WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 29, 30 January 1931, Page 31

WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

By

ALISON

TURE of frills and -frocks, lovely lingerie, and beguiling beret, does not fail in appeal even in these hard’ times. Witness thronged escalator, and hordes of those once known as ‘the gentler sex, who assembled to con‘sider and ‘to purchase modes of the moment, recently seductively’ set out in the Capital City by the D.I.0., this enterprising firm being in with the milk, so to speak, with early exposition of how beauty is to bé attired when winter comes. That heavy mists eurled over the dripping hills, and rain descended lugubriously on Lambton Quay, proved no deterrent, and "model frocks, moddam" for which world markets had been ransacked, brought once ‘the old, old thrill of delight. * * * A FHW,-a very few, garments were . overloaded with plastrons and creating a shiver of repugnance in all but the most inveterate follower of fashion. But this over-elaboration was rare, and turning from it we.sighed to be sweet and twenty when viewing a white . evening confection, its. line. of beauty. cunningly contrived to lend added Sinuosity to sylphlike ‘proportions, a final touch of incredible chic bestowed by huge beflowered’ bow, resembling a flat "bustle," and much more fascinating than it sounds. Amusing and aittractive was a long coat of geranium red, of simple line and excellent cut, an ideal wrap for fair or dark ‘ modern maid. Plain: and spotted crede de chine coats and skirts, . extremely useful,- but . not appearing . .so (an ideal combination), found many. devotees, while black and white, it would seem, is still in extreme favour with all sorts and conditions of the pretty and the plain. For Phoebe, the country cousin, we selected a few, voile frocks, one of blue and pink with tiny. rosebuds clinging to frilly skirt and fichu, a garment to suit quite admirably, the agreeable fluffiness of the wearer, and cause heart havoc . among: het numerous swains, . * a) ERE and there were digressions of line, bits and pieces being tacked at odd corners of anatomy of decorative garments, but on the whole evening gowns were fashioned as slenderly as Hood’s ill-fated beauty. . Quite entrancing was a butter-coloured confection in softest, sheerest satin, built on languishing long lines, and adornéd with preperched variation of ubiquitous shoulder cape, in which some slim minx, preferably with dark curls like Nell. Gwynne’s in the Lely picture, will look ravishing; also admirable being a brilliant-hued gown of metal, brocade which should prove gorgeously impressive if chosen by a Diana of the Crossways with figure built on Junoesque lines. x * *- S for hats, it is a case of the beret first and the rest nowhere. Not a maid, wife or widow, no matter her age

or calling, but has one on her shelf in "which she :-hopes to make her mark, as no doubt'she will, but perchance a bad one. For the race is to the strong, and the beret is for the young; so beware its bewitchment, ye whose complexions are lined, eyes haggard, and countenance too wide or too’ narrow, too long or too short. For Jes autres, however, the lucky ones, it undoubtedly bestows a debonair charm; as witness two eigh-teen-yeat-olds recently on the Quay, one clad in gorse yellow and the other in poppy red,: with white headgear of prevailing -rakishness, who’ were a sight for sair e’en, or so remarked an elderly Orlando, with the enthusiasm of fortyfive years and sentimental Scottish heart.-Alannah. , * * x QNE of the. most attractive features displayed at the recent Bachelor Girls’ Exhibition, Westminster, was an

electric flat, designed, of course, by a woman. Its object was to occupy the minimum amount of space and possess the. maximum number of labour-saving appliances. The floor .area was only 24ft. by 30ft., and this had been divided into a lounge, with electrically-heated walls, containing a dining recess so arranged that many devices are close at hand for the quick preparation of meals; a kitchen, fitted for more elaborate cooking; a bedroom (with electric curling tongs, a balcony, where artificial sunshine can be enjoyed; and a bathroom warmed by a heater in the roof and supplied with constant hot’ water. Built into the walls were. all kinds of useful fitments, and in such a flat the professional or business woman would be independent of outside elp. . ~ * + OOL is slowly but surely coming into its own again-many of the newest sets of undies are of sheer wool yet as light and attractive as silk. An opera-top singlet of fine texture, soft and white as down, has a delicate tracery of palest blue silk woven round the top, and the short, shapely "panties" are similarly embellished at the knee, Wool is entirely without rival in flying fashions, and Miss Winifred

