MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 March 1937, Page 9

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

PLAIN WOMEN

PLAIN WORDS TO THEM

For a plain woman to abandon all claims to loveliness and to resign herself to a life sentence of Martha-dom I always seems to me to be a defeatist policy (says a beauty specialist). In ! her heart of hearts every woman ' knows that, were she born again and 1 could ask one gift of a fairy god- ! mother, she would ask for beauty; but, sooner than face the fact that other people are luckier, many women persuade themselves into really believing that beauty is a fatal gift, 01 skin-deep, or doomed to fade.. Let us be honest and admit that, if beauty is fatal we would sooner be fated than ignored; that, if beauty is ephemeia , SO are the songs of nightingales; that, if beauty is but skin-deep, so is all earth’s blossoming, and it were equally reasonable to decry the floweis. ‘ It is hard for a plain woman with a sense of justice to confess, even to herself, that, through no fault ol her own, but by the mystery of chance or the muddle of heredity, a wholly desirable gift has been withheld from her; yet, the instant she has done so she is no longer a hopeless case. To realise your shortcomings is to discover what handicap has been allotted to you in the race of life, so, it yours is a heavy one, don t stand , at the starting post declaring that it s no use trying or that everything s unfair, but spring for all you’re worth, and it’s even chances that you 11 romp home in the end. First, get your brain working, it you have ever heard a group of people discussing the looks of a certain woman, you must have realised how tastes differ. One man’s meat is another man’s poison, and, while the young and unsophisticated admire the slickness of a fashion-plate, an artist will find true beauty in a Provencal peasant woman with her head tied up in a handkerchief. - Before you have your eyebrows plucked and your hair waved, try to make up your mind what type you are. If your features are heavy and boyish, if you have outdoor tastes and a sturdy body, don’t try to be an Evelyn Laye and make a mess of it; a straight haircut and a plain blue frock will turn you into a Joan of Arc whom many will admire. If you are the possessor of a snub nose, sandy hair, freckles, and a let-ter-box mouth, provided that you have straight legs and a cheerful grin, a tailored shirt and well-cut riding breeches —or a tweed skirt if riding’s not your pastime —will transform you into an admirable Diana. The woman of small means may argue that her choice is limited to cheap clothes turned out by mass production, and that it is only the well-to-do who can afford to cultivate an original style. It is true that manufacturers favour mud-colour and dote on meaningless designs, but my answer is: Have energy. If you can’t find what you want in the shops, make it yourself. Choose a pattern that suits your style; don’t pay too much attention to the fussy little alterations that fashion makes witli an eye on fools; "and you will be independent. You can run up every dress you need in the vivid, subdued or pastel colours that best express your personality. Then, though your features may be irregular, you will be as pretty as a picture, for you won’t suggest a plain woman, but an outdoor woman, or a motherly woman, or “a rogue in porcelain,” or the dark lady of the sonnets —whatever you decide.

You'see my point? Beauty does not depend on the face alone, so don’t for heaven’s sake, sum yourself up in a hand mirror. Really and truly, you don’t end at your neck, so beg, borrow or steal a full-length mirror and consider yourself as a whole. Though your face is plain, you have, perhaps, good shoulders? Then concentrate on them. Don’t muffle them in scarves or fur ties, but reserve fullness and draperies for leg-of-mutton arms or a bulging waistline. . Then why do so many women give in to bulges? To corset a difficult figure is to cosset it, to defeat with busks and whalebones the free movement in which your last hope lies. Stoutness is apt to follow in the wake of prosperity, so, if you have no troubles of your own to hurry and worry over, concern yourself with someone else’s; try the experiment of giving yourself too much to do. Civilisation has its drawbacks. By making everything easy, Man has forced his body to grow lazy, so, if you would keep fit, run sometimes as if your dinner depended on it; hare upstairs as.though hostile tribesmen were after you; don’t eat a mouthful more than satisfies your hunger, and, whenever possible, indoors, or out, go barefoot. If there were no shoes to be bought, chiropodists and manufacturers of corn-cures would go out o* business, and to step on a bramble is less painful than the aching corns which beset you after a day’s shopping, or what should have been a pleasant evening’s dancing. Cosmetics, high heels and tight lacing were used in Egypt, but fresh air, exercise, water and individuality were beauty aids in Eden.

“HEN-PECKED” Il USBANDS

NEW YORK, February I I

Men who style themselves “henpecked,” and who have enrolled under the name of the Royal Order of the Doghouse, are holding a conventional Oshkosh, Wisconsin. A prize is to be awarded lor the most ingenious method of escaping from a “tight spot.” Suggestions advanced include soft speech, digression, finesse, and gifts of fiowers and candy. Some of the delegates are accompanied by their wives.

