MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 July 1939, Page 9

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

NAMING FASHION’S COLOURS

QUEEN TAKES A HAND

The Queen’s desire to stimulate intehest, not only, in the textile nidustry but also in all the associated trades,' recently once again took pi ac tical form, when, for the first time, Her Majesty approved am two special colours Lor the Liitish Colour Council. The Queen gave them the appropriate names of gl blue and ‘‘Mayflower lilac, so that they might become asso ' :l^ et f l .. 1 ,7. lf Their Majesties’ state visit to Canada and the United States. Regina, besides bieng the Latin woid for queen, is also the name of an important town in Canada on the loute of Their Majesties’ tour. This approximates to a saxe blue. Mayflower has historical significance in the tact that it closely links the United States ot America with Britain, being the name of the ship which carried the lilgum Fathers to America. The colour so named is very near to amethyst. The council has also issued Legion Red to commemorate the visit of M. Lebrun to England. This glowing red has been dyed to the Ribbon of the French Legion d’Honneur, and the colour has been authenticated by the French authorities.

I “I had to pay cash before they’d give me the hotel room said my baggage was too emotional.” , “It was what?” (> “Emotional see? Easily moved. VSF-WlßP’fl.W**. • s: ’ Vr

ROOM OF HER OWN.

PROUD DAY FOR LITTLE GIRL

It is a proud day for a little girl when she is given a bedroom to herself, and the wise mother will see tha. the room is decorated as prettily as funds will permit. We realise nowadays the value of first impressions, and the principles of neatness and daintiness that are started in an attractively furnished room will count a lot when the child grows up. Don’t be afraid that things are going to cost a great deal. Wonders can be done with shabby bits of furniture, all brought into line with paint in some gay colour. Curtains and coverlet can even be made from unbleached calico at sixpence three farthings the yard, decorated with simple coloured applique flowers. Here is a bedspread that has turned the cheap little wooden camp bedstead it covers into a “fairy princess’ couch.” The spread is made from six yards of unbleached calico. If you want to copy it, cut the material in halves so that you nave two three-yard lengths, and then cut one length in half lengthways. Join one of the smallei- pieces to each side of the central strip, bind the edges with jade green wool tape, and stitch strips of' similar tape down the joins. Finally, stitch two more strips of braid across the spread at right angles, arranging them to come just above the foot of the bed, just below the head.

The central panel of the coverlet is decorated with a garland 1 of bright felt flowers, and jade green leaves, and more flowers are sprinkled here and there. To work the decoration, prepare a cardboard pattern of one flower, cut it out, and use it as a pattern for cutting out the felt. Pencil round a big platter laid on the material to get the outline of the garland, paste the flowers on this, and sew them down with tiny stitches in matching cottons. Finish the centres with yellow French knots and embroider little green wool stem stitch stalks and tendrils between flowers and leaves. You can, if you like, arrange the flowers in a big posy, instead of a garland. Similar decorations on the curtains complete an exceptionally pretty and inexpensive scheme. PIRATE BEACHWEAR. Quite a sensation was caused at the opening of the Paris season by the first showing to London, European and American fashion experts and buyers of brilliantly designed wool swim suits, shorts, beach trousers, and sun suits with a dashing “buccaneer” theme, designed by Jacques Heim. Hand-knitted wool, wool jersey, fine wool flannel,, tweed, wool voile, am? serge were among the light, practical materials used; tvro of the printed fabrics were specially designed by Heim. The Paris showing was followed by a display in London, where the presentation was as equally enthusiasticaly received. Each of the 17 models is given a buccaneer name, such as Treasure Island, Yo Ho, Long John Silver, High Wind, and so on, and the “Daily Mirror,” over a front page photograph of the show, placed the caption “The Pirates have captured the beaches” —in the future sense, of course, for beach days were still many weeks away.

POPULARITY OF PLATINUM.

METAL ONCE JETTISONED.

Even a suitor’s heart of gold does' not carry much weight unless his declaration of undying affection is accompanied by a platinum engagement ring; and most of the brides' who promise to love and obey for ever will, with very few, exceptions, be bound bj r a band of the world’s smoothest, most enduring, and precious' metal —appropriately symbolic qualities, states the “Sydney Morning Herald.” Popularity of platinum has increased greatly over the past few years, and, according to leading jewellers, the demand for a shining yellow ring “like tho one worn by mother” is negligible. Only a few, like Hon. Mrs. Pat Ilore-Ruthven, choose gold 1 “for sentiment’s sake.” So far as the jeweller is concerned, however, platinum possesses many valuable qualities. Chief of these is its strength—less than tissue paper thickness being sufficient setting for precious stones. Those wondrous necklaces' and pendants, for example, in which a spider-web of unobtrusive metal holds in place constellations of diamonds, making their fire blaze and! flash with increased brilliance, would be merely a craftsman's 1 dream Without a platinum base of reality. The woman! who goes to dinners, balls, and other social functions, her fingers sparkling with diamonds, her breast bright with rubies and sapphires, and her throat encircled with pearls, realises perhaps the big part platinum plays in her adornment. But it is unlikely she knows the many humbler but more essential services performed for her by the most precious of all metals.

