CHANGED GOLF FASHION

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19998, 25 July 1939, Page 10

CHANGED GOLF FASHION

PLUS-FOURS BUNKERED? TREND IN ENGLAND The International Wool Secretariat is composed of a hard-'headed set of expert men whose work it is to look after the interests of the wool growers of the three great woolproducing countries of the Empire— Australia, New Zealand and South Africa—and when the secretariat asks seriously whether plus-fours are bunkered, whether they have walked off the links temporarily, or whether they have gone the way of Oxford bags and cycling breeches, there is reason behind the inquiry. It is true that the garment is still far fr om extinct on. English links; in fact, the number of survivors is still considerable, but whereas every other man once came out in plusfours, to-day only one in twenty or so ever dons them, and the wool development department of the Secretariat has occupied itself with the matter on the ground that anything which it can do to stimulate a greater consumption of cloth is in the best interests of the wool industry. It sees, in the possible passing of the plus-four, a decrease in the consumption of cloth by millions cf yards a year. Loss to the Trade Dees the trade want to revive plusfours? Or would the whole industry, and the public into the bargain, witness the demise of such a garment with shouts of joy? One well-known cloth-manufacturer said: “To my firm —and indeed the whole of the woollen trade — the matter is one of £.s.d. The .garment represented to us in extra cloith a turnover of many thousands of pounds annually. Multiply that by 50 or more and you have a very substantial loss indeed to the whole woollen trade.’’ The loss to the tailoring trade is. of course, much more financially. A well-known Savile Row tailor gave an interesting sidelight-on the subject. “I liked plus-fours,” he said, “for several reasons. Firstly they were essentially a sporting .garment and ideal for golf and country wear. They were comfortable, and, if well cut, and worn by the rigtV; type of figure, they were distinctive and smart. They also made a man look well-dressed because they called for smart hose and suitable shoes. Last but not least, each order represented to us about 4",ns’ worth of trade.”