Ladies' Column.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 696, 6 October 1909, Page 2

Ladies' Column.

FASHION AND THINGS FEMININE. By Miss Ida Metier. (ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.) A DIRECTOIRE COSTUME. The woman rather below average height has special cause to rejoice over the trend of fashions to-day, for the long, straight lines that characterise the dress of the moment tend to give lie impression of length to the figure and are. therefore, particularly becoming to the "petite" woman. Morethey give, also, the impression of grace and dignity—qualities that are as welcome in alliance with the tall as the short. Clinging, princess effects continue to distinguish housedresses, for all occasions, and even young girls' dance frocks are now made princess fashion, very pretty being those of white and pale blue washing silk or crepe de chine, trimmed with touches of lace and ribbons. Many out-of-door costumes are made with corselet skirts and long coats, cut away at the waist in front to display

the corselet, the coats being of the Di:coire type, with high double collars, deep revers and long-, tight sleeves. The costume illustrated shows one of the fashionable Directoire coats, the revers having- sharp points, and at the waist is a belt of knitted silk with long ends. With a long coat it is important that the skirt should be somewhat long also, or the smartness of the dress would be lacking. The skirt, however, should be plain, or trimmed merely with a band of braid or something equally light-weight, for the long coat renders the costume somewhat heavy, and it must be the aim. therefore, to relieve the skirt of superfluous weight.

PLEATED SHIRTS.

It is impossible to introduce too many pleats upon a shirt or a blouse, according' to present whims of fashion. Pleats vary in size from the mere pin-tuck to the two-inch fold that projects beyond the shoulder-line, aud they are. on some of the prettiest models, continued all the way down the sleeves, which are long- and tightfitting. Blouses of ,this kind, wi ! th the fronts and sleeves a mass of ucks, look very pretty in fine delaine, in silk, or soft satin. For the everyday shirt, striped flannel and flowered jdelaine are very much worn, and a pretty way in which they are made up is with inch-wide pleats, stitched rom the throat to bust, and a centre box-pleat studded with little buttons, i.'hen again, strappings are introduced between narrow pleats on other new shirts, the straps having- pipines or hems of coloured silk, matching the flower or the stripe in the material. This little extra touch of colour gives great relief and lightness to the shirt, and is taken up by the collar-band, which is also hemmed or piped, in harmony with the strappings. The pleated shirt sketched is suit- j able for any of the winter woollen materials, such as plain or fancy flannel '

or delaine. All the pleats are stitchok, near the edges, and, if the shirt wSRp a cream delaine it would be a pretty" fancy to render the stitchings in cher-ry-red or pale or dark blue', introducing the colour of the stitchings into

the belt. The long sleeves are arranged with self-made cuffs—that is, the material is tucked to the size of the t arm on the lower part instead of being gathered, in the usual way, into , fitted cuffs. Shirts after the model sketched look very well in fine cloth or serge matching the skirt worn with them. A SMALL HOLD-ALL. One of the most useful things to a traveller is a hold-all, large or small, as required ; it may be for clothes, a travelling pillow, and so on, for toilet Paraphernalia during the journey, or for needlework requisites only. A small hold-all for needles and cotton, and numbers of little things besides, that may be required during a long journey, is easily made. Take a piece of cardboard, about seven by eleven inches, and cover it with material; then take another piece of cardboard, the same size as the first, and cut this into four flaps, two of which should have points at the tips, envelope fashion, two having straight edges. All flaps must be covered with lar material to that used for the othflP piece of cardboard. The latter should be trimmed round the edges with a piece of gathered ribbon —about two yards, seven .inches wide. To ensure accuracy, divide the ribbon into quarters (with pins only: not cuttino- it) and pin it, in equal divisions, to the four corners of the cardboard. The gathered ribbon must be sewn ilohg one edge only to the founda-

tion; the other edge must be gathered to the four flaps, and the two with light outer edges should be provided with ribbons to tie together when the hold-all is finished. Any material, linen or silk, can be used for the hold-all. It is more serviceable if the colour is fairly dark, so that it does not show soil readily. Another suggestion for a small holdall is to cuit out a piece of material in the form of an envelope when it is opened out flat; line and interline it, and provide it with ribbons at the tip of each flap. s A very curious fish called "The Archer" projects a jet, of water a distance of s feet, and uses this gift of nature to knock insects into the water for its daily meals. Statistics just completed show that o per cent, of Sicilians can neither read' nor write. In Palermo, one pt the most modern cities in Italy, fully one-third of the children subject to the compulsory education law never co near a school-huuse, their parents insisting- upon sending them into fac tories or hiring them out in the country districts. ROMAN WATERWORKS STILL IN V USE. The town committe of Szamosvar has just decided to utilise the remains of the thousand years old water-mains and reservoirs which have remained since the Roman occupation. The water-mains were discovered by Professor Ornstein, an archaelogist, who states that the great reservoir and the extensive canals served as the watersupply of a large late Roman military camp—Congricastrum. The great reservoir lies on a high hill near the town. The dirt which has collected in the basin and mains during many centuries has been removed, and now it is almost incredible that they should be a thousand years old. The medical officer of the town has, declared- the water basin and the mains to be fit for use. THE KAISER: SPIRITUALIST. The Kaiser is a convinced spiritualist ; at least, so Dr. Egbert Muller, the well-known medium, asserts fn a book which he has just published. Many of the acts of the Kaiser ;Which are regarded as peculiar are accounted for, accprding to the doctor, by the Emperor's spiritualistic tendencies. These tendencies, the doctor asserts, have alwavs been in the Hohenzollern blood. The Kaiser's forefathers have shown distinct mystical and transcendental ways of thought. The authorsinsists that the Kaiser goes even further than merely being inclined to spiritualism. He consciously ..accepts it as an objective truth, and even,carries in his watchcasc a fragment -of the garment of a medium. This frap--ment is lupposed to have certain mysterious virtues and to inspire the Kaiser in many of his decision?.