THE PASSING SHOW.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 45, 22 February 1929, Page 6

THE PASSING SHOW.

(By THE MAN ABOUT TOWN.)

Dear M.A.T., —Now is it that in the matter of we hombres lack either the intelligenc» or the courage <>f the flapper? Medico* and other authorities adWHO'S GAME? vise us of the physical benefits derivable from loose clothing. bare necks, etc., nevertheless we still immure our necks in tight-fitting collars, and ev.'ii during the <!<»_• days swelter under ail intolerable fardel of clobber while the socalled empty-headed flapper sails along with open neck, bare arms and . loose garments. IJespito the professions of the facility. I «<•«• none of them in wide shirts and 1 ip ht dusters. I warrant that it I appeared to-morrow in Queen Street with Iwne neck. Iwire hirsute arms and legs and no coat I would attract a bigger crowd than a dog lip lit. while the adjacent constable would seriously comitate whether or n<»t he should at once wheel n:e before one liiagistrnte or two doctors, a* Chid ley was done two decades ago in Sydney. Ha\e the clothiers and lalinderer- worked a Ik>o<l<mi 011 us ? Now w 'ho is game to start the vogue? —Sartor Kesartus. "Sartor Kcsartus" revives Hie almost f..r gotten name of t hidley, the greatly daring Australian who was discovered reforming dress in public and was cnTHE NUDE vcloped in a constable's DEPARTURE. large overcoat and taken

to strong quarters before he made the public laugh itself to death. Tentative endeavours to get hack to Nature have been made in older (and colder) climates, the most recent of which was a (.Jerinatj plan !<>r the physical regeneration of mankind by the abandonment of all clothing (except, of course, the universal spectacles without which Iritz i-» supremely naked). fJerman papers, discussing the new nudity, publisher! vague photos of unclad }H-op!e leaping about in the forests and little hushclad scencs with unclothed scholars soaking in sunshine and knowledge. Kven this hold experiment failed, and tilt/, in general is as heavily clothed as ever. 11l Surrey only a few years auo some devoted iiiidulc-aged persons threw garments to the winds and disported in a state of Nature in a colony all to themselves. A dress reformer who died at the age of fortv-five had left his large coiuitrv mansion and estates to the Society for the Klimiiiatioii of Clothes, and they pranced through the leafy arbours for quite a while until the authorities rcallv wondered if all was well with them above the chin. Tho fact that the old house where once the Altogether* sat down to dinner without dressing for it is now a brewery seems to indicate that the sartorial reformers have been gathered up and clothed. Mark Twain wa« a dress reformer. In a visit to England during the dog days he was the guest of the evening at a literary beano. He turned up in late white evening clothes! It didn't do. Many thought he was being funnv and manr more regarded him as practically naked as far as sartorial convention was concerned. And although he was a notable in manv great countries, not a soul "followed suit."*

An English rector has raised an objection to lady worshippers powdering their noses during divine service. lie facetiously asks cvufTiw what would the audienec SYLVIA S NOSE, of a theatre think if he took his shaving tackle along and used it in the theatre. .As a matter of fact, toilettes in public 'are merely a si"n of franker titties, mid very likely many youii" ladtes feel that there can be no pietv without a powdered nose. The amiable modern characteristic is observed everywhere in Auckland, although one has seen 110 manifestation of it in church. The common habit of manicurfti" ones finger nails may be a forecast of the glad day when suburban citizens will sprint for the bus with their shoes in their hands and assume them in comfort en route. A haiidv portable wash basin with soap, towel and sponge would make a fortune for the inventor. J ersonal nieeness is becoming universal For instance, not only may you find gentlemen at the public tap in hotel and club carefullv scrubbing artificial dentures with the common nailbrush, but you may occasionallv see "cntlenien, deprived of the said dentures, holdiii" them over the mechanical drinking stand pipes in the streets. Even more charming exhibitions of frankness are observed. Plate glass windows are excellent mirrors for ladies requiring a fault touch of poudre d"amour. What 'has happened to the female nose deponent knoweth . . 1 uscd to bp in granny's day that tight lacing induced that rosy nasal flush.

the fltTi» ? . W onc ,n "- v "" through the L\ ttelton tunnel nowadays without requiring fust aid for the apparently asphvxiated TOP TTTttfWI7T ~. t . l he far C " H - Som <* < J; « V THE TUNNEL, old people will tell their

, , , pnwdohildren of the dark days when l ev gasped for breath i„ M„o kc choked tunnels and hailed the davlb-ht as a precious p,ft from heaven. Travellers who throljnhTh r H ; Ri . ,mitaka '" IM * that eli.nhed throujrh the tunnels like a snail will remember odd eases here and there where smoke-dried «2 H bUt gaVC the " host * 8,,t 'he n! ' r r !' ,e P a *»ngeni >* as »»"?rht to the -a pi" of the en»inemen. Onee M.A.T «nent "IET* if ;° n Cll?i " es craw!iM " «ver the Kimu aka.«. It is a curious sensation to he locked up in an engine with nothing in but the - ,ow »'? firebox and the fa£ s of " n „hl men. Said an engine driver to M.A.T.• ••You'd better wet your hanky and hold it to Your mm,til —a so.nl dod-jo. And at the P !a,-e where the atmosphere was mephitic as that of U, c place no New Zealandcr will ever go the fi.o man sa,d: »Thi f is ,he place wherc .jj s v l»l,pliters faint. Kmer-in- alter a ino-, „ perfect day. the investigator stole int., a fir- - class carriage and collapsed. The other ~,1-senders senders pave him much space and angrr 1,.0k« And when lie got home the children" rushed ill to inform the domestic circle iliat there waa Mack hawker at the door. Then . 1,,r ma'tl*v ,, l |er '" « towel. atl'

• V. I* ;** Hs tH * OM " 10 '»tioued to me ! il ?. ,rielM '. t ' lat a somnambulist has o<-)ijw, v | all hi* previous performances by "Irving this "BALMY" SLEEP. Uvo ££ reminds me of a friend o"'m!ne'of is declared that he performs some r.-aliv astoundmg feats while still in the am,. of sleep H, s forte is not walking but talkinand he has been known to start his ~i»htV sleep by d.jrjnnjr over a few acres of planting it with potatoes and then ehoppi,,.' down a few trees. After accomplishing 'the'; (the first few ,terns of his .lavs rather, his night's work) he usuallv takes a trip out to hllerslio and there so man? winners that it is another Herculean task to carry all the money home. Not infrequentlv does he find four or five motor cars left in a tailzied mass after a terrific collision: in that he calls frantically for ropes and crane* to straighten out the mess. After work pleasure, so. having seen all the cars safelv °! 1 th ".r wa - v -, he USUilll - v takes the trouble to r° ""Jo- B ° rotra * I thrashing at tennis. (Since the North has ! become famous for its deep-sea fisl,in- I mi-ht 1 mention, he often leaves Mr. Tilde,?'and <o i alone and makes it his business to beat all Mr' ! Zane records for makos. marlins And sword.es. ) llis next move is to hecou.e the , victim of a really enjoyable accident, and the 1 nurse who is *o kind to him it, ,he hospital I generally turns out to be his sUter with i morning cup of tea. Trusting vou wUI sl C en J well to-night, 3LA.T.—Mac. Cp !