JAPANESE THRIFT

RECONDITIONING KIMONOS

Nyubai, or rainy season, in Japan, which continues from around June 11 till July 10 or 12, is usually considered the best time for housewives to bej gin ripping and washing their Winter I kimohos, bed quilts, cushion covers, etc., which have been used during Winter and Spring. Those are, mostly hand-made, therefore the stitches are undone very easily. When kimonos become soiled or worn out, they are ripped, washed, stretched and macle over again. A i worn-out edge of a bottom hem is cut I off, the right and left sleeves exI change positions, and various other ingenious methods are employed in making over the worn garment. Some silk ones are sent to the dyers and re-dyed in a new pattern. Each kimono when taken apart is carefully tied up in one bundle, the/ little pieces and all. Sometimes they are sent to the cleaners and dyers, called “Arai Hariya,” professionals who wash, clean, dye and stretch any kind of kimono cloth or drapery. When the work is clone at home, they are first washed in lukewarm water with soap or some soda, to take the grease off the cloth. After the washing is clone they are hung up to dry, either in the shade or out in the sun, according to the material and colours. When dried they are again sorted and tied into bundles and put away until the Nyubai season is over. One often wonders why this washing is clone during the rainy season and not after, when the sky is cleared. It is a general belief that during Nyubai dirt comes off more easily than at other times! STARCH FROM THE SEA When the hot weather sets in, the housewife begins her job of “Harimono,” or stretching the washed materials, which look very dilapidated with very many creases. In a bucket of hot water a sheet of funori is dissolved until it is the right consistency to starch about four kimonos. This funori is a sea product and of a gelatinous character, and has a yellow tint. It contains a very efficient cleaning property and starch as well. Women often use it for shampooing by preparing it in the same way as for cleaning and stretching materials. For shampooing, a \ sheet of funori is dissolved in boiling water or may be boiled for a few minutes, then strained in cheesecloth, after which the fine gluey substance is put in a basin, and when a little cooled a tablespoon of flour may be added, although this is sometimes omitted. After rinsing three or four times in clear warm water the hair is ready for drying. This simple way of shampooing has been practised since antiquity and is a native method. It leaves the hair glossy and does not give any dry effect.

hi the case of “Arai Hariya” the funori is prepared in the same way, only the flour im omitted and the material is steeped and crumpled in the hands (not rubbed). Then the pieces of material are stretched on a long piece of board about 15 inches wide and two yards long. Another way of stretching the material is called “Shinsi.” Rib-like, fine, pliable bamboo sticks are laid across the material from one side to the other and secured to the selvedges. Both ends are fastened to a pole, so that when the ribs are attached and stretched the effect is that of a hammock. The funori is simply brushed over the cloth in this case.. The materials stretched either by “Hari Ita” (board) or “Shinsi” (bamboo ribs' are dried in the sun or in the shade, according to the material. When dry they are stripped off the board, carefully folded and put into a paper carton and tied. They are then ready for seeing during the Summer vacation. The housewife does the necessary planning in the remaking of them. Shibori can be practised in any house and may be very useful to anyone who would like to try it. After the dark colour is removed by boiling with chemicals, the material is dried, a large pattern is traced with a colouring called Aabana. This bluish colouring for tracing patterns conies on a piece of thick absorbent paper, rather moist. A piece from this is cut off, just what is required, and then put in a dish with a little water. With a brush the pattern is worked. The tracing paper is laid under the material but when the material is too thick, and therefore unsuitable for tracing, wooden rings and boards and such implements are used.

SIMPLE AND LARGE PATTERNS

For tying, old faded quilt materials in simple large patterns are always preferable, and easily managed. Plain running stitches worked in zig-zag stripes three and four inches wide across the width of the material or simply crossways are quite effective. The thread tor stitching must be strong and left long at the ends. When this is done the ends are pulled and lied. The stripes must not be confused while drawing the ends. The. stripes arc then Lied and the ends of thread securely fastened. 'This tying must be carefully done as it is the main point in this art. Next, (lie dye is prepared by first dissolving some in cold water gradually made tepid over the lire and finally boiling it with enough water to dye one. quilt. /When boiled sufficiently, it is well to strain the mixture. Just before putting in the material, a half cupful of acetic acid or vinegar may be added to the boiling dye. The tied material is then put into this and boiled for some minutes, about live to ten minutes will do wen. Woollen fabrics require more time than silks. Care must be taken not to boil the goods 100 long as the dye is apt to rrn into the tied parts.

When sufficiently boiled, take the material off the fire and rinse it in clear, cold water several times, and lastly with a half cupful of acetic acid stirred into the water. Then hang it up to dry in a shady place with plenty of breeze, if possible. In selecting a suitable receptacle in which to dye the material, a very simple and inexpensive way is to get a few petroleum cans and open them at the top. The edges must be smoothed down and the grease washed off. Such a receptacle is quite workable even for dyeing one woollen bed quilt. Sometimes tin buckets are used, but petroleum cans have proved quite suitable. During the hot summer months the housewife finds many ways to alter her wardrobe. Sometimes silk, cot-

ton or woollen obis (girdles) are dyed or made into something else. Worn and faded underwear is dyed and transformed. Old kimonos are made into attractive bed quilts. Underwear sleeves as well us narrow girdles are often dyed in very fascinating patterns and attractive colours. BUSINESS GIRL. QUESTION OE KEEPING FIT. ‘■lt is ridiculous to expect a girl who comes home' tired after a long day at the. oilice to start fancy physical jerks,” said Miss Dorothy Round, the tennis star, who has been appointed to the Government Advisory Council on Physical Fitness, to a representative of the News-Chronicle.

"My advice to the business girl,” she said, “is: Widen jour interests, get out for walks in the fresh air as often as possible. Above all. see that you gel proper food. Apart from tbo four months in the year when I am training, I never do anything to keep fit. 1 try to get a game of golf or tennis twice a week. I get out in the fresh air, but that is all. There is no getting up at six o’clock in the morning and doing an .hour’s skipping for mo. Strenuous exercise can do more harm than good if the body has not had nutrition. “That will be one of our troubles when the question of physical exercises in schools is tackled. Many children in our schools, possibly the majority, do not have enough proper

food to stand up to- a strenuous 10 minutes in the gymnasium. “I. often feel that the greatest contribution that could be made to the physical fitness of the nation would be to give every one half a day from work in the middle of the week.”