Telephone, radio, electric iron, hairwaving apparatus, vacuum cleaner, and even light itself, depend on the presence of small quantities l of platinum in certain parts of the equipment. It is fitting that a precious’ metal which plays such ani important part in romance should, itself, have a romantic history. That story, however, commences in comparatively recent times. Neither the enlightened ancients nor the alchemists of the dark ages 1 knew about platinum, and Europe had to wait for the first definite news of it until 1748, when Don Antonio de Ulloa, a Spanish naval officer, published an account of his travels' through South America in 1735 with a French astronomical mission.

It had', however, been discovered earlier by Spanish goßFseekers in the country, but they were impressed only by its great weight, and covered it with a thin layer of gold and sold' it as the then more precious metal. To prevent .such fraud it was' decreed' that all platinum should be thrown into the sea. Then, in 1788, the Spanish Government went into the counterfeiting business on its own account, paying 8/- a pound for platinum to mix with gold. Russian huntsmen, however, had been using platinum to make bullets and in, 1819 huge deposits were found in the Mai Mountains. Before the war, 90 per cent of the ivorld’s supply came from this quarter. Russia actually had! a platinum coinage from 1828 to 1845, when it was discontinued owing to fluctuation of price and' difficulties of manufacture. Canada, Russia, Colombia, and South Africa now furnish the bulk of platinum supplies, with a very small quantity from Australia. Fifield, near Parkes, New South Wales, produced, to the end of 1935, 20,0930 z, valued at £127,627, but its present output is 1 only about 50oz a year. x From 8/6 an ounce in 1569, the price of platinum rose steadily to 857in 1908, and to £2O in 1914, as compared with £4/5/- for gold. During the war it reached £4O, owing to the supply from the Urals being closed and to the large quantity used in the' manufacture of munitions. This led to the discovery of substitutes for scientific and commercial purposes, and since 1927 the value of platinum has slumped until it is now worth only a few shillings more than gold.

MEN AND MAKE-UP.

KING SOLOMON SETS A FASHION. It is rather curious to reflect in the light of a modern man’s objection to lipstick and stained fingernails- that the wisest of ancient men—Solomon — admired make-up, states a Sydney writer. The Shulamite’s lips were “like a thread of scarlet”; her temples were stained pink to resemble “a piece of pomegranate”; and she used “camphire” to stain her nails, palms, and the soles of her feet. Still more curious is it to realise that the trade in cosmetics, which has meant so much- to so- many treasuries, was started by a woman who not only dressed in male attire, but actually wore an artificial beard and was known as “His Majesty Herself.” No other woman can compare for vigorous manly-mindedness with Hatasu, who was the original free-trader. In the fifteenth century 8.C., she constructed and sent out from Thebes to Southern Arabia (Punt) the first real merchant fleet known to man. The expedition went primarily in search of resins and incense for the Egyptian priests, who used them in the making of mummies, for it must be remembered that cosmetics and perfumes Were originally used to preserve and”adorn the dead —not the living.

In the development of this trade, men have played as important a part as 'women. Perhaps more so. The history of cosmetics is indeed strewn with the names of some of the most famous men of all time. Alexander the Great was a notorious addict to perfumes and; cosmetics. He was so proud of his skin that he instituted man’s daily shave! Make-up profited by the interest Caesar took in it. The most immacu-lately-groomed of all Romans, Caesar took as much care of his “soft white skin” as Alexander had taken of his. He never forgot cosmetics 1 even in the thick of conquests. He brought back with him from Gaul the first good recipe for soap known to the West. A great trade in Gallic soaps followed, and soon cosmetics were coming into Rome both from the West and! the East. By Pliny’s time Rome paid out yearly 100,000,000 sesterces—about £1,000,000 of our money—for foreign cosmetics alone, while enormous 1 quantities wiere made at home. Constantine the Great was also an addict to cosmetics. He even stained his cheeks with vprmillion. The trade in cosmetics went; on, and found another champion in Napoleon Bonaparte, whose good taste in perfumes set the high standard for which France is still renowned. In Napoleon’s time the chemist first turned his attention to the making of cosmetics, and this period marks the beginning of modern cosmetics. A good rouge was invented as well as' fine face powders non-injurious to. the skin.

From then on cosmetics improved more and more.

Among many perfumes invented by men, two may be mentioned particularly—frangipani and can de Cologne. Tho former is attributed to a noble Roman of the seventh century whose descendant, the Marquise Frangipane. gave away the family secret to Louis XIV. Eau do Cologne was' known in the Farina family long before it was put on the market. It, will readily bo seen that men have not only encouraged but instructed women in tho art. of make-up all down the ages. And don’t they still in our streamlined era of millionaire cosmetic-makers? Well might Hatasu, who started it all, smile into her manly beard! TO CLEAN SMALL RUGS Small rugs of silK and of fur make a comparatively expensive item to have dry-cleaned, but they can be successfully washed at home, states an overseas writer. Use warm water, adding two tablespoonfuls of ammonia to the gallon, and a good lather of soap flakes. After the rugs have been well freed from dust by shaking or vacuum-cleaning plunge them into the water and brush and press gently while in the water with a rubber brush. The rugs should not be allowed to soak. Rinse in clear water and hang to dry in a strong wind out of the sun. This treatment raises flattened pile as well as removing stickiness. Hand-made wool rugs should not be treated in this way, as the colours are apt to run.