Vanity and Vexation.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 2749, 16 June 1894, Page 4

Vanity and Vexation.

JteP^HXELIS. ', , ' • ■ « An* ye shall' walk in silk attire, . j An' siller hae to spare." If .the first line is to be an accomplished fact, . the second is a .foregone" conclusion. For silk attire, though it is a'very economical investment in the long run, yet a certain amount of capital is required to start with. And the lady who dresses as a lady on £14 a year should carefully treasure any relic of by-gone days. that may come to her in the way of silk, and she is indeed fortunate if her grandmother has left behind her any moire antique, whiob, as I said before, is to be the thing. It can be trimmed in a variety of ways. The most correct addition, however, is ' eqru lace. White moire antique is the 1 trimming par- excellence for evening dresses, and very charming effects can be obtained by using it. Shall we ever, I wonder, reconcile ourselves to small sleeves? Even in the exaggerated style large sleeves are _ almost invariably becoming. Sachd of all kinds are now warn, and, with a pretty straight figure, it is a good plan to fasten it at the side. Another idea for the brightening of a blaok 1 evening dress is to introduce one or more velvet pleates round the bodice and sleeves. If a bright color is chosen (one of course suitable to the complexion, age, etc., of the wearer) the effect is a good one, and the fashion an exceedingly becoming^ one. Cyclamen is the newest colour. Occasionally a horrible suggestion is ma' 3 i.e. that magenta is to be worn. Our v??y teeth are set on edge by the rf *nembrance of this harsh, crude color. It will doubtless appear disguised {under some new fangled name. Velveteen is to be very muoh worn, and is very becoming and serviceable. Unlike most work.day materials, this admits of being worn either for day or evening purposes. An extra body oan be made low, and with short sleeves. Let me suggest that a charming addition for a demi-toiletta. is the Marie Antoinette fichu. Wash leather cloth for a material, and corrleld yellow at harvest-time for a oolor, modern sooiety tells us are two of the greatest novelties.

" Afew years more and corsets will have no place except in a museum, olassed with anoient instruments of torture." If this is to be a faot, we Bhall soon look back with regret to the days when women had figures. Nature in this instance is not adorned the most when unadorned.

There is one bug-bear of civilisation which our great-great-grandmothers did not look upon as a necessary evil. Washing day with them was '.dispensed with. Even with the most costly dresses underlinen was thonght unnecessary; and when the robe de nuit was worn it was generally made of velvet, satin, or silk, all materials which could not be washed. Queen Elizabeth had one made of 14 yards of Mnrry damask. In another account we read' of one of 12 yardß of purple velvet, frizzed with white or russet silk. So you see in 1572 what underlinen was worn was of suoh a kind as rendered washing it an impossibility. The dyer and scourer of those days 'have given place to the washerwoman *of to-day, and yet they speak of the good old days.

A new industry for women is called "Accountant and auditor for large households." Women might find the looking after the business of a few families of large expenditure a lucrative and comparatively easy way of making money.

Walter Besant makes a suggestion ns.to complexions. The remedy perhaps is as bad, as the disease, unless the complexion is* a very bad one. He tells us that "in America complexions are beautified by a strict diet of onions." He goes on to say that " ugliness is often the result of bad health alone. Health is beautiful, and onions are health-giving." Onions have been proved to brighten the complevion, only they are unpleasantly strong as to odour.

A new employment is now open to us. A woman can now be an electrolysist, and armed cap-a-pied with batteries and other electric appliances, instead of such oldfashioned remedies as caustic, depilatories, etc., she can wage war on moles, smallpox soars, superfluous growths of hair, etc., with perfect success. The process is a costly one, and beyond the reach of the poorer of our sisters. Depilation was practised wich more or less success by the anoient Greeks, Bomans, and Egyptians, and in these enlightened ages we ought to have advanced a little in soience. Even wrinkles disappear under the skilful treatment of the electrolypist.

It is now permissable to wear small jewelled combs in the hair, but real flowers are now to be the most fashionable garniture for the hair, but, of course, are worn only with evening dress. Hair now is to be waved instead of frizzed, various tongs and waving irons being sold for the purpose.

Here is a practical suggestion for using an old hat; I mean the genuine hard-hitter. The brim, as it is slightly curved, when covered first with a layer of wadding and then' with a layer of plush forms an' excellent frame either for a picture or a piece of looking glass. When the latter is preferred/the idea can be carried Tout in a still more useful way by securely fastening to it a pair of brass branch candlestioks, which are to be bought very oheaply. It rather adds to the effeot in that case to hang the frame with brass chains, such as are used to fasten back curtains. The crown, covered artistically, makes a good banging flower pot.

In these days of dances and their sappers the following is an economical, bat expensivelbbMng'uisli. Soak over-night a packet 0! gelatine, stew some prunes, remove the . stones, add small slices of candied pee l . When the prunes are quite soft add the gelatine — one packet to lib of fruit; stew for a few minutes; put it into a mould. When cold torn it out ; stick all over the top blanched and out-up almonds. If placed in a deep glass dish, whipped oream may be put round it. The contrast between the blaok jelly and the white almonds and cream is an effeotive one. The same idea may be yarned out with almost any. stewed fruit, or with the American tinned fruits.

A dance given by Miss Snelling ai

Stratford was a great success, the fates, as regards the weather, being fairly propitious, as the weather though cold was dry. There were in all about 20 couples, who thoroughly enjoyed dancing to the very agreeable music provided. Amongst the many very pretty dresses were notioeable those of the following ladies :— Mrs M. Eay wore blaok, brightened by the softening effect of swansdowne ; Miss Martin's dress of cream satin and laoe was very pretty ; Mrs Kapley's pretty cream dress was brightened by touches of scarlet ; Miss Gibson wore a charming pale blue dress; Miss-Valentine's dress of monsseline dcs Indus' was elegant and simple; Mrs Curtis' * drees of blaok velvet and pink had the charm of novelty ; Mrs Curnow's dress of pink s'lk 1 was effectively trimmed with the fashionable shade of green velvet ; Mrs Coutts looked very nice in blaok and pink. Mr White introduced a novelty in the way of a German dance, its greatest charm being the variety of steps etc., introduced. It was apparently a sort of pot-pourri of the every-day danoes. Mrs Liardet played Borne delightful extras, and the dance ended at 1.30 a.m. It was voted a most enjoyable affair.