fashionable Paramount Theatre.

The 'Colis de Trianon Versailles' provides kits for the soldiers of France and into these kits (amongst other things) go warm woolen mittens, socks, sweaters and a crocheted helmet. The American committee of this organization has secured the wool to knit these articles. The member's donation of 46 cents covers the actual cost of one 4-ounce hank of wool. A helmet takes one hank of wool; a sweater five; mittens take one; socks take two. To make a donation the prospective member has only to fill out an application card. The wool is turned over to them with full knitting instructions.

Anyone can organize a group of their own to knit for Le Colis de Trianon.

If one is unable to kint, or doesn't like to knit, and is interested in this worth cause, they may send their check for $2.50 (the cost of a complete kit) to Mrs. Ector Munn, 17 East 90th Street, New York City, the New York headquarters of the society.

All inquiries will be answered by members of the Palmk Beacu committee Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, miss Mary Munn, and Mrs Barclay H. Warburton.

The woolen articles are shipped direct to the front lines and articles intended for women and children are distributed through the American Hospital in Paris.

Palm Beach Daily News, February 28 1940.

The Palm Beach Daily News - subtitled 'The Shiny Sheet' - still exists online, at http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/.

The New York Social Diary blog has an excellent selection of photographs of the Palm Beach social scene, but alas none of the Colis women at work.