EXIT "PLAIN JANE"

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 48, 26 February 1927, Page 16

EXIT "PLAIN JANE"

; A TALE OF THE TIMES (By "scy.Z.") There are no "Plain Janes" now. They simply don't exist. In the Victorian era —already a synonym for stuffiness—they must have existed, otherwise how was the expression born? The catchword may even have seen the light of day centuries earlier, but they are quite inapplicable to-day. The most common-place girl can make herself, if not pretty, then odd, unique, striking, even eccentric; but if she has ai. ounce of dash and a penny in her purse she won't remain inconspicuous. A typical example of the new typo sat next to me at lunch to-day. She was tall and angular (naturally), but her well-tailored, slightly flared coat gave her that sporting swing so much admired by many. Her eyes were gojpd, but they would.not have been noticeable had not the brows above been carefully plucked and pencilled. A wellprepared complexion and lips "sticked" into a perfect Cupid's bow finished her face, which was evidently crowned by a modish shingle, and certainly by a fashionable hat. Her square and moonless, nails were elaborately manicured ana I have seen worse table manners iir better homes. No one could say she was plain. No one, in fact, could say she was not distinctive, but with a distinction shared by hundreds of others. Hundreds of others all of the' same order. All shapes and sizes, but all with the same tight-fitting hats;'-all with the same tailored coats ana "nude" legs and "putty" shoes; shingled, manicured, powdered, and #p-sticked-i-Plain Janes?,Eather not! | But if their exteriors are an improve-

ment on the prim, dowdy, shiny-faced Janes of other times, what of their character? Characters? Perhaps the word itself belongs to days gone .byIt isn't awfully fashionable to hav§ a character now, unless it is a notorious one. But a look at the by-gone Janes gave you some, idea of their qualities, .their temper, their likes'and dislikes. That's not true now. A girl may these days bo at heart a sweet— a really sweet—young thing; she may be only a foolish, simpering, cocktail-drinking little idiot, or she may be a good deal worse. "Sou can't tell just by looking, for they're all-tarred with tho same clothes. -. .. ■■-..- . And why shouldn't a plain girl make the most of herself? Why not, indeed. But at the, expense of the better things of life? Ah, therein lies the danger. Plain Jane had individuality, her good name, quietude of mind. The desire for clothes, the J'must be in the fashion" craze, has led many up-to-date girls to debt, to theft, ana further. Better a Plain Jane with the drawbacks thereof, than a Modish Miss and few . virtues thereby. . ' . .