Social Moods.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 426, 23 June 1904, Page 7

Social Moods.

THE 'TUBA' HIT. SJPEHE latest thing from Paris is the fjMo 'tiara' hat. In the discreet days of our grandmothers the tiara was looked upon as the sacred possession of countesses and others of high degree. 'ln more recent years every woman in society possessed a tiara, and fashion adopted a string of real pearls in a tulle toque, Then diamond brooches were used to pin a bow of flying streamers, and later a real tiara was seen as sole trimmis gon a white lace bonnet. This is the evolution of the 'tiara' hat which is making such a sensation in Paris. It is shaped exactly like a crown, and made of lrridesoent beads or spangles, and is especially becoming in black jet. FASHION'S BA.D HABITS. The short skirt is engendering in many women a new phase of awkwardness, The insular shyness and self-consciousness that torture so many British damsels is the cause of this. * For years the skirt has completely covered the feet. Now it exposes them. English girls have quite erroneously absorbed the idea that their extremities are large and clumsy, and so, now that they are obliged to display them, or abjure the smart curtailment of the skirt, they unconsciously stoop, consumed by a desire to draw attention away from their undraped shoes. A complaint, on the other hand, peculiar to the woman of the artistic temperament, who wears gowns that trail, but whose refinement of nature revolts against letting her draperies pick up the filth of the streets, is wristfag, orj wrist paralysis. The constant effort of/clutching the skirt and of holding the, wrist in a constrained position while doing eo wearieß the forearm so that it loses its power, temporarily, of course, and becomes limp and useless. Wom n n instinctively tax their left hands for this purpose. If they employ their right ones their oaligraphy becomes completely spoiled.. The wrist bag, in which the modern Woman thmks nothing of carrying her heavily-laden purse, her handkeronief, her powder puff, her scent bottle and a wealth ojf coppers, completes the damage. Some BQlf.torturerß actually insist upon the wrist that bears the skirt weight being overladen with the burdensome bag as well. There are various other fashions that' foster bid habits, The girl who i* the victim of her picture hat becomes afflicted with convulsive motions in her endeavour to keep it in its proper place, and these movements, if not checked, develop into something like the uncontrollable contortions ;of St. Vitus's dance. It is the topof-thfe-ommbua girl whose hat is the enemy of her beauty and of the peace of mind of all onlookers. Picture millinary and omnibus roofs are not in amiable accord. ./Every zephyr that sighs disturbs the proper angle of the chiffoneEqaa creation and causes its owner to throw up her chin and toss her head " with a peculiarly graceless movement at inter vals of about five seconds in her fruitless 'endeavours to keep her unwieldly headgear in its place. THE DECLINE OF DANCING. Although dancing is still the favourite amusement of society, people entitled to speak with authority on the subject maintain that the ert is thoroughly decadent in England, The prevailing tone of the ballroom, they say, is hopeless -vulgarity. The modern ideal of dancing is boisterous ness and romping. There is no attempt at graoe, no knowledge of dignity, an utter lack of style, and an absence of all originality except when it is directed to the farther vulgarising of a beautiful exercise. The 'cake-walk' is the latest introduction. Society dancing masters are besieged with pupils who wish to learn this Western barbarism, Bat apart from the ' cake-walk,, which it is hoped will never find a footing aa a drawingf room dance, the English fashion odancing is lacking in refinement and elegance. The ' kitchen lancer?,' for instance, is a disgrace to respectable society. * I have myself seen a girl's arm broken in one of those dances,' said a well-known professor of dancing in the West End. 'lt was at a county ball, and the snap could be heard right through the room.' 'The ordinary Englishman,' says the professor, 'refuses to bend his knees. He seems hard and stiff as old iron, and his joints are in desperate need of oiling. His awkwardness is ludicrous. It is seen even in the way he holds his partner. His left arm is held out as stiff as a poker, his fiagers extended like a star fish, his right hand flattened against the lady's back. And so he goes whirling round fast and furious, threatening death and destruction to anyone coming his way.'