OFF THE LINKS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 July 1939, Page 6

OFF THE LINKS

CHANGED GOLF FASHION. ARE PLUS-FOURS BUNKERED. The International Wool Secretarial is composed of a hard headed set ol expert men whose work it is to look after the interests of the wool growers of the three great wool-producing countries of the Empire, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and when the secretariat asks seriously whether plus-fours are bunkered, whether they have walked off the links temporarily, or whether they have gone the way of Oxford bags and cycling breeches there is reason behind the inquiry. It is quite true that the garment is still far from extinct on English links; in fact the number of survivors is still quite considerable, but whereas every other man once came out in plus-fours, today only one in twenty or so ever dons them, and the Wool Development Department of the Secretariat has occupied itself with the matter on . the ground that anything which it can do to stimulate a greater consumption of cloth is in the best interests of the wool industry. It sees, in the possible passing of the plus-fours, a decrease in the consumption of cloth by millions of yards yearly. THE TRADE'S VIEWPOINT. Does the trade want to revive plusfours? Or would the whole industry, and the public into the bargain, witness the demise of such a garment with shouts of joy? One well-known clothmanufacturer said: “To my firm —and indeed to the whole of the woollen trade —the matter is one of £ s. d. The garment represented to us in extra cloth a turnover of many thousands of pounds annually. Multiply that by fifty or more and you have a very substantial loss indeed to the whole woollen trade.”

The loss to the tailoring trade is. of course, much more financially. A wellknown Savile Row tailor gave an interesting sidelight on the subject. “I liked plus-fours,” he said, “for several reasons. Firstly they were essentially a sporting garment and ideal for golf and country wear. They were comfortable, and, if well cut, and worn by the right type of figure, they were distinctive and smart. They also made a man look well-dressed because they called for smart hose and suitable shoes. Last but not least, each order represented to us about four guineas’ worth of trade."