THE CULT OF THE COIFFURE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 427, 9 February 1909, Page 3

THE CULT OF THE COIFFURE.

Ten years ago (writes an artist in. the "Daily Graphic") it was possible-.to,tell an Englishwoman anywhere by her coiffure; but much can happen in ten years, and now it is undoubtedly'a fact that the Englishwoman, profiting by the motlish examples set her alike by her American, and Parisian sisters, can hold her own head higher in this respect that she has ever been able to do before. Go to any afternoon or ovening party you like, where smart women most do congregate, and you will find that a badly-dressed head is the exception, and not, as it onco was, the rule.- But a head may be smartly-dressed without being suitably dressed, and this brings us to the gist of the whole matter— tho, question of suitability—for what will suit one'face to perfection will cause another to look' downright ugly. .Certain styles will only suit certain,faces; and if you belong to a recognised type a satisfactory result is soon arrived at. But there still remain .the intermediate types to be considered; and those others, best described as nondescript, who are always the most difficult to dress successfully, whether the question be one of modes, or,coiffures. Roughly speaking, faces' may be 'divided into two types. The oval, the most perfect type of all, so beloved of the old Greeks, and the round, dimpled face, so associated with ,the fair, frail beauties of the Court of Charles, the Merry Monarch. Tho long, hatchet-shaped face, the oblong, and the almost square face are all merely varieties. The most beautiful face, as I have said, is the oval. The prettiest, the round typo, and all tho others, though they are but modifications, require to be studied witlffar greater care than tho two definite types which it is comparatively so easy to suit. > Evon the oval or round face, however, possesses its own special varieties. There are s the fat and the' thin types, and the perfect facOj so rarely met with, which is neither fat nor thin. <

Now, just a word as to tjie special kind of coiffure which will best suit all these different types A faco of the perfect oval type may wear the hair dressed nigh or low with equal success, but the Greek style of hairdrossi ig, now once more in high favour, will be found the most becoming, given the ideal oval which is neither too short nor too long. With the perfect type of round face, also but rarely met with, the haicmay also be dressed high or low in the Greek mode, and wiH,be found equally-becoming, but this only refers to tho perfect face of either type. An oval face which, though perfect in shape, inclines to thinness, should .have the hair dressed Jow in the neck and puffed out at the sides of the face. A round face inclined to bo oier-fat should havo the hair dressed as high as possible, and moderately puffed out at the sides An oblong face, au contrairo, should never have the hair dressed high, as low m the neck as possiblo without giving an untidy effect, or midway between the nape of the nock and tho top of the back of the head will be most suitable.

A hatchet-shaped face should have the hair dressed low always, no matter what fashion may have to say to the contrary. A very round, short face must always ha\e the hair dressed high. A very thin face must always have the hair puffed out as widely as possible at the Bides "' An abnormally fat, broad faco should have tho hair dressed as high as possible, and slightly puffed at the sides A. faco with a receding chm, and a large, aquihno nose should never have the hair dressed a la Grecque, and this, too, refers to all faces with markedly hooked or long noses. , Faces of this type should wear the hair dressed as close to the head as possible, for the Greek type of hairdressing is as a rule, onlv becoming to those with small noses For faces with a high, narrow forehead tho hair should bo taken well back at tho sides, and dressed low in front For the very low forehead the hair should always be dressed a la Pompadour—that is, turned back over a thick pad, and puffed at tho front and fit the sides Finally, one golden rule Never wear a heavy fringe, no matter wVtat the mode may bo. it takes all character from a face, no matter what, or how admirable, its type may be