WOMAN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 83, 28 September 1911, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD.

(Conducted by "Jiiieen"). ' CHARACTER IN DRESS. OCR FAULTS and virtues APPARENT TO ALL. London, August 11. It is a remarkable tiling, to those interested in the subject, that women do not realise that their dress is an index to their character almost as infaliiblb us their handwriting or their feature?. An index, too, that ht or she who runs may read if they choose—a state of affairs worth consideration! Untidiness —which is not regarded as a heinous sin save by the fastidious (though there is no doubt that it is a failing serious enough to ruin the happiness oE others sometimes) —is a fact patent even to the unobservant, but the knowledge that our dress can, and will, without compunction, give away the pet. ignorances ond negligences in our character, te people that we greatly object should guess them, may be startling to some. It is nevertheless true, as anyone who cares to prove may find. Think, for instance, of a friend that one knows to be timid or retiring, a.id try to imagine her at her ease in a decidedly uncommon tone of green or blue! AVould she not be. instantly panic-stricken at the idea of donning anything peculiar, however becoming? Then think of another friend of a quality of character ilie antithesis of the first, and realise thai her uncommon gown fits in with her decision, and becomes her instantly she appears in it; more than that, : t marks her a, well-dressed woman! Yet, in complexion, hair and height those two v-omen might be identical. Blouses are snares for the unwary, in that on them a deal of originality may be expended in the details of tie, belt, ornaments, etc. And how quickly will a tie reveal the one who wears it! There is the mannish way of arranging it, the unimaginative method, half-a-dozen untidy ways, the style that the woman of determination adopts, the coquettish way, the gentlewoman's manner of choosing a. tie and tying it, and yet other variations. The belt is another index. Think of the woman who never, under any circumstances, would have an untidy waistbelt or the baud of her skirt obtruding beneath her belt. Then think of the who who firmly believes that she "really cannot get her belts tidy," and who is under the impression that the size of her waist varies more than most people, evidently.

GRUBBY CULTURE. | It is often a surprise to tlie writer to find liow many women of undoubted originality and liming Rally out to meet the! world iu clothes that are not only un- j tidy, lint—horrible, horrible! —grubby.] Yet those women certainly should, from' birth and environment, be creatures of i culture and refinement. Are they? They may be acquitted regarding the first, but [ the second is of a delicate quality that I —disputed though this be—may not de-' part, perhaps, from the character, but that, at least, fades and fades if aiot always kept in good working order. Many ! of my readers will be up in arms instantly to dispute my dictum that refine-1 ment, once born in an individual, that true refinement that is an outward and visible sign of inward gentleness of mind and thoughts and a delicate appreciation of all that is most to be admired in woman's character, can become polluted. But emild they but spend a few years in London, which serves well for an ex-, ample, among women who earn their living in any of the intellectual professions, they could not, I think, but quickly see how refinement deteriorates, and—here is my point—how swiftly and relentlessly it expresses itself in dress. Examples galore I could give you, but will not be so unkind, since the women T could cite are dear souls, whose worst sin, at the root of all else, is thoughtlessness—that state of things that should never exist, as the vice it can be, in sweet feminine beings. One, just for argument, I will tell you of, however. She is a scholar of extraordinary brilliance, well-born and of gentle voice and face; yet inclined to look, at time, -as grubby as a little schoolgirl, and one asks really how such a combination can exist—face so refined, clothes so woefully neglected. Then one sees her at a meal, and the lack of refinement in dress is shown to be a sadly true mirror. London, as I have said, serves as an example, and that is because, in such a city as this, one quickly puts a finger on' the reason of deterioration in woman's dress ' and manners. There are such thousands upon thousands of unmarried or unhappily married women here who must earn their own living, and who, according to the spirit of the age, choose to live alone, or "bach" with another kindred soul, that the don't-care devil can wield his sway to an extent never allowed liefore.