Spooner’s recent outfit which she chose for her latest adventure to the Cape was wool throughout:. She had a pure wool cashmere pullover of saxe blue with a scarf to match and a jumper which buttoned down the front. Two. sets of sheer wool two-piece undies, cashmere stockings, and over-socks, a leather coat and a pair of slacks completed’ the outfit, :which weighed without the slacks and the coat just 2lb. 440z.!1 Miss Spooner is the world’s ‘greatest airwoman, having been awarded (last March) the women’s. trophy of the International League of Aviators. Two years ago she was third in the King’s Cup Race, second in the race round Italy, and more recently won fourth place in the round-Hurope race, in which there were ‘no less than 60 competitors. A few months ago she made a_ parachute descent from an aeroplane at a height

of 2000 feet. Miss Spooner hopes to create a new height record for women. * *- # R. BEVERLEY: NICHOLLS, gamesome and. talented young literateur of many ambitions and few years, discourses blithely in the current "Woman’s Journal" as to his reasons for remaining unmarried. Truly, one reflects, the trail of publicity is over the land, and -one seeks, and fails to find, what:general interest attaches to the fact that this able and engaging journalist is single, benedict, or grass widower. Who cares? However, bolstered up by a photograph of him-self-which will, one surmises, be of assistance in gaining the suffrages of his women readers, not for his theories, put for himself-with the aureole of youth about his handsome head, and the consummate egoism which is’ his characteristic, Mr. Nicholls states his

case with absence of acrimony and compelling sincerity which must find response in. the heart. of the born bachelor, who, possibly, is in high company, as it would seem as though the most popular man in the United Kingdom is in entire agreement. An admirable special pleader, Mr. Nicholls will almost persuade the dreamer and idealist to his way of thinking. Listen, ‘There are some things that I will’ not share. And those are my secrets. Not trumpery secrets about silly love affairs. But rather a record of hopes, too high and proud, fears too strange and wild, to be told-of faery things: delicate and evanescent as a moth’s wing. You, too, perhaps have secrets that are laid away--like sprigs of pale grey lavender, sovereigns of tarnished gold, the faint pencilled notes. in a book of Shelley’s poems you read when you were very young and very happy. Must we share these secrets? Can we?" This will find an echo in the consciousness of those who treasure some battered old volume of days of old, with its faint, and maybe foolish, pencillings. Mine is the poems of Swinburne, and at some odd moment one of those lovely phrases returns to me, bringing sudden snatch: at heartstrings, and -swift nostalgia for lost youth.-Deirdre. ~ * * BRE are some old and faithful : friends presented to us,in new and attractive form. A bag for needlework is made of cretonne, silk, satin or what you. will, the top being: gathered into a band. . To this band is attached a strap of the same material having a weight at its other end. The strap is placed over the arm of your chair, weight innérmost, and the top of.the bag falls open ready for use. The stumpy umbrella is. always a favourite with the woman whose peregrinations must be at all times and in all weathers. Now she can telescope it to twelve inches by a -few simple movements when not in use. A reading lamp which can be placed on the arm of the-chair in which you sit is just an electric bulb, complete with a shell-shaped shade, clipped into its own fitting on a fairly wide and solid leather strap. This strap. is well weighted at each end to ensure perfect balance when hung over the arm of your chair. | 2 * ‘2 HAT man, artless, simple man, has always needed protection from the subtle snares of woman, is an admission we are bound to make to ourselves if we wish to.be réally honest.°. That it was a recognised fact in England, away back in the 18th century, is proved by the provisions of a law of that period, which states:- — ; "That all women, of whatever age rank, profession or degree, who shall impose upon, seduce and betray into matrimony any of His Majesty’s subjects by virtue of scents, paints, cosmetic washes,’ artificial teeth or false hair, iron stays, bolstered hips,

