FESTIVE SEASON

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 69, 14 December 1933, Page 10

FESTIVE SEASON

Shopping for Christmas TRADE ENCOURAGING Wide Choice of Presents Shops in Wellington have by now put on an appearance in keeping with the advent of the season of buying and present giving. Each special effort at attractive window displays conveys a reminder to the public that the time has now come when the annual gift problem must be seriously tackled. Already the response has been particularly good and, from an ecomonie or any other viewpoint, extremely, encouraging, as a “Dominion” representative discovered yesterday in a tour of the shops. When questioned about the present state and prospects of Christmas trade the managers of all representative establishments in the city gave the one reply that already, although the annual acceleration of business is just starting, it is distinctly better than at the same time last year. On all sides it was thought safe to forecast a more prosperous Christmas than for several years past The large number,of buyers seen in the shops yesterday bore witness to this. It is evident also that most of the establishments themselves, encouraged by the fact that for a few months past the purse-strings of the people have been giving definite signs of loosening, have shown more enterprise and confidence in the qualify and size of the stocks they have bought. The general result is that the Christmas shopper now has a particularly wide range of articles to choose from. Christinas Gifts Problem. The problem of gift buying is an individual one. So many different questions —those of expense, the needs or tastes of. the recipients, and countless others —enter into, it that each person who is Imbued with the right Christmas spirit must be left to face his own peculiar difficulties himself. The best thing he can do is to spend some time between now and December 25 in visiting the shops and seeing the articles displayed. But those who wish to act well will act soon. Already the shopping crowds in the city are 'rapidly increasing, and will continue to do so until Christmas Eve, and thus intending buyers’ prospects of choosing in a leisurely fashion will gradually be less as the stores become busier. In the city shops the articles they are displaying are not trending away from economy, but at the same time there are signs that this season quality is being kept well to the fore. This is apparent not only in the type of articles that are given as the more practical and useful gifts, and about which the buyer has perhaps fewer problems to consider in a successful choice, but also In the large range of novel and unusual gifts that are now being displayed. Beach and Boudoir. It may be useful for those choosing feminine gifts to remember that, generally speaking, the vogue of brilliant colours in women’s dress is tending to give way to pastel shades, although this is not necessarily always the case with all their garments, such as beach wear. Beach pyjamas are as colourful as ever. Another women’s article of seaside wear that is beginning to be popular is the beach shorts.

While on the subject of these summer articles that will be popular as gifts, bathing costumes should be worth investigating. Some that are to be seen are in quite new designs. All while women’s suits are said to be much sought after. Particularly good quality men’s suits of New Zealand make are stocked extensively, and the very best of them are selling at unusually low prices. Ladies’ handbags are being featured in several establishments, and many of the examples have a particularly modern and unusual appearance. Artistic hew shapes and designs seem to be in vogue. Some of them' are particularly interesting in that they are made of veneer wood bound in leather. Some shops are displaying new designs in rings and wristlet watches. Unusual "flapjack” compacts are prominent. Interesting necklets of amber and rock crystal are to be seen; they are cheaper than formerly but still maintain their quality. Entirely new are inexpensive ibut artistic make-up magnifying mirrors. In the shops stocking “art” goods ' and ornamental bric-a-brac there are some fine examples of Continental alabaster ware. Toilet articles in British xylonite are being featured. Bookends, also, have been revived, and some have most interesting and novel designs. For -he Children., As is usual at this time of the year many shops are concentrating a great amount of their attention on the children. Several of the large establishments are attracting hordes of small . visitors by making them small, gifts in such exciting places as a realistic underwater cavern .reached by a submarine journey, and a “magic cave, inside which is a Mickey Mouse and a working model of Sydney Harbour Bridge; while one place is presided over by Santa Claus himself. Children’s toys are, on the whole, marked at extremely cheap prices. Noveltv is indulged in to a very large extent,' but here again there is no lack of the more conventional playthings which children love to possess.