HOW TO DRESS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 December 1939, Page 10

HOW TO DRESS

HELEN AND EMMELINE AT EXHIBITION. ENTERTAINING DISPLAY. ‘■Distinction” and “disaster” are the two headings for the cut-out figures in a section of the Women’s Court dealing with dress at the Centennial Exhibition.

Helen has bought a perfectly cut plain black gown. She has added to it one simple clip and on her wrist she wears a bracelet —the result is “distinction and style.” Emmeline, in exactly the same dress, has adorned herself with a rope of pearls, large silver buckles on her shoes, a spray of flowers tied with silver ribbon, rings and bracelets —and the result is “disaster.”

These’ two figures, and the captions beneath them which explain the difference in their appearance, are but part of a novel and instructive exhibit for women arranged by the Home Science section.

The display includes several optical illusions which demonstrate the remarkable difference made by dress design in accentuating slimness and broader contours. Cut-out figures are painted with vertical lines in one case and horizontal lines in another, the result being that the figure with the vertical pattern appears slimmer and more graceful than the other with the horizontal design. A further set of figures illustrates the advantage of good posture. A dress designed in exactly the same way is shown on three figures, two of which stand badly and the third stands erect. It provides visual evidence of the importance of correct carriage for the most attractive wearing of clothes.

The texture and design of materials is also the subject of a display that links the varying types with their most appropriate use. This exhibit is but one of many fascinating corners in the Women's Court, where thousands of visitors spend many happy hours during their stay at the Exhibition.