UNGRACEFUL WOMAN.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 668, 19 November 1909, Page 4

UNGRACEFUL WOMAN.

A contributor recently sont to TitE Dominion a , complaint. about tho want-, of;. gracefulness and also tho! gracioiisness among tho girls, of Wellington.; Sho-pointed out that tho art'of deportment - must ljo -reckoned among tho.pre-, cious'arts that hixvo been lost, and that iiow-. adays' thoro aro fow girls who can bow or ontora rooni, or generally carry themselves, with ,tho grace. that used .to bo taught to their grandmothers. . .'A .writer in tho" 1 . Ladies Pictorial" makps the same lament with regard to English womon:- I Wo oftcii express tho wish, she writes, that we , could see ourselves as others ego us, though, , as a matter of fact, no one is in the 'loast-anxious s.o to do unless with thi.absolute assurance' that a favourable reflection will bo. thrown'back.. But at least it is , given to us •-•to seo how. .we "carry"- ourselves nowadays, and tlio only wonder is, as ono Svomeni looks.at another writhing, wriggling, striding,slouching along . tho streets/and as every mother, watches■ her girls' ambulatory .styleshe does not at once deiermino-that-something must}.bo done to put ah end to ,present-day ungracofulness. Whilo our girls spend half their time doing J'gym" and playing games' which orb supposed to bo of such ■ immense hygienic";value, thoy. aro almost forgetting, how to stand, move, .or sit with any degree, of elegancei and it is becoming positively distressing! to note libw| badly gro\ying girls, the so-called' "flappers," walk, enter a room, or even take I possession of.a seat...Nothing is dono with any symmetry of ■•movement; ■ ■■The-elder sisters arc no better, and, so'far as.can bo'soon; the car-> riago of women in this country tends to be-! come worse;and worse. In the-* long: sheath- 1 liko coats now fashionable the averago Woman cuts a■ sorry.figure■ because she cannot.walk.i Tho linos of "this garment arp marred by tlio : broken' figure within, and it is easy to 600 tho, wearer has np notion how to move her .legs: or keep hor head in position. Our: schoolgirls :all : stand ns if they were-.'keeping wickot in::a cricket field; while -when taking wnlkinjr. esercise' they either stride liko their' big brothers or, as tho Old-fashioned, nurses-us'ty , to put it, just "lollop "along anyhow.' One could wish—arid, indeed,'-. ;it : must- : bo soon,' in-' .sisted upon—that in every girls', school -eachi pupil should bo inado to do-walking drill daily,' and duly taught how .to stand ingraceful poise, ■ hbw.to sit upon a chair and rise from ono in! graceful fashion, nnd\ how to cross a room so that' she ■ shall ■ attract no. marked attention.' One has but. to note tho schoolgirls of one's acquaintance to/ see that they are certainly not growing more and.more in physical , grace.-'■