WOMEN'S INTERESTS

Hokitika Guardian, 16 February 1933, Page 3

WOMEN'S INTERESTS

THE CULT OF GREY.

STRIPES, CHECKS, RIBBONS.

I LONDON, December 23. New fashions, like new films, seem to be constant.y released, 'to meet the demand for .change, end one of the latest notions in Paris and London the cult of grey in seyernl shades worn together. •lust why Parisienn.es have chosen the season of fogs to launch such’ a neutral colour is hard to understand, out it is considered expensive ?.nd exclusive to appear in alii grey from head to foot. A rougli light-weight' woollen skirt in a dark shade of grey will have a siiugly fitting jacket of check in three greys, running to one that is almost black. Under this is worn a very light grey woollen crepe blouse,’ with iigh scarf neckline tied at the side, and a little hat of shirred grey velvet in the lightest; .tone, and a grey fur scarf in lamb or fox or squirrel. A grey top coat is added on very cold days in tweed or plain doth. A new grey' suit seen in London this week was made of a herringbone J striped grey tweed in two different " shades. The stripes' went around the body, and the short coat, which buttoned from a high collar all down the front, was finished with mitred points to each stripe, and with the chromium silver buttons fastening each dark stripe. A small Cossack hat of dark grey Astrakhan cloth and grey pullin suede gloves completed a very chic town ensemble. Several shades of grey chiffon were used to fashion i»n exquistite evening gown. The dress itself was i quite simple, but the sleeves consisted of three frills from the shoulder nearly to the elbow, that} shaded from the very pale w grey of the dress to a much deeper beige grey, this idea being re- , peated in three .deep-shaped flounces at the hem. A suit of grey flannel, fastened witl ulvef button:;, and worn over a grey •'repo blouse smocked at the neck and finished with grey cords and tas s els, .as an attractive idea. Smocking is >eing used for many of the newest houses and on many dresses. Striped and checked materials are as

popular as ever, and the idea of a striped skirt or dress with a short dark jacket is still being shown in the K'st collections. I liked one seen this reek, which showed a dress of black, rn.’y and yellow stripes—worked chev-

on fashion—and a ,short..coat, -with ligh scarf necldin© tied*, at the side; tnd a small black tricorne hat, with dire© small rosettes of black, grey and yellow ■ fastening the brims close against the shallow crown.

A dress in brown and white stripes lad a deep yoke that covered the shoulder taps, with the stripes going round. The rest of the dress' had the stripes going down from shoulder to nem, with the exception of the belt—here again the stripes went round. Clever use of striped materials will often evolve a very smart outfit at a, small cost, but although it is fashion.hle for stripes to go all round the

igure, only the slim should bo tempred with this idea. The all-ribbon dress) is a somewhat .xtravagant notion, although undeniably smart. One seen this week was •nfcirely of rows and .row s of narrow thick care ribbon, with full puff sleeves n the elbow, fitting closely) to the figure aud then full to the ankles, i'ne ribbon gradually got a little wider was a demure little collar ©f white toward the hem and the only relief georgette that had legal-looking white Aibs in front. A touch of brown velvet with a palereloured evening, gown is very chic just now. With a gold, lame dress a mw of brown velvet was placed flat across thei front of the bodice at the base of the v-neck line, with a twist of brown velvet and gold lame wound round’ the hair, finishing with two any rabbit-ear ends in the nape of the neck. b rom Paris I have news of luxurious ideas for new slices' to match a twocoloured ensemble. When a coat of black cloth is trimmed with mink, shoes of black patent leather, trimmed with brown kid in the shade of the mink, are exceedingly new. When the coat is trimmed with grey fur, then black shoes have grey kid trimmings.

As these sh'oes are still exclusive, it is safer to keej) to one colour unless you are sure that the mixed colours arj quite right. But there are a few rules which make for smartness in footwear.’

