MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 April 1933, Page 7

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF MEREST

ANNETTE KELLERMAN. BACK IN AUSTRALIA. Miss Annette Kellerman (Mrs J. K. Sullivan), the former Australian swimmim; champion, who is now a film actress, reached Sydney on. March 16, by the’ Orient iliuer Orsova on her first visit for 10 years. With her husband, she proposes to spend a month on a camping holiday on the New South Wales coast before proceeding to Java and the South Sea Islands to produce a number of travelogue films. During the last three years Miss Kellerman has been touring the Continent, appearing on the stage, lecturing demonstrating, and appearing in educational films devoted to physical culture. Her travels took her to Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, France, and Italy, and her films were produced, in six languages, namely, English, German, French, Danish, Dutch, and Norwegian. Miss Kellerman was able to speak German and French, but was forced to learn her lines in a very short time in the other three languages. She had never known a nation so interested in physical culture and yet so ignorant of dietetics as the Germans said Miss Kellerman. They ate too much food, their food was badly cooked and they used too much vinegar. The youth of the country, however, was doing its best to get out of these bad habits and was certainly laying the foundations of health with its keen interest in physical culture. She had spent 10 months on a physical culture lecture tour, Which had been followed with great enthusiasm. On the subject of diet, Miss Kellerman said that she had been a vegetarian for 20 years, but had recently been ordered by her doctor to take meat and coffee, which she had always avoided. She had never tasted a cocktail and never smoked a cigarette. She believed in plenty of hot water, and usually managed to consume eight glasses each day. Danish girls, Miss Kellerman continued, were the prettiest in the world,’but there was nothing to compare with the figure of the Australian surf girl. Moreover, she had never seen anything finer than the parades of life-savers on Sydney beaches. She was looking forward eagerly to getting into a bathing suit and remaining in it. Australians who had never travelled could not realise how homesick an Australian could become abroad. She had been thrilled by the sight of Sydney harbour. Miss Kellerman specialises in under-water work for the films. She stated that she had proved her ability to remain under water without illeffects foi’ three minutes 14 seconds, and that she regularly remained submerged for two minutes. On her present tour she would seek fantastic and “fairy-tale” effects for travelogues, which would be produced in English, French, and German. Miss Kellerman is still the head of a physical culture correspondence school which she founded years ago in the United States. She said yesterday morning that the effects of the depression on the school was shown by the fact that whereas she had formerly employed 21 stenographers, she now employed only four. PETTICOATS OR PRISON.

Petticoats or prison is the choice before girls in Minneapolis who ca.uscd a stir in the city recently by wearing trousers in public. The mannish modes do not appeal to grandpa,, who has brought the law to bear. It seems a law passed' 56 years ago is still in effect. On May 7, 1877, grandpa, then a young man, but not in his ideas of what was what in garb, adopted a measure intended to decide for all time who should be entitled to wear the trousers in the family. “No person,” declared the ordinance, “shall appear on any street, or in any public or exposed place in the city in a state of nudity, or in any dress not belonging to his or her sex.” The measure defined any violation as disorderly conduct, and set the maximum penalty of IUO dollars line or 90 days in gaol. Now the bright young things of Minneapolis. as well as those of maturer years, who fail to see why man should have all the sartorial freedom, have to decide just, how important trousers are to them.

“RULES FOR YOUNG MAIDENS." In a volume dated 1824 I found some amusing' rules and advice fur young English maidens between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four (writes “C.R.J.” in an exchange). “At fifteen,” said the sage, “affect vivacity, and line your bonnet with pink! If in company with a likely husband, hold your breath long enough to blush when he speaks to you, and cast your eye to the ground when answering. Be sure to wear your frocks high in the neck that your charms be thought to be greater than they really are. “At sixteen, high spirits, with the most unbounded submission to the opinions of the favoured-one. will serve you best. At this age you may look the gentleman in the face, but be sure your eyebrows are' kept well arched. Affect to be fond of children and, get the credit of being a good nurse! “At seventeen, you should read the news of literature and fashion and form your opinion of the follies of the day upon its model. Condemn ‘playgoing’ women, and talk of ‘retirement and domestic life.’ Wear low frocks, but not too low! “At eighteen, look, out for a husband for yourself and make baby garments for your married friends. “At nineteen go to routs and parties, but avoid general flirting. Dress fashionably, but. with the greatest decency. Wear no flowers in the hair, hut. let your curls lie displayed wildly. “At twenty, yon may consider yourself in some danger of not getting a husband, and therefore suit your conduct to your circumstances. "Al twenty-two. fry the watering places. “At twenty-three go to Cheltenham, or Bath, and look out for old AngloIndia ns. “At twenty-four, you cease to be a young maid. We have done with you.”

