WOMEN AND M. WORTH

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 142, 10 March 1908, Page 3

WOMEN AND M. WORTH

■[ . In the current issue of the "Royal Maga.zine;" M.'' Worth gives; a' most interesting ."sermon" to 1 the women of-tho British Em.pire on the subject of dress—on which ho is, of course, tho supromb authority!' : "Fifty years [ago—yes, even twenty" bo says—"the well-dressed woman thought herself fully equipped if in her wardrobe half-a-dozen new, gowns found a place each season, or each' : yW, according to tho requirements of' hor position or her husband's. .These •sho wore steadily through season 'after season, with slight alterations, rejoicing in beauty of fabric rather than in extravaganco of design. 'It [was then that the silk trado 'of' Lyons! flourished so well and produced materials it was a delight to handle. '

: . "And when winter came my lady's summer robc« were carefully packed away in cedar. Then were brought forth her frocks of velvet, silk, arid cloth, as well as her furs,'reeking of camphor; probably for a few days, because, they , had boon packcd away in- that preservative to keep them from the ravages of marauding moths. •

"No falso prido prevented those women of a bygono age, who , ( would '■ now 'bo dubbed shockingly old-fashioned and -unpresentable, from wearing their toilettes time after time, even at tho sanio houses where they visited. But what.do,we see-to-day? A gown once soon in its wearer's 'set' is worthy only ,to bo cast aside'. • And as for a frock preserved from last summer for wear this parish tho thought! It is banal,-absurd, unheard of! '

.' "Nevertheless, I toll you that 0110 of tho best-dressed women in all Paris —perhaps tho best among them—buys only threo toilettes a year! But/ thoso threo aro perfcct in taste, in fit,-in materials. They aro made , of - tho choicest fabrics of their, kind with raro skijl, and they accord marvellously with their wearer. . Then, too, this woman knows to a nicety how to put on her gowns; how to add just where it is wanted a corsage knot of, blossom, a pieco of, real old'lace, or a suitablo jewel. And voila—the result 'is cxI quisitely commo il faut —just what is beautiful and subtly telliAg. ■ '.'.Yet, mark you, she is not the type of woman at whom everyono in the street will . stare.' Her vogue is riot merely to attract attention. But thoso who seo the perfectly gowned onq 'say ; 'to themselves, perhaps-with-out knowing why:.' There is real distinction; that;is a woman supremely well dressed!"' : FEMININE ACTIVITIES. - t The study ,of . tho law-appears to have; a special attraction for American ladies. Miss Florence Brunirig, who is only twenty years of', age, has just distinguished: herself ' brilliantly in tho University examination for in New York. Miss Bruning 'topped the - poll in a list of one hundred candidates, eighty-six of whom were men. Another triumph for-women has been the, election of a . lady to tho'-professorship -of French' language and literature in tho, Dnivcraity pf Uroningen. This':is the firstappointment of a; lady to a professorship in a 'Dutch.University. . Mile. Loke is a doctor of letters, and-has, till her recent promotion, been' a teacher in the Secondary School\for Girb at The Hague. Tho University of'-'Vienna -'has /also* justappointed its (ir-st lady professor, Mile, Elise Richter is to lecturo' on - "Romance PhilolPSi'i" - a suhjcct which sounds moro roman,'tio than it really is. ; Italian women aro not one .whit, behind-, the women of other nations in their; desiro and -.efforts on behalf of education and emancipation., .-The!' Civil:. Codo-still presses heavily on women, as, for instance, in the circumstances of marriage. A woman has no right over her property after marriago; slio loses her nationality on. her marriago with a foreigner; she caiindt'act as-.guardian; nor, again, has she power to sue tho father of an illegitimate..child for money for its support. A' petition 'drawn up by tho Women's Association in' Rome has boon pre.souted to Parliament, urging that theso and similar injustices should bo abolished. Tho city-of Brussels has-, set a commend- . ablo esample in ' starting a training school for .girls as nurses... .Most,of-, tlie girls': who eritert-he school'come .from orphanages. In connection with, tho'scfioolis a large crechfe, which is in the charge of.-a doctor aiid resi'.dent nurses,- undor whom the girls aro trained. .. Two Belgian ladies, have passed, tlio .-filial examination for doctors of medi,cino at the University of. Brussels.' Mllo; B. van Roclen lias qualified with distinction is a doctor of chemical science, 'and Mile. /Cbreman has won a brilliant success in philosophy and letters.' • /."Woman in the Twentieth Century!' is tho. title of the organ of tho feminist movement in'far-away Tokio. .Japaneso women rival their husbands and brothers in their affection for European;- customs... and, manners. :Clubs; for]adics'are;teirigifo.uiided' iii all' the', great 1 cities of ,'th'e.J country.'The, Miiglier education of girls is being pushed forward ardently. Highly qualified English women ' are wolcomed as teachers and lecturers in many of the schools. The Japaneso are a literary people, and it is .a matter .regret tliat their ianguago is so littlo understood;* : arid,_tliat so few translations are made into English. Women as well as men in Japan have taken up tho profession of ..writing:'. • We have not heard much hiluerto of women, electricians; :'-, A-'Swiss • lady,- Mllo. Ceqilo Buthiaiiy, appears to bo one of tho first of her sex who has adopted eugin&eririg as a profession. Mllo. Buthiany studied at Lausanne, 'and has passed tho necessary eliminations creditably. ..,. ..,-.. •