The Art Of Dress.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 86, 12 April 1941, Page 5 (Supplement)

The Art Of Dress.

Two "Blobs" in Afternoon.

Useful Knock In Final.

Three Centuries in Season.

PUGILISTS' TASTES. Colour and Conservatism From Tailor's Viewpoint. (By JOHN LARDNER.) NEW YORK, March 2. \X7HILE consulting with Trofessor William 'J'aub the other day on the topic of garments for athletes—the prolessor is haberdasher extraordinary and draper by special appointment to most of the sharpest dressers in the sports world—your agent mentioned llic fickleness of Joe Louis.

Louis, ft couple of years ago, was going to devote his later and riper years to the tailoring business. Raiment, he said, was his racket. As soon as lie retired from boxing lie would open a high-toned bazaar and sell gents' clothing to gents.

Toward this en<l Joe used to study every move that Professor 'J'aub made. He observed the professor's art and drank in the professor's rococo technique with shoulders and armholes. He borrowed the professor's books, including the justly famous monograph ''Jlow to match your ties with your socks."' lie took them home and learned them by heart.

"And yet, to-day," said your correspondent sadly, "this light-hearted youth has forgotten about the clothing »amc. He now owns a dude ranch and all he wants to do the rest of his life is ride horees and raise cattle. I imagine, professor, that this has been a grievous disappointment to you, has it not?"

Not Considered a Loss. "The way you tell it," said Professor Taub, mopping a tear from his eye, ''it sounds very sad. But frankly, old man, I do not think that Louis had the call." "Beg pardon?" said your agent. "The call ?" "The gift, the flair, the vocation," explained Professor Taub. "In the gents' furnishing busine.-s artists are born, not made. Did Louis hear a clear, call to the clothing game, or was it just a boyish enthusiasm? Ido not feel that he was formed for it. Ido not consider him a loss to the art of toggery. A tine customer, yes. But. the heir of Taub— a thousand times no," said the professor, carefully counting off one thousand "Noes." To the professor's way of thinking there have been heavy-weight champions with a richer gift for accoutrement, a finer touch in garniture, than Louis. "I have rigged out every Tieavy-weiglit champion since Jess Willard," said Professor Taub, thoughtfully. "I have caparisoned eacli one of them, from Dempsey on. If you ask me, the two most gifted dressers were Jack Dempsey and Max Baer. Baer was a genius in his way, a creator, a radical. Dempsey was more on the conservative side " "I didn't quite catch that last remark," said your operative, cupping his ear. "It sounded like you said Dempsey was conservative." "I did," said the professor, with dignity. "Those were my words." "But what about his prismatic sports jackets? The sky-blue—the rul>y—the salmon—the absinthe—the purple —the plum?"

Tunney Too Conservative. "Ah, yes, those jackets," said Professor Taub, rubbing his hands. "They were, as you say, a bit chromatopliorous. But the sky-blue was a conservative sky-blue. The plum was a restrained plum. The salmon was a serious salmon. And Dempsey wears his clothes conservatively. He don't give 'em what Baer gives 'em." "How about Gene Tunney? He was conservative, wasn't he?" "Tunney," said the professor, drawing himself to his full height, "was never clothed by me. I would have mentioned it before, but I thought you could tell it by looking at him. When I speak of conservatism, I mean decent, honest conservatism. But Tunney carries it too far. He dresses like a banker." Professor Taub. paused a moment to meditate. "Of all the heavy-weight champions I have upholstered," he said, "the most interesting dresser was Primo Camera." "Because he always paid his bills in full, right away?" suggested your agent. "There was that point," admitted the professor. "But I was also thinking of his amplitude—a splendid specimen of the size 48 long. I once created a white suit for .him that qualified me to build tents for the Ringiing Brothers circus. He brought out all the artist in me, Camera did. O tempora, O mores." Let us leave Professor Taub to his memories,

Captain's Bowling Reward. Twelve years ago Jack Havill made liis mark in junior cricket by taking 100 wickets in his first season for Papatoetoe second grade. Since about 1935 he has regularly taken about 50 wickets a summer for the senior B XI. This season he lias led the side to victory and taken 78 wickets at a cost of about 11 runs a victim. Naturally his harvest on some occasions was rich, but there was one which overshadowed the others. In tho first round against North Shore Havill took nine wickets for 50—and he might have got the other had that batsman not been run out. These two teams met again in the final match, and when Papatoetoe got a six-pointer it was left nine points clcar at the head of the championship table. * ♦ ♦ ♦

