WOMEN’S NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 234, 31 August 1935, Page 10

WOMEN’S NOTES.

FASHIONS

(By Miss Mary Tallis.)

Buying Corsets. —The well-dressed woman, when assembling her wardrobe, begins, if she is wise, by choosing a well-fitting corset. She goes to a shop with a good corset department and places herself in the hands of the corsetiere. She should tell her what she can afford to pay, and ask the corsetiere to recommend tilt garment which will best suit her figure and purse. She should be prepared to try them on, for only by doing this can she be certain of a perfect fit. Most stores will send a selection of corsets home, if the customer wishes, but they prefer them to be fitted in the shop under an expert eye; for while this is being done the fitter can show the customer exactly how the corset should be put on, where the suspenders should be fastened, and if these need shortening or lengthening it can be done then and there. It is little things like this which make all the difference to the ultimate fit, comfort and service the corset will give.' For instance, if you put yourself in her hands, the corsetiere will tell you that you should never drag a corset down in front, to get it into position, as is the had habit of so many women. It should bo lifted in front and pulled well down at the back. By doing tins the muscles of the stomach and the chest are lifted upward, as they, should be, instead of dragged down, which gives the figure an ugly, sagging look, and is bad for the health. THE HOME.

Hints for your spring cleaning.— Handbags: Smooth leather handbags can be cleaned with a good boot cream, and the white leather lining can be

brushed with petrol, or non-inflam-mable spirit, and wiped dry with a cloth. A very shabby bag can bo painted with a leather paint. Hide covered suite.- —To remove grease marks from hide-covered chairs, wash them with cool, rather soapy water, then rinse and dry well, and later polish with furniture cream. Mackintoshes.- —To remove mud stains from a. white mackintosh, lay it flat on a table and sponge with cold water and soft or liquid soap. For very obstinate stains, leave the soap lying on them for ten minutes or so before doing the rest of the cleaning. After thorough rinsing, dry out of doors on a coat hanger. Rain spots.—Rain softs on felt hats, velvet and faced cloth costumes can be removed by steaming. Renovating costumes and men’s suits. —Dry and brush out all dust. Next lay the garment on a table and brush the surface lightly, with warm water contaning some liquid ammonia (1 teaspoonful of strong ammonia to 1 pt. water). Cover with muslin wrung out of the same water, and press slowly, lint not heavily, with a warm iron.

Rugs.—Rugs that are dyed with fast colours (which vou can test by rubbing them with a "-et cloth) can be washed. Lay out, i .stone yard if possible, anil briHi - —' cool, soapy water until clean, ihen rinse in the same way. After rinsing, '‘stiffen” by brushing in a solution made by stirring a dessertspoonful of tube gum into a basinful of thick boiling starch.

Shoes.—-Men’s strong brown shoes of stout leather can he scrubl>ed with cool, soapy water containing a little turpentine, and when drv can he polished as usual, when they will look like new. Stained kid shoes are best painted with a 6hoe paint. To remove black marks from the toes of fabric evening shoes, brush with a little petrol, or non-inflammable spirit. Then wipe dry. Shiny garments.—Brush with a stiff brush dipped in a pint of hot water to which a toasj>oonfiil of alum and a tablespoon fill of liquid ammonia have been added. Finish by pressing (not too heavily) over muslin wrung out in (lie same water. Very thick materials that have worn smooth and shiny can he dabbed with coarse sandpaper to raise a new surface.

Upholstered furniture.—A simple drycleaning method is to rub drv bicarbonate of soda into the fabric and brush it out after an hour or two. For more thorough cleaning, heat tho chairs first, then wash and brush the surface with water containing 2 tablespoonsliil of liquid soap. Rinse off all soap and rub hard with plenty of dry cloths. This method is not suitable for delicate materials, like satin and brocade, or for any with too soft a pile. These should be cleaned with petrol. Put tho chair in the yard or garden and after boating out the dust brush with petrol, dealing with a small piece at a time. Next, make a rather liquid paste of sawdust and petrol and brush it on to tho part which has l>een moistened. Rub tire paste on to the material, then brush it out. "White felt hats.—Brush the hat first to remove all dust, then take off the trimming, which can l>e washed separately. Next lav the hat flat and rub into it. as evenly as you can. a paste of white pipeclay. Leave it to get quite dry, and brush off all loose dust with a hard brush. HEALTH.

A sprained ankle. —If you had the luck to be the heroine of a Victorian novelette, and the ill-luck to sprain your ankle in chapter 3, you would regard it as a moral certainty that a perfect gentleman with a waxed moustache would step out of the hush and carry you home. But in 1935 you will probably have to carry him homo. So learn what to do when your escort sprains his ankle. When you get his shoe and sock off, you will find a tender swelling, perhaps the size of an egg, just in front of the outer ankle hone. Put- tho Halls of both your thumbs on this swelling while your fingers clasp the ankle, and with a firm circular motion massage that swelling away. Then take your handkerchief, fold it into a small pad, and hind it in place with his handkerchief, doing a kind of figure eight turn round the ankle and pulling it as tightly as you can. Then, if you cram his shoe over the lot, he’ll be able to limp home. HINTS. Ironing clothes.—When clothes get too dry for ironing and sprinkling does not damp them evenly, wring out a cloth in water, lay it on top

of the ironing sheet and then iron and the dry garment on top. The steam rising from the damp cloth damps the clothes most successfully and they iron out beautifully. , , Use for old sheets.—When sheets begin to wear out you can make them into spare bedspreads in the following way First dye the sheet an attractive colour, such as primrose or peach, then with a patterned cretonne cut out five pretty flower motifs and applique them one in each corner and one iii the centre of the sheet, or, 1 necessary, arrange to cover up any worn patches. GENERAL.

Scarves. —Scarves have a habit of working up at the back of the neck and looking very untidy. To avoid this, slip the scarf through the hangei at the hack of the coat, and in this way it is impossible for the scarf to get out of place.