Glass, Iron and Stone Clothes now Worn.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 3 April 1914, Page 2

Glass, Iron and Stone Clothes now Worn.

4 CLEANED AT HOME IN THE FIRE. '■ It has remained for the twentieth ! century to show 'us the advantages I lof garments made of minerals. Incredible as it may seem, stone, iron, ! and even glass, are now being manu- ! factured into clothes. The latest i novelty in women's dresses is repre- ' j sented by robes of spun glass. The J.cloth comes in shades of white, Ijgreen, lilac, pink and yellow. The :iinventor is an Australian, and the •(goods are as bright and flexible as 1 ' silk. The first la</.y to wear a glass !dress was of royal rank. It was of ■a delicate shade of lavender shot with pink, and its peculiar sheen reminded observers of the sparkle of diamond dust. The Russians are manufact\iring a fabric from the -fibre of ,a filamentous stone from the Siberian mines which is said to be of so> durable a nature that it is practically indestructible. The material is soft to the touch and pliable in the extreme, and when soiled has only to be placed in a fire to be made absolutely clean. Iron cloth is largely used to-day by tailors everywhere for the purpose of making the collars of coats set properly. (This cloth is manufactured from Steel wool, and has the appearance of having been woven from horsehair . • " Wool," not the product of sheep is being utilised abroad for men's | clothing: This kind is known as ! "limestone wool," and is made with I certain chemicals, is thrown into j the furnace, and after passing j through a furious air-blast it is 1 tossed out as fluffy white "wool. jWhen it comes from the furnace the {wool is dyed and made into lengths, ,like cloth. A,,pair of trousers or a coat made of this material cannot, it is claimed, be bu»ned or damaged by grease, and is as flexible as cloth made of the ordinary sheep's wool. Paper clothes were worn by the j Japanese troops during the war ! with Russia, and they were found to ! be very serviceable and much \ I warmer than those of cloth. Paper ■ : dressing gowns, bath-robes, and simi- j lar articles of attire are now being J turned out by the cartload in many i :'European countries. The paper of r .which they are made ia of the ("blotter" variety.