FASHIONS IN HAIR

Shannon News, 14 August 1928, Page 4

FASHIONS IN HAIR

WHAT WOMEN SHOULD DO. PARLIAMENTARY PLEBISCITE. A vote ol' the members of the House oi* Lords and the House of Commons on the question of women's hair fashions was recently taken by the London Evening Standard. The question, ".Do you prefer long or short hair for •women?" was submitted to each member. By a majority of just-over three to one, excluding those who like both styles" equally well, the House-of Lords voted for long hair. The replies exhibited much gallantry, not a little wit, ami a general willingness to enter into the spirit of the occasion. The noble lord who asked to be excused from giving his opinion because '* my lady wears long hahy my daughters short," was not alone in hig dilemma, A majority of the members of the House of Commons who voted also declared in favour of long hair, but the majority was much smaller than in the case ef the peers. Long hair found 232 supporters as against 217 votes for short hair. Viscount Clarmont: I should like to make all shingling, bobbing, clipping or other artificial shortening of hair on ladies' heads an offence against the law. The delinquent herself might be compelled to wear a very hairy wig of some unbecoming colour chosen by the magistrate, as the offence itsfclf was premeditated or otherwise; but persons who aided or abetted the offence itself, or who urged the advantages of shingling, etc., on hygienic, spectacular or other grounds, would be awarded various terms of imprisonment. "Bobbed Hair Is Awful."

Lord Lonsdale: Personally, I think that short, bobbed hair is awful. Some of tho longer and curled types I quito understand and they are* very pretty. But the "Eton crop" is disgusting, and I am sure if the wearers only heard the comments they would at once abandon the fashion. It is not feminine ami the charm of a woman i» femininity. Marquess of Dufferin and Ava: As long as dresses are worn short,- hair 1 must be short, as otherwise the head is out of proportion to the figure. Personally I prefer short hair, and in my opinion the main reason why English women had the reputation of not dressing as neatly as Frenchwomen was because they never mastered the art of keeping their hair tidy. With short hair the difficulty is solved for them.. Lord Sandys: Women are the best judges, and they have freed us from tho inconvenience of crinolines and cart-wheel hats, and look, very nice as they are. Why not give t'lierii equal rights with ourselves in these matters, which would allow them more time to consider the proper way to bestow their votes? By which, of course, I mean the same way that I do.

Earl of Birkenhead: I know nothing about women's hair. I am much too old.

Earl of Rosebery: Long. Samples of Poetry.

A few legislators replied in verse. Lord Shuttleworth wrote:—

'Twcre folly rashly to rush in Where angels fear to tread, And any dognia to rub in Re maiden's glorious head. Be her hair short or long, Her charm is still the same; Critics would do prosumptious wrong And load themselves with shame. But save, oh! save each lovely lass From further change of rig; For fashion is a fickle ass, And may decree a wig!

Lord Aspley replied as follows: —

How should a maM arrange her hair? You ask me. Now I've thought of What matters it? So sho being fair And sporting make not sport of it. Tho length of hair and skirt and waist Must change with ever-changing taste. And that's the long and short of it!

Mr. Frank Lee, M.P., unburdened himself thus;—

Woman blonde, woman brunette, Woman with shorn locks, with long hair in net Woman very shy, w r oman bord, Woman very young, woman old, Woman blue-stocking, or silk stock-

ing, Woman high-brow—or low, > Woman tall or woman small, Thank God for 'em, wo love 'em all, But leave me my old Dutch with her waist-long hair. " There is no Fixed Rule.' * V Sir. W. Wright, M.P.', tactfully stated his views in these words: "I am old-fashioned, and prefer long hair for women. It has frequently been a grief and a shock to me to meet for the first time some woman I had known since childhood after the loss of a wonderful head of hair, but I am all for liberty. There is no fixed, rule, and I am sufficiently human to admit the charm and beauiy bi a fine head with short hafr,kept in perfect condition. "Women are "more beautifully dressed, with finer heads than ever I have known them. God bless them! What should we~a"o without them, with all the mischief, joy, and heartaches they bring us'" Other members of the House of Commons replied as under:— Mr. J. Compton: The.girl with her hanging plait is an object of admiration seldom seen to-xlay, but the greyhaired old dame with the Eton crop, like the long-haired man, appeals to me as an object of pity.