FROM A WOMAN’S ARMCHAIR

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12609, 20 November 1926, Page 15

FROM A WOMAN’S ARMCHAIR

I WOMEN ON THEIR OWN

I grow increasingly convinced that if you want to see women at their best, you must join them at a merry “lienparty” 1 On their own, immune from attacks of sex-consciousness, they are infinitely more attractive than when they are “making up” to men; a process, of course, that even the most enlightened still indulge in. instinctively, no matter how fiercely they may deny tho charge 1 It is as true as it ever was that woman is one thing with her own kind, and quite another in the company of the stronger sex. Left to ourselves, self-consciousness drops from us like a mantle. We entertain each other spontaneously and with no other thought than to keep the fun going and the atmosphere animated and bright. Thor© or© none of those horrid under-currents of speculation and conjecture and green-eyed misery that assail tho feminine heart in a mixed company, where our little tricks may win or lose some masculine allegiance or other. We are w©U content if our talents, our conversation, and such gifts of rapprochement as we may possess, help to make the time pass pleasantly for one and all. There is no striving to outshine one another. Some personalities inevitably must stand out from the rest: but there is no heartburning; no miserable con-

sciousness that those outstanding gifts are being exploited to capture some member of the trousered fraternity. On the other hand, those who are possessed of some striking talent, or some special charm, get a fuller meed of praise at a hen-party than would ever be accorded them in a mixed gathering. Devoid of that element of fear, of the jealousy that inspires it, the atmosphere radiates sweetness and goodwill.

We go home telling ourselves, not for the first time! that really, when all is said and done, women have much better fun on their own. And the joiliest thing about the admission is that it is overwhelmingly true. We know very well, in our heart of hearts, that the perpetual adjusting of the feminine to the masculine point of view is a wearying business, and that it is ouite possible to have too much of it! We know that, unless we are exceptionally luoky, it is invariably the woman who must play second fiddle in a mnn-and-woman conversational duet. But on a rollicking, joUicking ‘ henparty” night, we can all be first violins, so to speak, and encore each other; singing our own songs, dancing to our own melodies, and hearing the real rhythm of the feminine heart. And such a happy rhythm it can be! Happy because it is natural and unforced, and echoing the best that is in us when our one and only objective is just to give each other a right good time, —MAVIS GLARE.

season’s models. This consists in melon-shaped cuffs which adorn the otherwise still sleeveless arms, and are materialised in lace that is also used for a very dainty tablier effect. The little tablier frill is finished off with long straps reaching right- up to the shoulder line, the plain ninon of the frock itself emphasising the elongated oval “bib” effect from the neckline to the commencement of the apron frill. The lace shoulder-straps are finished off with little festoonings of narrow ribbon, as are the wrist-bands of the melon-shaped cuffs that reach from the wrist to the elbow.