WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 16, 30 October 1931, Page 32

WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Trilby or Naughty Nell? X7OMEN have the option of appearing at night dressed like Nell Gwyn or Trilby. The Nell Gwyn dresses liave off-the-shoulder bodices, which, incidentally, are boned, and puff. sleeves. The effect of these, together with the padded hips, is to make modern women look very slender. The gowns are also extremely youthful-looking. Taffetas ‘and velvets are used for these dresses of the Charles II period. The ‘taffetas are very heavy, and are embroidered in old designs.. "The Nell Gwyn modes suit the modern figure," said the dress designer who is launching these fashions. "The silhouette is very charming, and the antique look of the material is. most attractive." For those- who prefer the Du Maurier styles, there are Trilby dresses of very modern line, and low-back decolletes, showing the frilled train that was a great feature of that period. The Inky Way.. ey future specialised training will be more important. Some women have entered journalism by securing posts as juniors on provincial papers (incidentally, some of the most interesting posts are to be-found in provincial journalism ).:’ Others have secured secretarial posts in editorial offices, and one or two have fought their way on to the staffs of news agencies and daily papers, perhaps working as first on "space," that is to say, being commissioned to do odd jobs without being on the regular staff. In theory, freelance journalism is the ideal profession. You ‘work when you like and how you like, but this very lack of discipline is a handicap which prevents many folk succeeding. You may establish yourself as a free-lance journalist without some of the buffetings experienced by the ordinary journalist, but continual study and hard work are esseutial to success. Journalism can provide a girl with a very pleasant occupation, though rot ofter with an easy one. Alas, Those Brooms. HE "mere man" will soon become dejected over that annual event in the domestic calendar-the spring cleaning. He foresees the comfortless time approaching when his desk and particular sanctum will be cleaned and tidied up, when his old clothes will be missing, and other debris which he loves disappears into the dustbin. He usually entertains a mistaken belief that his womenfolk delight in cleaning paint, turning out book-cases, taking down pictures, and "all that sort: of thing." They do not. Spring cleaning has driven women to suicide, but some housewives make less trouble of it than others. Some leave it over until fires can be entirely dispensed with, and then rush at it to the point of frenzy. Not:so much can be done until the weather permits of open doors and win-. dows, but, by planning and doing whatever is possible beforehand, the annual upheaval need not be the terror it is in numberless households. Call Her Caroline. (THE stately old-fashioned names that seem so English are coming back into favour again. . : The Pamelas and Joans that had such a vogue two or three years ago are out of date now. Felicia, Serena, Sarah, Caroline, Jane, and Ann are among the names with a quaint .Old World ring which young Mayfair mothers are choosing. Nae 8 eal Loe

So Inconsistent! HLUS muses an Adam of 1931: It has always been a puzzle to know why "advanced" women, who are forever talking of the rights of their sex, should. steal shirts; collars; and ties from men, and complete their toilet by a visit to the barber so that they may look as much like the male as possible,

Dress reformers do not help us either. They tell us how stupid our clothes are, and convince us that nothing but our sense of shame prevents us from dressing as sensibly as women. And just when their backs are turned, the women go and dress as stupidly as we do.. Perhaps one day the two sexes will have progressed far enough to

meet somewhere between their differing costumes of to-day. We meet at the extremities .already-bowler hats and shoes, but there is still much to do. The march of progress will doubtless continue until women have reached the height of efficiency with the most masculine clothes. Then they will probably start a dress reform party. Gardens in Twilight. T’‘HERE are no scents so tearful, so grievous, as the scents of valleyliiles and narcissi clustered’ ghostly by the dark garden hedge, and white lilac, freighted with old dreams, and pansies, faintly reminiscent of mysterious lost ecstasy.-Mary Webb. The Sensible Sex. PBRAKING of severely tailored garments affected by some women, au English writer says:-I discussed this question with a woman of 25 who holds an important post in a city office. She habitually wears a trim tailored suit, soft. collar and tie, flat-heeled plain shoes, and a soft felt hat of very masculine shape. She loves pretty clothes, but she told me that she gains a greater. feeling of contro] over. her work and business subordinates when clad in severely cut tailor-mades. She said: A woman in business needs ab un: compromising un‘form which will protect her from the niimentality of men colleagues. Men ezird her as hard and unfeminine uid therefore have

more respect for her mentality. A girl ~Y. who is pretty and utterly feminine in her dress is often hampered in her work by the belief-men have that such a girl cannot be a good business woman. ' Sparklers. THE newest evening coat is sequins. It is a-soft mousseline-de-soie or satin, thickly studded with sparkling paillettes that gleam like diamonds. This "pailletted’ fabric looks like a new material, and is fashioned ,into straight, long coats, often with the sleeves hanging away from the elbow. They are worn over sheath-like underdresses of lace or chiffon and will be a popular choice. A chocolate-brown coat in velvet looks striking over white satin, and a long white coat encrusted with black sequins is ‘effective over white lace, inserted with black net. ‘ The Red Badge of Courage. AMONG the heroines whose gallant deeds are enshrined in the pages of our country’s history are the names of the Countess Godiva, the Coventry woman who "took the tax away and built herself. an everlasting name"; Miss Jane Lane, who led the unfortunate Charles II to a place of safety after the fateful Battle of Worcester; Mrs. Joice Lewis, of Mancetter, who perished. ‘at the stake at Lichfield in 1557; and Dame Purefoy, who, when her husband’s manor house at Caldecote, Nuneton, was assailed by Prince Rupert during the Civil Wars, rallied the household staff. to a gallant defence, , Domesticity Made Delightful. HUS hopefully writes optimistic Eve in an English magazine :-Nowhere has the inventor greater opportunities than in the ordinary household. It often takes two. or three people to run a house’ whi:h is the home of a family of five, whereas if every laboursaving device were used. one person could manage easily. Inventors have found that many of the simplest inventions for the home are the best, not only from the commercial point of view, but also from that of utility I myself have benefited more from a simple saucepan which whistled when an egg had been cooked than from ‘most intricate technical inventions. IT think that all the kitchen utensils of the future will be automatic in the sense that they will utter warnings or dtherwise indicate when the food has been cooked Women in the past have been far too careless over their cooking. They still talk about a "hot" oven ind a "moderate" oven, but in the future every oven will be fitted with a thermometer, so that they wil) know the exact temperature necessary for any particular dish. In the future cooks will use more definite measures, and instead of having to go to the drawer for every spoon, they will have a number of measures of different sizes fixed together so that they can be used quickly. The ovens of the future will be even better. They will have thermometers "hich, when the temperature falls be- J low a certain level, automatically turn on more heat, or if the temperature vises, reduce it. It is not improbable that the whole house will be heated electrically from a central switchboard, and that thermometers concealed in every room wili ensure that the heat is sufficient, :

Certituce | 1 go to prove my soul, I gee my way as birds their trackless way, I shall arrive .. . . What time, what circuit first I ask not; but unless God send . His hail Of blinding fire-balls, sleet, or ; stifling snow, In some time, His good time, I shall arrive: He guides me and the bird .. . In His good time. . — Robert Browning. |