"A SAIL! A SAIL!"

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 25, 30 January 1926, Page 26

"A SAIL! A SAIL!"

(By G. F.DITII BURTON.) According to our ni<'n folk we women look on: raLvriy for the magic notice as did cvi r ,i shipwrecked mariner for "a sail in *;£r:u." And now the season lias s'arti'd. men will produce their old sarcastic jibes and hoary jokes anent tliw supposed time of hectic joy ior the weaker (V. sex. Weaker i? open to que-tion in this case, judging by the prowesa displayed by some at the opening? ru=h. Weil, to begin with, shall we candidly admit that we do. almost all of us, love "bargain days?" There may be some loud, though not numerous, disclaimers. To those I olTer my awed admiration, and also my keenest sympathy, in their loss of never having knnwn rho complete satisfaction —the delirieus thrill—of ■buying a frock remnant for 0/11 f which, two days before, was sold at 0/11 per yard. Or of rli~playincj to admiring and almost incredulous sister- a hat, the sweetest French model, which you found "poked away at the back." and which you got for 12/11, and which was made originally to tear three guineas from tome woman who could not resist it. What is the great attraction? Is it to save money by setting tilings at a great reduction? Alas, not always, for jostling there with us, feverishly turning over piles of clothing, are the women to" whom 2/115 should mean nothing. Women who can drive or be driven down any morning to shop leisurely in cool, orderly shops, while their loss fortunate Eister3" are wondering what on earth they will prepare for lunch. For these ■women —I mean the ones who have lons forgotten how twenty-one phillinfrs had to be squeezed out of every pound —half the enjoyment of sale clays has fled —the necessity—but ther cling eagerly still to the other half —that queer joy human nature experiences when, hv its own efforts, it secure 3 something for nothing. or at least much under its vplue. T say by "its own efforts." for that i-t VBe prpirit of the whole affair. That is the

several things to avoid. Don't tray what you don't need. The putting-by plan is hardly a success. I know women who have piles of things they will never need, never use, in fact, in any way at all. Can't we all at this minute remember stalls nt bazaars littered up with tilings v, hii-li appear to have come out with Mrs. XoahV They are "gifts" from the puUinjr-by people. Buy fashionably good-—they must, he got rid of each season, and, consequently, are really sacrificed. Kind out before you set off exactly how much material is required for any garments or articles the household may need. It is no use arriving home breathless and triumphant, with just a quarter-yard too little of a wonderful serge to make pants for Tommy, or an unmatchable bun of Bilk for nn evening , frock for Clara, only to find that you can't get it out. A great many women buy heavily at the Manchester department. My own experience is that the small reduction on good household stuff does not warrant much money lying idle. Let men not delude themselves. If their wives, with Ordinary common sense, who have been shopping all through the season and when not shopping "just looking around," cannot tell what goods are reduced at sale time to half-price, well, then they must be terribly stupid. It would surprise many men if they knew how many well dressed women this summer were simply wearing things they bought at half-price at last summer's sales.