HOME TOPICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14806, 9 October 1911, Page 4

HOME TOPICS.

MODERN CORSETS.

Fashions in corsets move slowly but surely. Such radical changes have taken place of late years that the woman who might hav-3 gone to sleep in 1881 and awakened again in 1911 would hardly recognise her sex. To have a 16in waist nowadays would be to vote oneself hopelessly behind the times. Though the generality of figures are slimmer than they have probably ever been before, even beyond the portal of middle age, and though ono can never deduce from appearance that anyone will be stout as ago advances, waists have probably never been wider. We accentuate this effect, too, rather than otherwise by the style of our frocks, and,, in spite of all, we have considerably gained in grace as a nation. The fact of the matter is that the corsotiere of . to-day is nothing if not scientific. She has studied anatomy as carefully as an art student, and not a few corsetiers of late have found that a course of loctures on the subject is quite interesting enough to the majority of women to attract a considerable audience. Perhaps one of the greatest proofs that we have grown sensible and knowledgeable on this point is tho fact that many doctors, instead of turning their faces a6ido from the wearing of corsets, and condemning it wholesale, actually recommend . their use both for warmth and support in many instances without fear or hesitation. Their greatest ally ,in this respect is, of course, Dame Fashion. To condemn tight lacing from the point of view of fashion even more than hygieno is to guarantee that the very woman who previously ruined her health in this manner in olden days will be the first to condemn it. Very little change has, in fact, taken place of late in corset-making. The corset is still straight, and gives a graceful slimness over the hips and a Grecian bend. The garment is not heavily boned, and descends very low, while the whaleboning in front should be kept sufficiently short. There Is all the difference in the world between the comfort of the corset with short bones in front and those with long, and this point should be carefully decided on at the first trying on, and always when seated.

A FAVOURITE DECORATION. The big Japanese bow at the back of our new frocks is a feature which is rarely absent on the latest summer models. In the case of some of the simple washing frocks it assumes really enormous proportions, making, in fact, the whole of the back of the corsage. It is, however, only to bo recommended on a gown of absolutely modern make, as it calls attention unerringly to the lines of tho frock and 'directs criticism at once in that direction. For a. frock which is being renovated to finish the season a better expedient is the draped sash which ends in straight hanging ends at the back, which are infinitely easier to wear and to manipulate. A curious shade of blue has sprung into immense favour this summer. This is a rather full strong tint, something like a nattier, but with cool, dark tones in it, and which is lovely when worn with a white frock though the contrast is decidedly strong. Such a colour is equally pretty when introduced by _ means of the stockings, coloured hose being absolutely indispensable as an item of attire nowadays. Striped stockings are a great feature of tho present season, and nothing is more charming than the hcee in blue and white stripes, which are worn with white canvas shoes, and allied to the pure white linen one-piece frock which has had such a vogue this year. •

ON ENTERTAINING. Many young hostesses have a most unhappy way of bombarding the newlyarrived- visitor with awkward, questions, such as, "Would yon prefer an egg or a little bit of cold beef, or shall I cook you a chop'" It is really an excellent plan to say nothing at ail to her about food "until the moment she appears at the table, and then to serve tea if she arrives reasonably early, and supper if it is sufficiently late for such a meal. If you have eggs to offer let them be there, on file table, and let the cold beef, if you desire it to be in evidence, show at least on the sideboard. Suppress all mention of things to be cooked. If it should happen that in the middle of this, first meal your guest, after taking leisurely stock of the room, looks right into your face and says, impulsively, " It seems such a rest to be here," then I think she has paid you one of the sweetest compliments that one woman can pay to another. •

Remember always that if. depends very largely upon yourself whether your homo is restless or restful. True charm and ease of manner are merely outside indications of a reposeful mind that is at leisure from itself "—-free to attend to the needs of those around ; and wherever this disentanglement from self-interests is in evidence, there will the atmosphere be restful.

It must, however, be clearly realised that this repose and leisure are never attained by the slipshod housewife, who is supremely content to "take things easily." We all know the uncomfoitable disorder of the tea table that lacks half-a-dozen necessary items, such as a salt cellar, a jam spoon, a butter knife, and a slop basin, and wo may take it as a certainty that the one meal 'is a type of all the" rest of the meals, indeed of all the household arrangements generally. If the hostess is, unhappily, of this too easy-going disposition. then* a whole range of servants from kitchenmaid •to parlourmaid will be of little avail—will tend, rather, to make confusion worse confounded. Domestic management and domestic mismanagement centre almost entirely in the wife, and are very little interfered * with by even the most meddlesome of husbands or servants. • It is a happy sign of the times' that new methods of entertaining are gradually taking hold of middle-class society, and that many of the distressing amusements thrust upon one a dozen or eighteen years ago are now fallen into disuse. It is no longer customary to be asked, "What would you like to do?" neither is one expected to wade through a heterogeneous pile of picture-postcards, albums, and general curios. Even the magnifying double eyeglass arrangements, through which one used to look at vast stacks of views duplicated on cards, have drifted away through the hands of country auctioneers and the promoters of " rummage sales ; and home has become much more homely through their loss. The indoor games most in evidence are those which call for some little skill, ingenuity, and forethought on tho part of the players, and are not now attended by the worrying rattling of dice and the shrill shouts of "snap" that used so frequently to pervade the home circle. The quiet old card games —the classics of domestic pastime—will never go out of fashion. Whist, bezique, and similar amusements remain ever popular and are welcomed by the average guest. * British housewives, however particular they may be in other branches of home cleaning, are wont to neglect a very important point, that of the due airing and proper cleansing of mattresses, ajid, if any remain, feather beds. It seems extraordinary that wp who pride ourselves on being a very cleanly nation, should not have realised that the mattress is a convenient receptacle for much dust, to say nothing of damp from underneath, where the spring mattress is not always a protection ; on the contrary, occasionally a harbour for rust. The same mattress serves perhaps a couple of generations, and never once has this very necessary and hygienic process of .cleaning been bestowed upon it. Even if only for a single day in each summer, it ought to be conveyed into the garden, if such a pleasant appendage belongs to the house, and laid on the grass, or tilted up against chairs in the hot sunshine. This would be something towards the cleansing, but it should not content the conscientious housewife. A word to the wise is, enough, and no doubt some of those who read these lines will take immediate steps of remedying the defect. Where there is no garden the mattress "may be hung out of the window in a sunny room, care being taken to place under it a long: dust sheet to protect it .from the soil of the walls,' v». ;