HOW BOER WOMEN DRESS

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2, 2 January 1903, Page 2

HOW BOER WOMEN DRESS

We have all of us heard that dress does not hold a very important place in the eyes of either Boer men or women, though more has been said about the former than the latter. Perhaps I ought to say that dress is considered to some extent, but not in the same way as in England, wh ire papers are not so few and far between in -which -what is worn is generally discussed. Boer women pass their lives in much greater isolation than the majority of English women, and only emerge from their obscurity when there is a wedding in the district, oir tkhe periodical prayer-meeting (naachtmaal) is in progress. These last are held every three months in the villages and towns, and are great occasions for meetings in the district,., as .everybody , them. At these meetings all the girls ftnd women appear in gorgeous and wonderful raiment, as, though a Boer woman always wear,s black at home, she loves gaudy and brilliant colours, and as she is terribly wanting- in taste the most awful combinations are sometimes seen

A week before such an event aiil the trading emporiums in. the district are hunted through for novelties and the latest fashions, though there is very little choice at these

stores

One of the curious customs nmong the Boer girls at these 'naachtmaals ,, is to exchange clothing with each other, so that each will have a different dress for the next occasion. As they do not trouble in the least about the fit, it works out all right, according to their own ideas, but outsiders see very funny results. The writer from whom I have these notes says that he was once staying at a Boer dwelling when the prayer meeting was in progress. Among his possession* was an old jockey's jacket, which, as is usual, was of vivid colouring. You may imagine his surprise when tit* next day the family started for the village to see one of the daughters tn this jacket, which she had fashioned into a very rough semblance of a blouse.

Brown boots are the correct ilrng to wear at these meetings, and as they usually wear "veldt schoons/' or woollen slippers, the change to new leather boots is rather painful. It is a very common sight to see a Boer girl limping about in shoes at least three sizes too small, and her feet suffer, if her vanity is appeased.

But this, after all, is a weakness to which not only Boer women but others are often addicted, Taut cue thing the former do not trouble about is waists; these are usually large, and in fact the great majority have somewhat the appearance of a sack tied round the part where the waist should be.