NOTES FOR WOMEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 23, 26 January 1912, Page 2

NOTES FOR WOMEN.

(From Our London Lady Correspondent.) NEW SHOES. Xew shoes should if possible be tried on for the first time in the evening, when the feet are usually a little swollen after the da/s fatigue. This prevents much subsequent discomfort as of course footwear bought when the feet are at their smallest is extremely uncomfortable I whenever the feet become the least swollen. It is also wise to wear new boots or shoes for an hour or so now and again in the house before beginning to use them out-of-doors. In any case, they should never be worn a whole day until they are into the shape of the feet. Those who can afford to buy shoes before they actually require them will find it a good idea 'to put the shoes aside (on trees) for two or three months, when the leather will be well seasoned, and will wear twice the time. SWEATED WOMEN WORKERS. An urgently-needed reform has just come partially, and within a few months will come completely into operation in the advance of the minimum prices fixed under the Trade Boards Act for Nottingham outworkers engaged in lace finishing. When it is stated that in the city of Nottingham alone there are some 11,000 women engaged in home lace work, and that many of them have had to work five hours for 2Jd., my readers will have an idea of the terrible sweating conditions under which the workers have hitherto "existed" The new minimum rates will enable the moderate workers to earn 2Jd. an hour, and, in every instance, they will double their wages. The scheme should have come into operation in August, but a technical error in the formation of the Board threw back the date ti'l February next. The manufacturers have, however, realised the urgency of the conditions, and 125 firms have signed a "white list" to pay the now rates from to-day. A black list of those who refuse to pay the new rates until compelled to do so has been prepared, and a union of out-workers has been formed to fight them. AMERICAN EXTRAVAGANCE. It is estimated by European experts that American women in the leadin" cities now spend a much bigger average for dress than any other women in the world, and this observation applies to all classes. The New York representative of Paquin (Paris) made a special study of the subject lately, and declares that the fact is indisputable. The average stenographer in New York dresses just as well as the average well-to-do lady of the middle-classes in England; domestic' servants, with minimum salaries of f. r >o a year, are just as well gowned as the average mistress, and often better; while wives of the working-classes are indistinguishable from wives of the middleclasses. Undoubtedly America has reached an era of unexampled extravagance, and though there has been some curtailment of personal expenditure since the disastrous money panic of 1907. nod less mortgaging of homes to buy motor-cars, extravagance continues throughout the country Paquin's representative states authoritatively that every woman attending the New York Horse Show, which is the chief fashionable function of the year in the American metropolis, spends an average of £320 for dress. Phe bases the statement on the following prices: Hats £2O Gowns 160 Ordinary cloaks 100 Lacr stockings 3 Tjinsjerie .... - ~-, • 25 Gloves 2 Total £3' 2o HOUSEHOLD HINTS. HOARDING RUBBISH. There are hundreds of people who hoard in most absurd manner no end of rubbish, which never can "come in." Bits of lining, silk, three or four indies of ribbon, one button, etc, etc, all fill drawers, because they think "some day they will use this." They never do use them, because they have such an accumulation of stuff that they don't know where to put their hands on any particular 'thing. When the moment arrives in which it might be used, hours are spent in fruitless search—half a day wasted in looking for a half of a whalebone. She prides herself, this "careful woman," on her economy; wastes half a day, and saves half a penny (if, that is, she is lucky enough to hit upon the lost scrap). To save nothing at all, to keep no letters, no bills, or save no scraps of dress material is just as absurd. When the mending-day arrives the gown must go for lack of a small piece to patch. When you would reply, if the letter is not to hand, half the questions are forgotten and the new address may be undiscoverable. A lot of good advice might be given, if it would only be taken, but people who are "hoarders" do not know it. Say to yourself, when you read this article: "Am I a hoarder? Do I keep more than one drawer full of odds and ends 7" A good rule is to allow only one [ drawer for odds, and when that gets full have a grand turn-out. A piece of each gown or blouse should be rolled up and put in there when returned from the dressmaker, and turned out as soon as the article of apparel is parted with. Lining (unless silk) is hardly eveT worth keeping. Do not delude yourself into the belief that it is. It is a weak idea favoured by many untidy ones, only too ready to poke it away and yield to the "old maidish" tendency of hoarding. "You can be a 'spinster,' but don't be an 'old maid.' " Think to yourself: "Hoarding goes with parrots and caps. No; I wont." If you strike the happy medium yon will have a few selected scraps, and, most important, you will know where they are. Don't keep anything of at all doubtful use, unless of great monetary value. (There are precious few things in the world to answer that description.) Rather, much rather, give your bits to some poor woman, who will reap some little good from them, before they are "mothy" and frightfully out of date. Don't forget even bits, for patches get out of date, becanse the garments made of stuff like—nearly like—them die out, and the manufacturers start a new wea-e. You may be a hoarder and not know it. Ask yourself again firmly: "Am I a hoarder I"