MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 December 1934, Page 9

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

COLOUR BLENDING.

(By G. Stanley Howard).

When the sun shines is the time when the harmony of colour in room:. , is put to the most severe test. ; This observation ' was made by someone, but it is not always true, nun helps to enhance the beauty of I colour, so if the colours in a room are i carefully thought out ami judiciously arranged the sunlight will help the ,'iTcct by 50 per cent. But if the colours have been arranged by an incompetent hand sunlight will have the opposite effect. It is not at all an easy thing to blend colours which will look attractive in a room into which the sun is not shining, and which will look equally well under the sun’s searching rays. j

The artificial light of evening time has also to be considered. A very liffcrcnt effect may be produced if ?rcat care is not exercised in selecting- the right shades. Certain reds will stand both sun-

light and artificial light. Blues, if of the A.ntwerp variety, will be right ;oth by day and night, but blues with the cobalt strain in them tend to turn grey or black under artificial light. This is especially noticeable in' carpets of thick pile. This colbalt colour looks beautiful by day, but disappointing by night. Browns will, in most cases, show up better in artificial light than in daylight, especially if the material happens to be a damask or a velvet.

The blending of colours which will look equally well in sunlight as on a dull drab day, and the arranging of furniture is a very subtle undertaking. Should the windows be- low and the room itself in a position where sunlight does not often penetrate, then avoid heavy hangings and deep pelmets or valances and arrange the furniture so that heavy pieces are not placed in the vicinity of the window. What light does come in will cast shadows, with the consequence that the room will look gloomy.

Try to arrange the pieces which are light in colour nearest the window, and those of heavier design and tone cn the opposite wall. Should the window not reach the ground, thus allowing space beneath for furniture, do not place a dark oak chest there, or it will never seen properly. It is a mistake * lace such a piece of furniture in the window in any case, for if the -sun shines in the difficulty experienced in seeing' the piece to its best advantage will be equally great. Dull rooms can be greatly enlivened by bright pottery and'pictures. These should be arranged, if possible, on the opposite side to the window, for not only will they be seen to advantage, but the eye will natura’.’y turn away from the dull weather outside and instinctively direct its gaze to the interior of the room.

How often does one hear the remark, “this room is lovely when the sun shines, but gloomy on dull days.” Therefore, sunlight must be replaced with cheerfulness within such as bright coverings, light walls and ceilings, and most important, window -di aperies that do not overhang the windows too much.

SUMMER’S PESTS. If you love and keep animals you need not be ashamed of finding sundry fleas about the house. All animals should be regularly and thoroughly washed with a little disinfectant added to the- water (says an exchange). Fleas may be kept away by smearing the body with oil of pennyroyal and by dusting powdered pyrel.L'.rv.'.n into your bedclothes, stockings, and underclothes. The irritation of a bite can be allayed by an ointment of carbolic, menthol and zinc. A lotion containing half a drachm of powdered borax to four ounces of camphor water will relieve the irritation of a bed-bug bite. Bed-bugs and “ticks,” like fleas, are introduced into the home by animals. Never pull a tick out. Sepsis may be promoted by this procedure. A;ply turpentine or benzine, which is distasteful to the insect. In the case of human beings, it is best to apply sweet oil, which, by the exclusion of air, will cause the creature to release hold. Harvest bugs are a source of trouble at the end of the summer. They are brought into the house inadvertently from stubble fields, fiehlpaths, and dry downs. The insects may be removed by sponging the skin with petrol or benzine or by taking a warm salt bath. itching may be allayed by a weak carbolic or a warm bicarbonate of seda lotion. They can be discouraged by sprinkling flowers of sulphur or powdered napthaline into the shoes or stockings. To keep beetles away, prepare a solution of an ounce of carbolic acid in a pint of water and apply with a small gum brush to the crevices through which they come. Use carbolic soap regularly on shelves and floors. Hot oatmeal is an effective bait. Heat some in the oven until it smells nicely, and place in a special beetle trap. Set it where the beetles haunt. To eradicate cockroaches from the ground floor of a house, the first step is to seal up all cracks in which they love to lurk. Pay special attention to skirting boards, backs of cupboards, pipe entrances and cracks round fireplaces. Use some poison which is harmless to animals, such as a mixture of plaster of Paris, one part, and sugar, two parts, or of powdered borax and pyrethrum, with a little sugar added. Scatter it about the favourite haunts and sweep up the corpses in the morning! An alternative is to use a jam-jar trap with a cardboard lid containing a hole in the middle. Through the hole insert an inverted paper cone with an opening on the tcp. Use beer or a banana as your bait.

