WOMEN'S INTERESTS

Hokitika Guardian, 23 November 1933, Page 3

WOMEN'S INTERESTS

“SHORTS” FOR WOMEN

WHAT IS THE CHARM"?

There has been a certain amount of iiscussion in the Press lately as to whether women should wear various forms of the “divided skirt,” says a vriter in a northern exchange. In the. remote days' of my youth the word “trousers” was never mentioned in oolite society. Should the extraordinary occasion arise in which one had to reter to such an article, they were called “masculine nether garments,” the idea of their over changing their sex iiov occurring to the speaker! Now women have the choice ci buying anything m a wonderful variety of shapes and materials, the names for them being as numerous as the styles. It is said that some Hollywood favourites have not asingle “frock” in their wardrobes. Some years ago, women started to wear pyjamas. They usually bought from the hoys’ department of the stores and were exactly tile same as those their brothers wore. Later, not content, to take, men’s inventions just for granted, women elaborated the trimming arid reduced the covering properties bv substituting the sleeveless jumper for tlie‘coat. Having discovered for her self the extreme freedom and comfort of the divided skirt', she courageously carried the garment into her sports life and eventually abbreviated it remorselessly in spite of considerable opposition from conservatives/ of both sexes.

There is one objection that can be made, however, and that is than trousers and shorts reveal sins of anatomy that a little tactful draping might otherwise conceal, some women closely resembling in figure the old-fashioned humming-top. But again, it may be urged that women should meet man

upon the same honest footing upon

which he meets her. If a man has, let us say, a tendency to a protuberance be-

low the chest line, he makes no deceitful endeavours to disguise the fact. Nor if, m back-blocks parlance, lie is unable'to stop a pig, has he a skirt to conceal the'Norman architecture of his legs ?

j In criticising woman’s change from ' skirts to trousers, would man have conceded her any right to object to his change from nightshirts to pyjamas? j Any personal objection I have to these much-discussed articles of apparel applies equally to either sex, and it is ' chiefly that ninety-nine people out of i] a hundred do not- look Well; i’ii them.' Jj Only, those with no hips and very little I between them, can succeed iii looking I graceful. L' am, no lover of Venus de Milo' type of beauty, and those ancient goddesses of the old School of painting leave nie’cold. The' up-to-date woman is veil advised not to let her curves pass control, and modern scierice does not'consider it beneath its' dignity to aid' her in every way possible. Economically, it' is doubtful if any . dvantage -would accrue to anyone s' juld the .custom heconi'e universal. A few silkworms, the twentieth part of a single fleece or One small shrub • for wood-pulp might suffice for a pair of shorts. However, should Fashion decree that the voluminous garments be worn which delighted th e sultans of the East J ahd for ' colder climates' they be made of wool, it would put New Zealand and all other sheep-raising countries on the financial nlah.

One tiling, however, is absolutely certain.. If woman intends to wear trousers in the future, ro power on earth is going to prevent her!.

ARRANGINC FLOWERS

ENHANCING THEIR : COLOURS

It seems an amazing and rather amusing thing to assert that flowers need to iieilent colour, but there it is. They need : a neutrality in tone to enhance their' beauty. to bring out every point in their exotic loveliness.

I have experimented for years with flowers arid their arrangement, says an expert i:i tflow;,r decoration. I have used the oddest backgrounds with the most amazing success. I have put flowers in the strangest containers anu obtained—after considerable apprehension—the result I wanted. It is an exciting occupation, making flowers grow,'or appear to grow, after they are picked.

It is no use thinking that you. are doing to achieve a miracle in arrangement by placing a few branching forsythia in a vase of red lustre. The red is wrong. You will find that there is ro colour in the forsythia in a red vase. Put them in a pale grey vase, the palest of blue vases, or a brass vase, the paler kind of brass, and then see the result.

Incidentally brass Is an extremely good medium for flowers; it gives just enough, neutral colour-without, obtruding upqu the flowers. It enhances the reds, oranges, blues, and the lovely variety cf colour one gets with verbena zinnias arid other richer varieties of Michael rii as daisies. Have your old brass coal ’ scuffles polished and, using an ordinary sevenpound stone jam jar, stand it inside arid, fill it'with flaming gladioli, .delphinium, larkspur, and in the winter rhododendron leaves. You will bo amazed at the beauty of the massing.

Science gays, “Breathe your cold away”. You can by inhaling “Nazal” the commonsense scientific remedy Powerful and penetrating.' Tf-aats such ailments at the root of the trouble. ftO doses for ‘'a fid. ctosta for 2s firi

Mints from Jiome and Mbroad.

MILLINERY FOR WOMEN.

modes for the new season.

Buying a hat this season should,he an interesting achievement, 'for surely there has never been eo much variety i,n niillinery 'modes, In any new collection one can find hats for this yea,r next year, some time, and, alas, a few for never. But then, every season brings some curious mo,de G wh-ijh Ere seen, criticised, hut never purchased. The apache cap with i s broad peak ; s carried over from last season. Now it is made i,a velvpfc and the correct'tilt us half off the head. Thi fi is, of course, for occasiqnal wear, when one has time to cultivate the- right, appearance for this rather rakish model. For the sophisticated woman who can wear a hard 'line there -are some ' new little caps made somewhat 1 ' on the lines' of a glengarry, but'tied on the top rather Like a parcel."