If your ensemble consists of some colour and bnnvil, always wear brown sboes. Never make tile mistake of introducing a, third colour with black shoes, or the wlk.le effect is spoiled. If you can not manage grey shoes with i\ grey ensemble then stick to black, but never brown, unless it is a grey and brown ensemble. WOMAN’S STRANGE HOBBY. For weeks' a woman has sat in the “strangers’ gallery” of the* House of Commons and has stayed through the longest sittings. She arrives as the first business begins and never leaves until the cry of “Who goes home?” announces the end of the sitting. . : . | The mysterious “stranger”— a term

Hints from Home and HI road.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

applied to all visitors to Parliament, however familiar they have become—is a . Miss CJapham, who lives in the yWest End and lias ma’de listening to the debates her hobby since she retired from active business some time ago. Miss CJapham says she enjoys listening to the speeches—and that she liaed to study the clash of personalities. She probably knows more about the speeches than most members.

DRAMA AND THE AFRICAN. Educationists, missionaries and others >i£itli experience of native drama in Africa pooled their knowledge at a recent conference. It was agreed that African natives can hardly distinguish iact from fiction in watching a play arid that (is tile instinct of the audience to participate in the performance. Rhythm and comedy were regarded as essential parts of native art, and, although the value of music and dance was emphasised, several speakers Said that there was no tendency to act without words. Acting is so natural to the African native that he never (suffers from stage fright. ■

WOMEN ON FARMS. In Cornwall, England, three unmar- | ried sisters—Bertha, Alwyn a ml 1 Christiana Pettygrapli— aged respectively 30, 35 and 50, are employed as manual labourers. Bertha and Ahvyn are engaged as farm labourers and Work 12 hours a day at ploughing, Christiana, - wMo is employed as u l’oaid-inender by .the, local borough council, receives £1 per week. These girls, who obtaine | this kind oi uoHv during the war when men were scarce, have kept it ever since. Out (|f their earnings they support a" widowed mother and their two grandmothers, one of. whom, by the way is ' 103 years. ’

FRAGRANT HAIR. Have you every wondered why hairdressers so often use verbena to perfume their preparations? The. reason is that oil of verbena has a definitely tonic effect on the hair as well as giving it a pleasant and piquant scent. If you make your own shampoo, melting castilo or green soft soap, you can easily perfume it by stirring a. few drops of oil of verbena into the soap jelly before using it. RETURN of the fichu. Bow tie motifs bring a change m i decoration to many of the corsages, j some of which show variety from \ square front and lower back “V” tie- [ collates .'through taking single diagonal ! running in opposite directions , back and front. The fichu line, quite flat, hut invariably frilled, is a favourite neckline, the fichu passing over the shoulders at .the back and. crossed sbawlw.se, in front. GORGEOUS JEWELS. From :the concrete arid case-harden-ed steel vaults beneath Bond Street and Albermarle Street, workmen began taking £2,000,000 worth of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls and other precious stones which were to form part of the most valuable and magnificent jewel exhibition over held. Each stone is worth the traditional “king’s ransom,” but the pride of the whole collection i s the world’s finest emerald-cut blue diamond, weighing 24 carat s and valued at more than £3O- - ' '. .

An exhibition of jewellery, worth £IOO,OOO, opened recently at London derry House. Madeipojeelb* Chanel, jPnris dressmaker, organised the - exhibition.

TI'P proceeds were given to the Personal Service League, 0 f w hj ch t ; i£ Queen is the patron.

Before cooking pork, rub the crackling over with a little olive oil. It will then eat crisp even when cold. A half lemon placed i ion a dish with lettuce will keep the lettuce crisp for a few days. Use warm milk instead of cold when mashing potatoes. They will be much ‘fluffier,” need less butter and prove more digestible. Bananas are much easier to digest if they are mashed up and sprinkled with sugar, before eating. Before putting hydrangeas into vases bruise, the tips of the stems with a hammer {then put into fairly hot water. By doing this the hydrangeas will last much longer. Now that ' the' new varieties' of hydrangeas are becoming more popular it may be interesting to know that if it is intended to keep the rdants true to colour and type it is necessary to treat them as annuals and raise the plants each year from cuttings. Of course, they can he grown on as shrubs year after year with an annual pruning, hut‘invariably the col'ou'rs change, the reds and bright pinks becoming blue. The cuttings should be made of the young growth of the current season. They root readily if planted in moist soil and shaded till rooted.