BEES-BODY STRIPES. LONDON FUR-CRAFT. Becs-body stripes are spreading with amazing rapidity in London furcraft, so much so that furriers are vying with each other to make the stripes of their' summer scarves and muffs most effective in colouring (states the. “Daily Telegraph”). Among new things shown by a leading fur-craftsman was a scarf striped diagonally in putty and nigger ermine, with a. muff to match in spiral effect. A similar set in real broadtail was dyed in the same tones, and an effective, ensemble was made up of a little cape, muff, and fur-gauntlet chamois gloves in rose du Barry and black ermine. To-day’s most successful method of working moleskin is the insertion of narrow bands of black sealskin. The idea was first originated more than ten years ago’ in London, and now appears as the latest novelty. Mole and sealskin when worked in this stranded effect give a long, graceful silhouette. The bluish-grey tint of the mole, accentuated by the alternate strands of glossy jet black, is particularly becoming to the brunette. Moleskin alone has suffered unpopularity owing to its poor wearing qualities. The addition of the sealskin rectifies this drawback, and, being a little longer in hair than the mole and worked in the opposite sense of the fur, it forms an effective guard against wear and tear. The “Poche” sleeve, a novelty of the season, which is such a success in the new collection, appears on one mole and seal model shown in London. A long diagonal cut in the fur, fashioned from the bend of the arm in front to the elbow line, forms a pocket in the top sleeve 1 , while the under part remains quite plain, the cuff being narrow at the wrist. The body part of this model is worked plain in the long, narrow strands, while the high roll collar is cut on one-sided lines, with the left back overlapping the right side.

The recent action for a divorce in Franco wherein a wife gave as a reason, her husband’s habit of snoring and his refusal either to have the cause of the snoring removed or to allow her to occupy a separate room is in curious contrast with the hardships endured by wives seeking divorce on more strenuous grounds. While snoring on the grand scale may easily drive one mad. there is in it no suggestion of a rival, no question of malice aforethought. It is even probable that the snorer does not really believe the accusations of being a public nuisance brought against him by his wife. Continual ill-treatment in the home, however, of which a defendant may be entirely conscious is a much more difficult accusation to bring with any chance of success, as is also the riotous spending of money, am; in particular of money brought or earned by the wife. A Frenchman may easily take possession of his wile’s money and so make it almost impossible for her to bling any action against him. Not long ago an English firm who paid a Frenchwoman in Paris for her services to them were much surprised to receive a letter fiom the husband summoning them to make ever the wife’s money direct to himNeedless to say. they did not comply with his request; but in France he would have been within his rights. Should he choose to live with a woman not his wife, lie may, in default of a special agreement, use his wife's earnings with which to support her rival with perfect impunity. It is true that she may divorce him in theory, but without, money the ostensibly easy divorce in France is by no means all that it. seems. Equally trivial causes can be brought forward with every prospect of success. GOJuF SEWING PARTIES The giving up of one round of golf per week and occupying the time — two hours —in sewing and <he making of garments for the distressed unemployed. is an act of peisonal seivice of the women members of the North Middlesex Golf .Club. All the work is performed in the club lounge, and Mrs de Bock Porter, the women’s secretary, says that some of the best workers are the best golfers. Of the 250 women members a good proportion have sacrificed their Monday afternoon round in order to help the scheme. Over 400 articles ol clothing have been completed since the project was launched a few weeks ago. and another 100 arc ready to be dispatched to the Personal Service League- for distribution .among needy families.

BAR FOR COSMETICS The new “cosmetics bar" in Prague is achieving wide popularity, especially since one- may sample the variom new preparations at the bar. Prague mon rather hope that those centres for bottled beauty will in time elinun;ile some of the “running repairs t.hai their holies have become, more mid more addicted to in making reslauran's and even in public vehicles, writes our London correspondent. Can it be- that the time is near when women will leave their escorts to go int<> the bar for a “retTosliei ” instead of versa?