FASHIONS IN PIPES.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 17989, 5 February 1924, Page 7

FASHIONS IN PIPES.

VOGUE SET BY THE PRINCE OP WALES. We all know the man who has his set of cherished pipes, and wavers never an inch in his devotion to them, or to one particular shape; but there are less faithful wooers of My Lady Nicotine whoso taste changes and follows fashion's every whim (says Eonthill Beckford in the "Daily Mail")- Not long ago the Prince of Wales set a vogue for the little light-weight pipe, which was eventually named after its Boyal sponsor, and became known everywhere as tho "Prince, of Wales" pipe. Many of these fashions are started and fostered by the youth of our universities. At present the craze is for the bruyere pipe, left in its natural state which gradually, in the process of smoking, becomes coloured a rich, warm brown. Just as the beau of former days took a pride and pleasuro in "colouring" the then fashionable meerschaum, so now do 'Varsity men vie with one another in the colouring of their briars. The very best briars are selected for making these natural pipes; in fact, the inferior quality wood is quite unsuitable for the purpose. No stains or varnishes of' any kind are employed, so that the true beauty of the graining of the wood can be fully appreciated. When pipes were originally introduced they were left entirely in their natural state, so that this new vogue which has sprung up during the last year is in reality just a retrospective move to the days when pipe-smoking was in its infancy. However the craze will run its. course, no doubt, until the next novelty is put on the market to capture the fancy of the voung man about town. The ordinary "billiard" shape of pipe is still the most favoured of all, and, though "freak" shapes have an occasional run of popularity, a man usually returns to his first love. One fancy shape, however, which has its practical side is the type designed to stand upright when it is put down on a table; there are several pipes on the market constructed on these lines, and to the man who plays bridge or billiards, or any other game involving the continual setting down of his pips on a table, this shape will make a definite appeal.