One will surely- buy a beret this season,' not because it is new, but -because the latest arrangements make it look so different. For- morning, the newest berets are- wide arid rather floppy, and made in many new materials beisidp felt. At, an exclusive show one of; these ..was , dn scarlet patent leather, 'matching .a wide scarlet leather belt round a checked tweed coat. For .afternoon wear the beret is still -fairly large, but kept in, place more often than not by stiffening. Add a bow on the crown, or perh'ps a few ostrich feather tips, a-fid you have the complete formal hat. Do not pull your -beret over one ear. It ehculd practically conceal the right eyebrow, and, of .course, calls for careful hairdressing at the hack.

‘lf ,you can wear a. pork-pie had, now is your chance. In velvet, tilted forward with soft feathers at the back, and a scarf to" match lied coqu-ettishly under your chin, ahd yo u will Have /the “family .portrait” look 'that is chic this season. •

For days wh&fi nothing gobs right arid one- feels .completely off form,' thereare brimmed hats'so subtly curved that' one’s confidence is restored! With, h'gh, draped crowns and a few square crowns, these brimmed ..hots, are ■ made ~for all Occasions. Cine model had a wedge c-ut out. of. the Jjackyof the brim, at .the* back and -a .cluster ef softly .-ostrich, tips (filling i'l .t-V--, space-. The. haWwa-s of dark yelyet\3jld the.TeiSßl&jQS^flK}js|y flattering.;/.-';- ; . ' - : -- . High, \ draped' caps aVe -exceedingly smart!/These/come in velvet,, satin..and soft felts'hand ’materials to match ah cnsWible- for 'afternoon. These add'to the height- with' an upstanding ■ osprey or other feather mount. "With sports suits these draped cans'," which come ii-p to a ph'nt, arp lisually content wtih- a buckle or ouill:

Country and sports ‘bats are also 'made with stitched tweed, ,and soft felts worked in tucks and sections. Olive', limrd -and moss . green a-re popular rivals to the inevitable browns so beloved for -country clothes. Velvet i s the most favoured material for nrll.inery, which is fortunate, as nothing is more softening to the face, and .it flitters old and young.-alike. .... .... .

ROMANCE-,; OF THE.,MENU.

TRACING THE CULINARY, ART

We are so accustomed .to the commonplaces of an everyday existence that we hardly ever ■ trouble to expend, a thought upon their origin or significance. That is why, when one day the ‘‘Complete Histdry' df' 'and the Kitchen” comes to be written, .we shall marvel at the 'fascinating' stdty /that has been made out of the tracing of culinary art to nts earliest beginnings, writes Lady Sheppard 1 in ati amusing article on 'the subject of'food,

Very scon after the prehistoric woman discovered appetising ways bf dressing the.-joints which so ra'E^ r tier family hid gnawed in flic raw, tfie'e •must have’ been .stories of- .treasured recipes, guarded. from .prying eves, for which men probably fought and -killed each other ito discover.

In later days these ’would have been committ-ed to paper, and how many people are there in England to-day who have founded their fortunes oh the practical application of some specified ingredients found between 'the yellowing leaves of the' family chronicles? iAlmost every European country has", been influenced by the camp kitchens of invading armies.

When one pats a crisp icrcscent roll in Paris, one is paying at, any rate 1 1 ip[sijrvice . to the goddess .Ishtai*, the Assyrian u\pb TO dite, T.he men of Nineveh voyaging westward into. ..the Mediterranean brought bread. .yWith .-thepi slipped in the form of a,;, new imoon. which, together with the .sparrow,.,, the swan 'and the poppy, was the symbol of their diety. And this has. reipaiped when other far more important.;..things have vanished with the passing 'ye^rs. The British have \Vritte.n “be nfsteak” boldly all over the map of the* world, 'and in .a colour which they once nofpsessed-Wnriorea, the second of; the Balearic Islands—the visitor- still /finds' cottage loaves and English puddings, things unknown in ,anv oth'et -part of Southern Europe. The Phoenicians-,-• who. journeyed far seeking tin arid other minerals, carried with them the crocuslike bulb of the saffron, and to-day we find it In the saffron cjiksg of Cornwall,

the poella of Val'eiicTii,' as well as'- the bouilliabnise of .Southern France. The seven hundred years of domination... of the Moots could not fail to have been felt in the kitchens of Spain. Here we find rice and spices, coffee and kabobs, used .as . they only can be in Mohammedan lands. In Mallorca one meets a sugary breakfast roll known as an ensaiinad 1, It is made of light pastry twisted into a coil representing a pagan’s turban, so -that the children skill tell you that they, have “eaten a Moor’s head’’ when they demolish this “petit pain’ with their morning coffee.