MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 August 1936, Page 9

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

PERSONALITY SCORES.

THREE AGES OF WOMEN.

The three ages of women —what arc their main characteristics? The team of London mannequins who took part decently in the British Industiies Fair provided an interesting answer to this question. First in the programme, says a London correspondent, is the debutante, with engaging bunch of curls on her forehead, slightly backward walk, and cynical smile. Then comes the young matron. She is more gracious in manner, with softer coiffure, and more picturesque in dress. Lsat of all the older woman, with her triumphant charm of manner. Personality scores over youth. It was the older woman and not the debuntantes who received most of the applause at the rehearsal for these parades. It is claimed that modern woman does not dress according to her age, yet the distinctions, though more subtle than they used to be, are as marked as ever.

The young matron can be “classed” in a minute. For one thing, she avoids the hard styles of the debuntante. She also cultivates her own personality by means of her makeup.

The Botticelli make-up was among the most attractive chosen by the second age of mannequins. The full line of the lips was emphasised and the hair was carried in soft curves away from the forehead after the Old .Master manner.

GIRLS OF ANOTHER AGE.

TIME TO BE HAPPY.

It has become the fashion for the modern young woman to pity the girl of the nineteenth century and to deplore her lack of freedom (states a writer in the “Sydney Morning Herald”). “The poor dear had no vote; she swooned at sight of a mouse; it wasn’t, considered nice for her to go to business; she daren’t wear shorts; her only ambition was to marry; her parties were so formal; she never really lived, the poor darling; her brain didn’t develop, you see.”

The nineteenth-century woman had time to think —and thinking makes us wise. She did not cram her brain to such an extent that she was able to be a business manager, typist, tennis player, dress designer, authority on cosmetics, banjo-mandolinist, swimmer, crooner, and tap-dancer rolled into one. She didn't do smart and showy things, and so the young modern concludes that she had no brains. Yet she was clever enough to know just how to be completely and sincerely happy.

As a matter of fact, her brain was free to assimilate whatever came its way. She had time and the room in her head to appreciate the real things of the world—the loveliness of the sky above her and the earth beneath her. She had time and room in her head for exquisite music. She played on pianos and harps and was in tune with the old masters of music. She had time for glorious needlework and for painting. She had time for dreams —and because her dreams were simple she was able to fulfil them. Thus was she content.

USED HER HEAD WISELY

Since she knew how to achieve contentment she must have used her head wisely. The female brain cannot have altered in a hundred years. The woman of to-day puts the same bruin to a different use. But is it a better use?

The modern girl never thinks what a clever little girl Amelia was because she knew how to get what she wanted. She forgets that Amelia never wanted a vote;, that when she sv. ooned at sight of a mouse she took good care that a pair of strong male arms were willing to receive her; that she didn't wear breeches because she know full well the value of feminine charm; that she didn’t go to business because she preferred the less fatiguing and exacting household chores; that she thoroughly enjoyed her parties because the age of chivalry had not then past; that in confessing her desire for marriage she was no different from the modern girl except that she was franker.

The steadily growing business of the divorce courts does signify that to-day's woman is often not very clever at managing a home and husband. Perhaps that is why she pretends to be indifferent about taking the plunge into matrimony. If she does marry and fails at the job she can always say that she was being so modern and that that, was just another adventure. She is a bit of a coward in this respect —out bravo girl.

LATEST PICTURE HATS.

BRIMS TWO FEET WIDE

Cart-wheel hats are being worn in London, but .Jeffs, the well-known milliner, refuses to make hats more than 25 inches across the brim. though that, brim approximates the figure eight in is sweeping curves. Evon tho very young and beautiful, in Jeff's opinion, are unable to wear with advantage a wider brim. Hats with wjtfc brims have flat (towns, and some designed for the fickle English weather are made of waterproof material. This is as well, because some of the brims are so large that they would require an umbrella of carriage proportions to protect them at all.

Hats designed for younger people have a cluster of field flowers in the front, a garland round the crown, a bandeau of tiny’ blooms - under the brim. Most delightful are the hats whiqh are trimmed with posies of fresh flowers, although these are usually chosen in shades and types which are popular in artificial varieties. The irony of the situation is that tho real can scarcely be distinguished from the artificial, except when the natural ones are wilting.

TINSEL DANCE FROCKS.

WASH-DAY PROBLEM SOLVED.

Dance frocks, which get grubby like everything else, are sometimes a problem on wash-day (states an exchange). They are, for instance, often ornamented with silver or gold tinsel threads. Tinsel threads are not made of gold or silver; they are usually made mainly of a copper alloy. It. is for this reason that, ammonia, should never be brought near tinsel, since it causes rapid tarnishing. A good soap does not harm tinsel, so that dresses containing tinsel threads can be washed in warm, soapy water without any fear of causing tarnish. If, in spite of all precautions, these threads do tarnish, sponge the frock with a solution of one spoonful of potassium acid oxalate dissolved in half a cup of boiling water.

This substance is poisonous, so wash your hands after using it.

TIRED EYES REMEDY

Hot salt-water compresses are an effective remedy’ for tired eyes and help to relax tight, tensed nerves and to stimulate circulation, thus banishing the tired, drawn appearance from the face (states the “Cape Times”). Add one teaspoonful of ordinary’ table salt to half a glass of very warm water, stirring until all the salt is dissolved. A large pad of cotton wool should then be saturated with the salt water. Squeeze out the excess water, lay the compress over the closed eyes, and as soon as it begins to cool replace it with a fresh hot one.

You should carry out this treatment lying down in a darkened room. Repeat the applications ten or fifteen times, and then finish with a cold pack to close the' pores. Now massage a light nourishing cream into the skin round the eyes. Begin at the bridge of the nose and draw the finger tips very gently outwards to the corners of the eyes, massaging both the lids and also below the eyes. Then wipe off the cream with a cotton-wool pad soaked in a good skin tonic, and you will find that your eyes are sparkling with health.

JAPANESE BEAUTIES.

ELABORATE HAIR DRESSING

Cold water is recognised in Japan as the best skin lotion, and only poor girls use hot to wash off the dirt of the street and factory from their fuces. The powder foundation applied after tho wash is a liquid consisting of rice-chaff and unrefined sugar, which keeps the skin soft, and Yet, in addition, the Japanese woman must shave her neck and face at least once a month, eveu when the' lotion is used, for powder does not stick properly upon a skin covered with small hairs.

The Japanese consider short faces and flat short noses ugly, so they skilfully paint the powder over the face, moving the brush from ear to ear instead of from forehead to chin, and pile it high on the bridge of the nose. Both methods are remarkably efficacious. In spito of their golden skin, all Japanese use white powder. The mouth is painted white and only a small spot of rouge is applied to the lower lip, for a tiny mouth is the ambition of every Japanese woman who would be beautiful. The hair is smeared with the oil of camellias to obtain the stiff and shiny appearance so well known in the Japanese. It is very difficult to remove tho oil after some weeks when it has become dry and sticky, and the hairdresser is obliged to rub the hair with wet towels for several hours. Lest they destroy the elaborate work of the hairdresser, Japanese girls place a piece of wood under their necks while they sleep, and so manage to preserve unruffled the beautiful structure.