While The Kettle Boils

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 62, 30 August 1940, Page 36

While The Kettle Boils

Dear Friends, I went to a dance last Saturday night, There were lots of smart young things present, looking most attractive in their multi-hued frocks; their slim white and brown shoulders emerging from velvet shoulder straps, puffed sleeves, and stiffened frills. But what fascinated me most was the diversity of hair-dressing. This is certainly a day of originality. Hardly two heads were dressed alike-except in the fact that practically all featured the upward Edwardian sweep. The colour medley was intriguing. Red heads, titians, raven locks, chestnut, bronze, plain brown, fair to gold and platinum. I was so bemused watching the parade that my partner rallied me for being bored. "T’m not bored," I said. "I’m fascinated watching all those different coiffures,." "Cough what?" he said. " Coiffure," I explained gently, "coiffure." " Have it your own way," he said. Anyway, the time spent in observation was not wasted. It gave me an idea to set down a few notions I gathered on hairdressing. Speaking generally, I do think women make a mistake in copying hair styles willy-nilly, either from some glamorous screen star, or merely from the neighbour across the street. Many do not stop to consider if the style is suitable to their type and shape of face-and often the result is disastrous. Women can be divided into two classes, Those who look sophisticated — and those who don’t, The latter section should avoid any elaborate or severe type of hairdressing. Nothing-not even a pretentious array of curls and rolls on top-can alter the fact that they are just simple little "girls" who are only pretending to look grown-up and sophisticated. These little "girls" may be eighteen or forty-but the same rule holds. The 1940 coiffure is simple and natural, and a good deal shorter than worn previously. Some of the girls I saw dancing on Saturday night had their hair floating artlessly ‘round their shoulders, Other heads were closely outlined with a mass of sculptured curls. These nice young things did not realise that they were already slightly outdated. A straight parting, a few soft waves, a cluster of lcosely curled ends, is the mode of the moment. The War, without doubt, is responsible for this simplifying of our coiffures and for a shorter length, One girl I noticed at the dance was tall with a long neck and a rather thin face. Somehow she looked wrong, unbalanced. I decided that if she had kept her hair widely dressed at the back it would have framed her neck. Also, if it had been softly drawn up at the sides, with curls placed high to the side of the head-not in the centre to accentuate (Continued on next page)

(Continued from previous page) the length of her face-and finally, if the parting had been at the side of her forehead-she would have looked right in the picture. Another little lass with a round chubby face would have looked much more becoming if her hair had been built up in the centre-the parting high upkept sleek at the sides and at the back. Personally, I don’t believe in chopping and changing about in hair styles. If you are fortunate enough to find a style that really suits your face and your personality, then you should hold on to it. If, however, you must have change, go simple by day and more sophisticated by night. And I am not forgetting that there can be enchantment in a _ jewelled pin, glamour in a dab of brilliantine-and coquetry in a comb. Yours cordially,

Cynthia