THE LADIES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 30, 5 February 1908, Page 4

THE LADIES.

o THE POCKETLESS WOMAN. "No woman should be without a pocket in her petticoat " Let us hasten to cmphajisc tho fact that this is a quotation, lest some responsibility should attach where it would) bo unwelcome. It should be situated just abovo the fiounro, and is said to be "just tho thing" to hold a bank book, keys, an extra handkerchief or two. a pair of gloves, and other small belongings .that are unsafe if caxrkd in the hands. All this sage advice is culled (says the Argonaut) from a Now York authority who fceems ,to admit tliat woman, in the matter of pockets, has been fairly driven into the last ditch. She has adopted expedient after expedient, , and) the unanswerable ban of fashion haa becoi placed upon every one of .them. Now, .to the mero man the absence of a pocket, or many pockets, would seem to be the culmination of human misery. '.The average male suit has twelve pockets, and 'sometimes more, and not one of them can bo spared. Woman, with hor greater needs, is allowed no pocket at all, if we except the pocket in the petticoat, which, is, of course, quite inaccessible except afc moments of inviolable privacy. Tliero was a ,timo when the shirt-waist, front •'could bs used for all sorts of storage purposes," and, if the cargo was judiciously packed the. offect was symmetrical and even ple.tsing. But a partial unloading during, the day's pilgrimago was fatal, and then fashion decreed that the ehirtwaist must be buttoned behind, which provided a delicious task for husbands nnd Brothers, but quite ruined the eliirtfront as a pocket. Its freight would have to be placed aboard early in the morning, and would) then -be out of reach for the rest of the day. Then came th* side bag, which was hung from the belt. It was simply a . dream of convenience for the iair owner as woil as for the pickpocket, but the bag: was found to' have disastrous results upon the dress fabric underneath, and, moreover, fashion forbade it, finding that women -weie actually approaching a. state of comfort, which i 3 the one unpardonable sin in tho fasbiou world. The side bag. was followed by the band ba,g, but that was a failure, as women cannot keep possession of «nytbiii;> that ia uot fastened to tbpm, and so the petticoat pocket is the dernier rcsiorL We do not quito understand the description, given, but it seemo that the pocket mu3t bo secured with elastic band 3 to prevent it from bulging, and it must be closed with a flap- secured with but tons. It's simple enough, no doubt, but Vrhat advantage has it over the stocking, whish has been used with great effectivene«s for tho conveyance of bmall .objects, such as railway tickets -md car fan's? It ia quite possible to extract a nimble coin fiom the stocking with r.o Tnoio embarrassment than from the petticoat pocket with its elastics and buttons. Why, then, make needlrss changes? CO-OPERATIVE HOUSEKEEPING. The idea of co-oporbtive houaskaeping is growing m lavour in England, and I in one town it is about to be triad on a largo scale. The houses sra' to be built round three side.* of a quadrangle, and 1 each family will have its individual liouao, but there will be a common dininir hail, wliich will be ccnnect?d w ith ovtry horse by a corridor, though on tho payment of (in extra sum mpals w ill be served privately in v th» difTpreiit dwellin2s. One groat featurtf of tho plan is ihat the??, will be a special part Bfrb aaklo for the rra.;tishif[ of musical insLi-nnorjis, so that tenant,} will not be tortured ut all I hq.ura and in all p|,i<*Pf! by scales mvi I five-finger exorcises. There will also be a restriction on pels, bub none, it, is good to hear, on children, 'lha wholp scheme eecma to be most successful, and anplica(iona. for a-dminsion h-iv« brcii received from p.-U classes. Tho Bfvessity for such j co-oporative hoMseke^ping is hi ought about chiefly by blip dUlkulties of the servant question, and now that the ,'r.nmigrati&n of domestics to Auctmlia nnd | Now* Zcalanfl hus hojui^, the English I woman will find the problem hardar than ever to solve. But' the <Toarth of help may b a . a blessing, in disp.uißQ to somo families, for thu Gentlewoman tells us many girls rtf modopate menu arc learning to wp r >h ar.il iroa, co that they jiiay sLill be frpsh nnd neat in clersn Mouses without adding to thtir N laundry bill. - TEE VOICE AXI) THE 0011 SET. In ?n article on "How to Train tha Speaking Voice' 1 (Harper's Bazaar), the ] writer clwrlls at somo length on the j question of voice production and tight- j lacing : — "What is th« reason of this hard, harsh, breathy strident Jiole? What ia the troubla? You did nest breathe -before you spoke, 01; a;j you spoke. ' I maun rually breathe And th^t is the iiret point to by attacked. You, must I learn how to breathe. You must £rfc your pump, your diaphragm into working ordei 1 ; you must control it ; you must not f otter it* you must give it a hee chance to do its work. If you are a j man, you have probably been it Isant | fair ia not tying down your pump ; you have nob encased youiself in steel bands, and .drawn them so tight I hat your diaphragm could not expand,- ancl perform it.i olHce. Yes; and ii you aro the athletic girl 'of 10-day, yon havo probably learned th& delight nnd benefit of free muscular action. " But j'ou may still be suffering from tho effoct of your mother's crime in this direction. It mny have sent you into the world with weakened inusclos in control of tha great pumping station upon which must depend the beauty of your 1 voice. "But whatever Iho cause, the wrong must be made right. We must leaui to breathe freely and naturally. (Do not confuse 'naturally', and 'habitually.') To breathe naturally we must do away with all constriction You must choose between tho alleged beauty of a disproportionately small waist, and the cjurm of a' beautiful and alluring voice. Yc-i cannot have both. Then off with tight corsets. I do not &r r y discard the corset, which is for tho majority of women the saving grace of the present fashionin dress. Only pee that your comet brings out what h best in the figureGod gave you, instead of disfiguring it, as undue constriction of any part of your figure will inevitably do In cidentally, by this precaution, save youv voico as well." FLOWKRS IN THE DAY TIME. Of late years the pretty fashions of wearing a cluster of real flowers at tho breast — in the cay time — has' lathpr goue out (writes a- ludy cone^pondunt in London Tribune). Of course, xheie havo always been women who marie it tt habit to wear a "buttonhole."' but us n general tiling flowers were kept for the evening. Xov, , however, ;i great thungt* haa uilien place* ; all the bet.t-dresj.ecl and i/ioit fashionable women wear < a buttonhole, as a iriitter <jf course, and in sonic cases quite- ft lnrge cluster of violets or roses are to bo scon nestling amongst ihe furs or laces. The mixture* of Neapolitan ancl Tsnr violets is one of the fnds of the moment, and all flowers are arranged as carelessly and loosuly as possible ; jxilo pink roses ;uirj Neapolitan violets /aic also in great favour as a, "niiN."