WOMAN'S CHIEF ADORXMEXTS. I, who earn my own living, am the last to condemn others for doing that same fine thing and breaking—as some of them must—from the shackles of conventionality, dependence, and lack of character by which women of an earlier ago. were bound, but there can be no doubt that as the home—whether she has one or not—is woman's true kingdom, so the, home attributes will always be her chiefest adornments, whatever her present sphere and however far from the ideal of home. And, it should be borne in mind, the world makes an infinitely harder background for a woman than her home, and whereas in the latter many a shortcoming is lost in the mist of gentle surroundings, in the former every untidiness and every subtle index to character stands out mercilessly for all the world to see. The subject is a wide one, and there are other

attributes of character infallibly expressed, but, lest T tire my readers'. I'll only toucli on one, and that topical. Has anyone ever yet met a woman attired in the height of fashion frankly indecent whose character would bear the most searching analysis and come out spotless in all the refinements? Could a woman of innate modesty don shirts so tight that her dainty form is outlined for the commonest man in the street to comment on; a gown, only fit for evening, in a 'bus in the daytime? Could she, loving daintness. and'all it denotes, smother her head, because fashion insists, with curls and switches whose origin is mercifully hidden in obscurity? There are, of course, and this one gladly acknowledges, exceptions to every rule, and many a woman, untidy anil careless in many things, is scrupulously neat and spotless in her own person. There are others the other way round, but a rule concerns the general public, not individuals. The rule is. nevertheless, that character more' often than not expresses itself indelibly in drcs, whether we like it or whether we don't.

QUEEN MARY'S LAUGH Mr. Keir Ilardie. M.P., writes as follows in the pages of the Pioneer, a Labor journal published at Merthyr Tydvil: ''At least there is one person at Court in whom I have implicit faith. I mean the Queen. I confess to a weakness for that good lady. She i> not of the wax doll or professional beauty type. Cut she is n handsome woman, or what in Scotland would be called n bonnie woman. Queen Mary's features are those

of a woman of capacity, who in her time has had frequent occasion to assert her»elf, and has done so, firmly and to some purpose. To see her with her children, as I have, and to note her hearty laugh and the perfect confidence existing between mother and sons, is all, the proof needed of her womanliness. Remembering the tragedy of her girlhood, it is not to be wondered at that she shows something approaching contempt for the gew-gaws of society, and keeps everyone at arm's length. If all the counsellors fail King George, the Queen will not fail him, and it will be well for him if he gives warning ear to her counsels."

300 OFFERS OF MARRIAGE.

MILLIONAIRE'S LOVE PLEDGE. New York, August 10. Colonel T-I. R. Green, the middle-aged son of Mrs. Hetty Green, America's richest woman, announced to-day that the promise he made his mother when a young man about to start life not to marry within 20 years will expire in less than twelve months. This curious announcement by the jovial bachelor has been published, despite the fact that since his return to New Y'ork to assume the management of his mother's vast financial interests he has received 300 offers of marriage from ladies in all parts of the world. Love letters placing their hearts and hands at the disposal of the heir to one of the biggest fortunes in the United States have come from ladies in every State in America as well as England, and even Hayti. Colonel Green, whose chief business now is to direct the Westminster Company, formed for the proper management of the £ 25,000,000 assets controlled by Mrs. Hetty Green, proclaims definitely that lie intends ,to marry before the twelve months elapse, but he adds, "1 have not yet chosen my mate." H« expresses the opinion that a man 43 years of age is just ripe for marriage, but avers that no lady who cannot love him for himself apart from his money can be the future Mrs. Green.

It was vrhon Colonel Green was 23 and went to Texas to carve his own fortune that he promised his mother not to marry for 20 years. lie built up the Texas Midland Railway, of which he is almost the sole owner. His- mother, who is 70 and has retired from business, said that she would be anxious to see him safely out of the clutches of fortune huntresses. The wide publicity given to Colonel Green's intentions is. to say the least, a doubtful \\".iy of escaping these perils.