MATADOR PANTS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28895, 15 May 1959, Page 2

MATADOR PANTS

Ban For Dance In Auckland Matador pants and jeans are now banned at Saturday evening dances run by the Aotearoa Youth and Teenage Club at Gandhi Hall. Auckland. Th.e ban was announced recently by the club organiser (Mrs K. G. Bidois). ‘‘Matadors and jeans are morally the wrong dress for any young person. They are degrading and make people look cheap.” she said. ‘‘Some employers bar young people from getting jobs because they are wearing jeans. It is really up to the parents to help young people. “About 50 per cent, of the girls wore matadors at Gandhi

"Jeans, matadors, and jumpers have become accepted attire today for many occasions. To suggest a ban is to attempt, Canute-like, to stem the inevitable tide. The jeans family has become correct; it has little of the seductive appeal of many of the allegedly correct ballroom gowns.” wrote a correspondent to an Auckland paper. A Christchurch office girl supported an Auckland resident who said she did not consider matadors cheap and degrading, but would only wear them round the house, and not to a dance. “They are sensible for sports or very informal wear in the winter.” said the programme secretary of the Christchurch Y.W.C.A. Matadors were never seen at Y.W.C.A. dances and would not be encouraged. “Not many girls have the figure for them, though admittedly full skirts are not terribly modest for rock ’n’ roll,” said the secretary. Most girls were glad to wear something pretty to a dance, she believed.

“They are a jolly good idea for ’varsity hops,” said a thirdyear arts’ student yesterday. “Hops where rock ’n’ roll is in order are often held in cold, dusty places.” “Even the most Bohemian feel slightly self-conscious wearing matadors in the quad during working hours,” said another student. “They are sometimes worn to lectures in winter, and are certainly better for cycling in the cold than sheer stockings.”