WOMEN'S NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 221, 18 August 1937, Page 12

WOMEN'S NOTES.

FASHIONS. (By Miss Mary Tallis.) • Concerning Blouses.—From shirt to waistcoat, from cassock to cape, everywhere everyone is wearing something amusing in the blouse line. At one time the word “blouse” meant just one thing; a shapeless object that you wore with your tailored suit—and that you showed as little as possible. Mow it can mean anything you want it to. There are jackets and jumpers and jerseys'; sweaters and “smokings. The latter are almost exactly like a man’s dinner jacket, but much more attractive. For evening, fetching bits of transparency are the thing, ltuching has come in again; and why not try marrying smocking with chiffon? You should get the most delightful results. Paris has gone mad on pleating, but it’s not necessary to go to Paris to get the latest pretties—why not use your own brains and design your own blouses? You can • copy, adapt, and modify your son’s Eton jacket if you happen to have a neat little figure, and if your neck is swanlike, you can borrow his Eton collar and wear it on one of last year’s severer styles. Blouses buttoning tight all the way down the front, with large mutton-chop sleeves, are particularly becoming for wearing at informal dinners. They can be made out of many amusing . fabrics, like Rodier material or spotted shantung. Russian blouses are no longer the “arty” affairs of yesterday, as the shape only is used and all those funny little green and red strings are eliminated completely. Fencing shirts, which we all love and long for, are becoming to every figure, of any shape or size, so if you have anything to hide, these are surely the safest things to invest in. Some blouses have definitely grown long and have almost become tunics. They are caught in tight at the waist and suddenly flare out in a stiff little skirt, which stands well away from the hips. Taffeta is perfect' for this. Three or four blouses to one skirt is like having three or four different dresses. So go and buy lots of materials and make yourself some enchanting new blouses. BEAUTY.

Superfluous hair. —1 suppose this question brings more grief than any other single beauty problem, and first let me talk some sense to you about the matter. It seems to me that most women are looking for the magic hocus-pocus that will banish superfluous hair on one whisk of the wand, and keep it banished for ever. You don’t expect to file your nails once and they will keep that shape ever afterwards. You don’t expect one permanent wave to last you a lifetime Just face the question as something to combat with regular attention if you want to be well groomed. . Apparently a number of causes contribute to the growth of superfluous hair, and to the vigour with which it grows. The tendency to grow strong, thick hair is a characteristic of some families, and is apparently often an inherited physical trait. Climate or weather may be a factor. Superfluous hair is common among races living in the tropics. Many women in temperate climates note that superfluous hair grows more luxuriously in summer. Our custom of wearing less and less clothing, and of living more and more out of doors, may very possibly increase the growth of hair on arms and legs, for ,hair is Nature’s body covering and the skin may respond to exposure by increased hair growth. This may explain why the tendency towards superfluous hair seems to become more prevalent every year. There are many means of dealing with this problem, by wax treatments, depilatory treatments, shaving, tweezing, bleaching, abrasive treatments and electrolysis. It is wise to discover the treatment, that best suits your skin and use it—sensibly and regularly. HEALTH.

Dust in the nir.—Such diseases as tuberculosis of the lungs, asthma, and nasal catarrh are benefited by dry climates with low humidity, whether the actual temperature of the nir be high or low But the dryness is not the whole of tlie picture. Dust in the airplays a very important part in these diseases. In the case of tuberculosis dust is very harmful, and this explains why a sea voyage benefits some of those patients, in spite of the humidity. This is more than compensated for by the freedom from' dust. Dust is one of the most important carriers of disease germs. In remote, dry parts in time of drought the most harmful factor in the dust is the irritating properties of the particles on the nose and chest, hut even in remote parts, and more especially in cities, the dust is laden with all kinds of disease germs These consist of germs from decomposing animal and vegetable substances and also disease germs from patients suffering from tuberculosis and other diseases. In some country districts the germs that cause conjunctivitis are carried by dust. The danger of conveying disease by dust is that infected dust can carry very long distances, whereas moist breath and infected globulets settle very quickly. It is estimated that the danger from coughabout one and a half yards. COOKING.

Gingerbreads.—Plain Gingerbread : Ingredients: self-raising flour; Jib wholemeal flour; 3 eggs; 3lb butter; lib black treaeje; 6oz brown sugar3pt milk; a tablespoonful marmalade; 2 teasnoonsful ground ginger; 2 teaspoonsful mixed spice, pinch cayenne pepper; J teaspoonful bicarbonate of soda. First line a deep baking pan with paper. Brush with butter. Dissolve butter in saucepan, add treacle, then milk, sugar and marmalade. Stir this mixture over a slow fire till sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Sieve together self-raising flour, spice, ginger, cayenne and soda. Put in a large bowl, add wholemeal flour, and mix well. Beat up eggs, add to flour mixture, then having cooled the treacly mixture, add this and stir well. Now pour the mixture into the prepared tin ‘and hake in a moderate oven for 1} hours. When cooked, cool on a wire tray and leave to get quite cold before cutting. Snaps: Ingredients: self-raising flour; 3-lb golden syrup; 31b brown sugar; 3lb butter; pinch salt; 2 teaspoonsful ground ginger. Put butter; into saucepan over fire and warm, then add the golden syrup and sugar. Mix well. Add the salt and ginger to the flour, mixing these dry ingredients heforo sifting the floury mixture into the treacly one. Thoroughly mix, thon let mixture stand for 1 hour in a cool place. Have a floured pastry-board prepared and roll out mixture on this. Stamp it into rounds. It should be rolled very thin before-cutting. Have a greased tin or baking sheet ready, put the rounds on this and bake for 10 minutes in a moderate oven. When cooked, loosen each snap with a sharp knife, turn them over and curl round a buttered rolling-pin. They harden at once. Bavarian Honey Cake: Ingredients : To fib flour allow 3 teaspoonful bicarbonate of soda and 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar, 4 tablespoonsful of honey, 3 tablespoonsful of milk, 3 teaspoonful of powdered ginger, 2oz ground almonds, raisins, 2oz candied peel, 3 whole eggs and white of another, 3 teaspoonful of salt, a little castor sugar for mixing with the white of egg, a few carroway

or sweet almonds, and 3oz butter. M flour, salt, ginger, bicarbonate .of soda and cream of tartar, then rub the but ter into this mixture and add the ground almonds. Slice up the candied peel, and cut up the raisins, adding both. Make a well in the cen . tr ° th this dry mixture, then stir in the bc-aten eges, add the. honey and milk and mix thoroughly. Have a baking tin ready buttered, put the mixture in and bake for 20-30 minutes ;n a slightly hot oven.