The Female of The Species

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 55, 12 July 1940, Page 40

The Female of The Species

Women have travelled a long way since the year 1700. At that time an Act of Parliament was passed forbidding the use of cosmetics. Any woman, of whatever age, who, by the use of perfume, cosmetics, paint, false teeth, wigs, iron corsets padded busts or hips, or high-heeled shoes, should inveigle a male subject of His Majesty into marriage, would be guilty of having broken the law prohibiting the practice of witchcraft and other arts of black magic. Any such marriage would be considered null and void.

LIVING IN FLATS (Continued from previous page) As for colour, more and more subtle weavings can now be had, and it is often fadeless. Our colour schemes should be easy and unobtrusive, not too hard and fast. As a. general rule, the floor and wall colours should set the key and unite the smaller elements, for colour, of course, must be related in some way, Since we have found: patterns too restless, we may achieve variety by the different textures we use. For instance, among matt surfaces, a shiny material could be introduced, but we must remember, in furnishing anyhow, that all that glitters is not gold. The aim should not be a jumble of bits and pieces, but unity. Unless a flat is very large, all fitments should be kept to a minimum size, with nothing that is not strictly functional. House planning to-day makes one object serve the use of two: the divan which can be bed at night: folding tables and chairs to be stacked somewhere when not in use: screen or curtains to make two rooms of one. One object should never be made to look like another. The early motor car that we now laugh

‘ at was built to look as much like a buggy as possible; so electric or gas fires are proceeding on the wrong lines when they are made to resemble flames. Carrying Round the Past It is wonderful, too, how much of our past we carry round with us. That aspidistra will crop up even in the most modernistic homes, and so will the frilled muslin curtains coquettishly looped up and even tied with ribbon. The modern flat provides a tasteful setting; let us rise to it and not insult it with mournful carry-overs from our Edwardian past. If there is any pattern in the upholstery, let it be in plaids, stripes, or geometrical designs. Bent wood is now used very skilfully -for chairs, and in bookshelves the curve gives variety. Metal or tubular steel may look too clinical for some tastes, but when you have got used to the new idiom, it can. be most attractive. Even pianos have been remodelled to merge harmoniously with modern furniture. Let us too discard many of our pictures. This may be serious for the easel painter, but simplicity calls for uncluttered space and practically unadorned walls. If our grandmothers could see our bareness, they would certainly be shocked; but we can carry ancestor worship too far,