NEW STAND-AWAY TILT.

(By Clenience Kerr).

Shcath-like dresses, with flowing i curves at the hem-line, almost de- . maud the new “stand-out” at the top I silhouette so reminiscent of Eliza- ' bethan and later modes in history. I The stiffened shoulder pieces and high Medici collars which are seen on • some of this season’s evening models go back even farther into the ' archives of fashion for their inspiraj tion. ; These dress notions were brought i into pk:y during the fifteenth cen- • tury, when the height of eccentricity j prevailed in mediaeval headgear, the . jewelled horned creations and - be I murlined peaks. At this period, too. J tire A'c-cks worn were all extremely flowing in line, with looped-up over draperjes. It has been left to the modems to introduce the tunic cm oil -sheath lines to well below the knee, with a turned up, stiffened flarc breaking' the sheathed silhouette when it flows into a full reach-thc ground skirt. Tho modern “gorget” effects which are seen cn some of the new evening dresses of to-day may range from a closely packed spray of chiffoi/ or velvet roses tucked into a narrow shelf-like pleat across the front of an evening gown, to a Gladstone collar ■ ■!’ exaggerated proportions, made in ’stiffened silver lame, or perhaps ol sparkling pailettes, which stand out in two wide points on either side of tho chin, above a square-cut decolletage. This glittering way of putting an unusual finish to a frock is indicative of the real gorget, “a piece- of armour for the throat.” ELORAL THROATLETS. . A throatlet of flowers is another way in which this historical fashion is adapted to modern creations. With a Luckless dccolletage having a crisscross arrangement of straps or “braces,” these flower collars are attached to front shoulder straps attached to some of the straight-across corsages, cut away with a deep underarm emve, which is one of the new — if somewhat during—evening corsage lines in vogue this season.

High at the front and low at the buck is the description which can be applied to many of the slender, willowy frocks still in vogue. The stand-out look is seen also in the stiffened half-sleeves looped around the upper arm with a string of camellias or some other exotic flower, a Victorian 1 line that discloses the beauty of shoulders and is kind to the not always so beautiful arm curves above the elbows. The Medici collar is becoming to many women. In its modern version the Medici has a stand-away tilt. This is a useful little accessory for either an evening or afternoon gown, its chosen medium depending on the frock with which it is to be worn. Usually these collars are made in a rich-looking material, brocades, metal gauzes, and waxed tulles. They can be bought in detachable form. In the same way, the stiffened black velvet shoulder pieces sketched, which, are designed to be worn over a close-fitting frock of silver lame, could be adapted to other frocks ot the glittery type with success; and this smart accessory gives just that smart stand-away appearance to the silhouette which is one 'of the fashion themes of the moment.

RENOVATING SUITCASES Suitcases and trunks which have been stored during the winter generally need attention during the holiday season. If the cases .are of leather the labels should first be removed' with hot water. Then the ’ leather should be washed with saddle soap and polished with furniture cream or brown boot polish. Should any straps have come away from tho case those can be fastened by means of special bifurcated rivets pushed through the strap and case. These look like stalwart paper clips and work in the same way, the two legs being separated when the clip is through, the leather, then hammered flat on the inside. If the suitcase is of American cloth, ordinary soap-flakes can bo used instead of saddle soap and vdiite cream for the polish, while morocco leather should be varnished ivith the White of au egg.