INVENTOR OF THE SHINGLE

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 254, 10 July 1926, Page 16

INVENTOR OF THE SHINGLE

SCOPE FOR FANTASY WITH SHORT HAIR

“How I came to create the shingled style of hairdressing?’’ asked SI. Antoine, the Paris coiffeur, “Come ana sit down here and we will talk it over.” M. Antoine (his real name is M Cierplikowski) is shortly going to show London the latest _ styles in shingling and “Eton cropping.” He is, of course, one of the arbiters of elegance in feminine coiffeur. It was early in the afternoon, but every chair at the establishment in the Rue Cambon was occupied by a client, with an army of hair-cutters, wavers, dyers at work on heads of all shades from white to black and of all ages too, states a correspondent of the “Evening News.” " Round certain chairs there were little groups of waiting clients, indifferent to the invitation of the brilliant sunshine outside, and intent only on getting their beads elegantly dressed in the temple of the cult of the shingle. “I sheared my first client’s hair some fifteen years ago,” said M. Antoine. “We'were already caught in the vast vogue of sport—with motoring in the front rank. It was very obvious that a woman whose head was covered with twists and curls and plaits of false hair, crowned with a hat perched perilously on the top of the already unsteady eminence, could not possibly make any sort of figure as pilot of a car. A change was imperative.” “Some courageous young women quickly adopted the new idea; they threw'aside their chignons, real or otherwise, and wore their hair propped in bovish fashion. “The war gave an impetus to the new fashion. Women who donned the uniform hesitated not a minute; shorter and shorter I cut their hair, and hairdressers in Paris and London followed suit. ‘The truth and nothing but the truth’ came to be the women’s slogan, and the dressmakers perforce helped by introducing short petticoats when cloth was hard to obtain.”

M. Antoine’s eve fell on a new arrival in the briefest of _ scanty frocks. ‘‘A woman who went into the streets dressed like that before the war would have been stoned forthwith,” he said with a smile of indulgence. “Fashions, like opinions, are of gradual growth; to-day women fearlessly reveal the qualities and defects of their line, refusing to owe anything to the ruse of corset-maker or dressmaker.

“All the same, in the art of the coiffure we have to avoid exaggeration even in the pursuit of truth. If your ear is ugly, you may as well hide it; if it is pretty, by all means let it be seem”

“If the hair grows prettily on the brow, show it, but if your eyes arc tired and your brow is lined, give a little shadow to the features.” “The coiffeur has to keep the client’s profile in view, and while working to obtain a neat round head he often has to correct defects in outline. The shingle is very short and close-clipped on the nape of the neck, but gives fullness to the summit of the head. The hair is longer in stages, and this alone seems to set up the head well above the shoulders. As vou know, the majority of women of all ages have now adopted tins style, which needs, of course, a good deal of attention.

“Docs it lend itself to full-dress? Why, yes, admirably. The jeweller now makes an all-round diadem and tiara, far more beautiful and graceful than the model which had only a front piece. As for plumes and lapels, neded for Court receptions and Royal drawing rooms, they are very easily and gracefully added to a shingled head.”

M. Antoine took up a bandeau of some silver material and with quick, expressive gestures showed how delicate and fragile plumes could be firmly and safely attached to its circumference. “In fact,” he said, “with the modern distaste for superflous ornament and all complications, smooth, small heads arc wholly harmonious above the plain, straight frocks of rich material that emphasise the natural grace of the body. “While women continue to lead the healthy, active life imposed by modern conditions and ideals, it is impossible to imagine a return to heavy styles of hairdressing, with coils and curls pinned together more or less successfully.

“Yet there is scope for fantasy with short hair. Some of my clients don’t fancy coloured wigs of short hair or even of silk for evening functions. Why not? They lend a note of gaietv and good humour to a gathering. The essential thing is to be in harmony with yonr surroundings and avoid stiff convention.”