LO, A LEADER!

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 24, 29 January 1938, Page 11

LO, A LEADER!

MEN'S DRESS REFORM. IN THE CITY STREETS. MR. X AND HIS VIEWS. Looking cool and comfortable in attire of shirt, shorts, sandals and Panama hat, a man has excited a- deal of interest andj a certain amount of sacret envy among the male sex on the business streets of the city during the breathless daylight hours of the past two days. Conjectures that he had come from Hongkong or Singapore were freely expressed; some folk even ventured the opinion that he was an African globetrotter not unacquainted with the Congo belt. Obviously he was "not as others," which seemed to sanction an impatient comment that he was "a bit mad." "; Respectful curiosity tempted a "Star" representative to accost the subject and remark that he seemed to be garbed fittingly for the weather. Whereupon he was informed in strict confidence that the man interviewed came from no further afield than Eemuera. Also in strict confidence he passed on the view that people who persisted in conventional English dress in a tropical summer climate were themselves "a bit mad." Hot and Bothered. Mr. X proved not to be quite so cool and comfortable a$ he appeared, for he admitted that he was an enthusiastic disciple of dress reform, and that mentally he was really rather hot and bothered over the public apathy t>f Ancklanders on the subject. All he wished them was another hot summer, like the present one, next year; and yet another on top of that, • and by that time he reckoned men would have learned to dress sensibly. Personally he had found that exposing the limbe to the air and sun was incre-

dibly soothing and healthful, and that a pair of well-tailored "shorts" made ideal wearing for the purpose. But if, for reasons of appearance or shyness, business men balked at "shorts," the wearing of loose-fitting, well-cut "whites," with a sleeveless, low-cut shirt for the body, and eandals for the feet, would be found a great physical relief in hot weather. As for "the trade," Mr. X expressed the belief that the clothiers would benefit by a general change on the lines he advocated. Tailors in the past had stocked .shantung and white suits for former hot summers, and had had little demand. That had been because a man had to have several such suits and keep them constantly laundered. The cost was too great! With tlie dress of canoe shirts, shorts (or slacks) and sandal* he suggested an added summer demand would be inadei

for the trade, which would not in any way affect or decrease the regular lines of clothing. Why Whangarel? "Men who met me at the trottinc exhibition on Saturday etopped to congratulate me on my comfortable turnout," said Air. X. "Others who have met me on the street asked if I came from Singapore or Whangarei. Why Whangarei 1 don't know, unless they think people from there arc a bit queer, or get a "hit of the sun.' '"Women seem to l>e eo much more sensible than men in the matter of dressing—with light material, low neck and no sleeves—to euit the climate. Why the men shy at it 1 don't know. Possibly they are afraid of their wives." "Anyway," he concluded, with a grin, "its going to come. I feel it only needs starting, hence my modest effort."