Thought for the Week It is folly to look back along the path you are travelling; and it is to court disaster, because human ‘nature is weak at the roots and cannot bear to look at the past. Make up your mind, and then go straight ahead, glancing neither to the right nor to the left. Directly in front of you lie the problems which must now be faced. -From a Frenchwoman’s diary.

or high-heeled shoes, shall incur the penalty of the law ‘now- in‘ force against witchcraft ‘and: other misdemeanours;: and. marriage‘ under such circumstances, upon conviction of the offending’ parties, shall be null and void." ~ ras It would be rather amusing if such 2 law -were in force to-day. I wonder how the poor man would prove that he had been "betrayed into matrimony." * = * IKE John Leech, whose genius so many decades ago found expression in his wonderful drawings’ in "Punch," I move from street to street, from pillar to post, to seek peace and ensue it, and wonder if some day I shall give up the ghost without succeeding in my quest, as did the famous artist. Like other rolling stones, fate compels me to spend my days in the not always ideal "homes away from home," yclept apartment houses, where from early morn to dewy eve jollity of the loud variety is rampant, and the scourge of/the gramophone abroad in the land. "Oanned" music, which ean be so great a delight, so happy an exploitation of the finest in music, is employed. in its most. virulent form to torture. nerves of inoffensive dwellers in surrounding flats. What is the mentality of those for whom musie and mirth are but synonyms for loud laughter, weird screeches produced by blaring instruments, reiterative and ‘unrhythmic phrasing, see-sawings of sounds and maddening monotony. Never a reversion to lovely Irish or Scottish ballad, gay tinkle of madrigal and swing of old-time dance, Chopin prelude or song of Schubert, all of them aS easy to procure and inexpensive as the horrors insisted upon. Verily the musical gods of idolatory of apparently two-thirds of our fellow-countrymen are symbols of "sound and fury, signifying nothing."’-Ariadne. From Vienna comes the latest noyelty in ‘finger-nail enamel for evening wear with the fashionable all-black -or all-white evening frocks. This is a varnish that gives the exotic effect of _ @-black pearl to the finger nail.. Needless to say, it has to be applied with such extreme care that the beauty specialist makes an extra charge. For daytime, coral pink is the favoured shade of enamel. * * * GTRANGE as it may sound, there is §till a eivilised country in the world where girls do not drink covktails nov have their eyebrows plucked! And these girls are pretty; even more, they are extremely beautiful, and have little use for either powder puff or lip-

stick. ‘They are Jugo-Slavians, and prefer Turkish coffee accompanied by a spoonful of jam to any cocktail. They have a. great national industry in embroidery, which is fast dying out on account of the costliness of its production, and also on account of the time and patience involved. Jugo-Slavian women are organising themselves very efficiently, and quite a number of mar-

ried women .go to. business, but they have greater wisdom.than some women we Inow-they have retained their womanliness.. « * a 2 *. : MAX people often ask how it is that the Duchess of York is such a practical and efficient housekeeper when she could not have had any experience before her marriage (says a London paper). In this they are wrong, for the Duchess had more experience in keeping house and. acting as’ hostess before her marriage than falls to the lot of most young girls. During the war, when Glamis Castle was turned into a hospital, the Lady BHlizabeth-as she was then-was too young to do any of the actual nursing, but she was not too young to make herself useful all round, and when everyone was busy,. including -her mother and elder sister, Lady Elizabeth would peel potatoes and make batches of cakes and help look after the linen. The rock cakes which the young Lady Elizabeth made during the war remained long in the memories of some of the men who ate them at Glamis. Some time ago a well-known New Zealander had the honour of having tea with the Duke and Duchess at 145 Piecadilly. Little Princess Elizabeth was brought in, and with childlike simplicity, pointing to a plate of small eakes, remarked: "Mummie made them."- The New Zealander, turning to the Duchess, said quietly: "My brother has never forgotten your cakes at Glamis-he always said that they were the best he ever tasted, and now I agree with him." * * s WHEN removing grease spots on clothes with benzine or petrol, surround the spot with a ring of french chalk. This will prevent the grease or the cleanser spreading to the unmarked part and leaving an ugly stain, as often happens.