Two pairs of spectacles in one afternoon is probably unique in Auckland senior cricket, as it is not often a batsman gets two knocks in the same day. The fato befell C. \Y. Williams (Papakura C'amp) and It. Loader (Ponsonbv) last Saturday week. Williams, who was a 15st forward in the 1038 All Black side which toured Australia, was twice bowled by Mervyn Wallace. Curiously another player of the same name, P. Williams, also got "specs" in Camp's previous game, but he went against Training College on two separate afternoons.

Dr. J. J. Valentine, who was a member of the l'apatootoc MI. when it was bracketed senior 15 champion with Pon-sonby-Balnioral in the IO.iS-u'J season, again helped the suburban club to another championship title three weeks ago, when lie scored .>•> in the final against North Shore, lie had not been playing regularly, owing to filling vacancies in junior teams. lie batted only seven times for the senior 1! side, and reserved his best efTort of the season for the final. Valentine was a noted Rugby player 20 years ago. While at Otago University in 1919 he was selected for South Island as winger with Jack Steel on the other wing. Between them tbev scored all of Soutli's 11 points (to Norths 2S). * ♦ ♦ * Still Going Strong ! Reference was made last month to the \ fine performance of \V. Burton, theYVcl-j lington Brabin Cup cricketer, on his promotion to senior status. He hit a con- , <ury (not out) on his debut for Kilbirnie, and since that club won the championship last month its victorious XI. has played the Best of 'Wellington and the Mercantile League. In the former match Burton made 52, while against the. "outsiders" he carried his J-y «■ for W},

A New Zealand Side. With the crfeket season over and various performances under review, a number of critics have been trying to estimate the strength of the best eide that Xew Zealand would have been able to put in the field had an international match bee.n on the programme, A Wellington observer believes that it would be difficult to improve on the following eleven at the present time: M. P. Donnelly, W. A. Hadlee, A. W. Koberts, K. F. M. Uttley (Canterbury). 11. T. Pearson, W. M. Wallace, captain; 11. G. Vivian, J. A. E. Blandford, wicketkeeper; D. C. Cleverlev, J. Cowie (Auckland), and T. L. Pritchard (Wellington). As an afterthought, he adds that F. P. O'Brien, W. McD. Anderson and I. B. Cromb (Canterbury), T. A. Downes (Wellington) and V. Scott (Auckland) would aleo have to be taken into serious consideration.

Most Canterbury critics would amend that list in one fashion or another (says the "Star-Sun"). First, G. Mills, of Otago, appeak strongly as the most efficient wicketkccper in the Dominion to-day. When Canterbury mad© an aggregate of 543 runs against Otago at Christmas, Mills allowed only seven extras. Then, D. S. Wilson, the tall and breezy Wellington all-rounder, should bo found a place. Against Canterbury at the Xew Year he made 72 and 31, took four for 04, and resembled an A. P. Chapman in the field. Another recent performance was five for SG against Auckland, his victims including P. E. Whitelaw. Scott and O. C. Cleal—a trre-at trio. * ♦ + +

One Auckland eAior cricketer who can look back to the past season with every satisfaction is L. E. Vivian, of the Middleniore team, who has acted as

captain in the last two matches. He finished the season with an extraordinary rim of throe centuries in succession, 104 against Parncll, 103 against Grafton and 11S against Training College in the final match. Vivian started his cricket at the Mount Edfn School, where he was the captain. Later he was in the Mount Albert Grammar School team, and was contemporary with his brother. H. G. Vivian. G. L. Weir and R. Hush, other players who made their mark in Auckland cricket. lie joined the Eden senior team in 1929, a side 60 strong in batting that he did not pet the best of chances. For the past throe reasons he , has been with Middlemore. ; W. H. Cooper ('Varsity) is the. only j other player with three centuries to his j credit this season, the last two being 1 ! scored in successive knocks. O. C. Cleal (Papakura Camp) missed a third century on January 25 when run out at 99 against Ponsonbv-Balmoral, for which club he had hit 11S v. Parr. 11 and 108 v. Y.M.O.A. The two hundreds hit by A. J. Postles, for Eden, were, like 1 compiled in consecutive innings.