MEN'S BEST FEATURES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21117, 26 February 1932, Page 3

MEN'S BEST FEATURES.

WOMEN ARTISTS' VIEWS. THE WELL-SHAPED HEAD. Fortunately, most men do not have to —or pretend not to—spend much time in wondering which is their most attractive features and how it can he enhanced. With a sublime self-confidence which pearly every woman secretly envies, the average man assumes that he will "pass muster" as ho is, states a writer in a Loudon paper. But women have strong views about the type of men they like, and what feature they most admire, even if they cannot, always put into words why they have such preferences.

'l'o tho description of what some men artists recently declared to be women's loveliest features, several women artists have retaliated with their ideas of masculine good looks. Mrs. Blakeney Ward, president of the Society of Women Artists, is emphatic that a strong mouth—and that implies a strong chin—is the most attractive and at the same time the most characteristic feature of a man's face. As one of the finest examples of this point she describes Robinson Jeffers, the American poet, one of her sitters, who, in her own words, "has a face like granite; strong, vital and rocky." Men, more than women, in her opinion, develop their mouths and chins as 'their character forms, frankly revealing weakness or strength. "For this reason I wish that Mr. Bernard Shaw, whose portrait I recently finished, showed more of his chin and mouth —one would know more what one were doing with him if he did!" she added. Beards, in her opinion, should be abolished !

It is the well-shaped head, according to Mrs. Flora Lion, which is the most attractive masculine feature. Next to this she places a face that expresses character —even if, strictly speaking, it is rather rugged and irregular. Mr. John Drinkwater and Mr. Cedric Hardwicke are two examples she cites of men with beautifully shaped heads and faces which show considerable strength of character. But men's clothes! Mrs. Lion thinks that aesthetically there is nothing uglier, nor more derogatory to men's chance of achieving good looks than a ]ounge suit. Tennis clothes, she declares, give the artist some scope; velvet jackets, dinner jackets, and a stock—all these are artistically helpful, but she views with strong dislike the other conventional habiliments of the modern man.

Another woman artist who thinks that a well-shaped head is tho most appealing masculine attribute is Miss Anna Zinkeisen. She describes the line from the brow, over the forehead, and back of the head to the nape of the neck, terminating in (ho chin, as "most important." Perfectly proportioned features are completely negligible, in her opinion, if the head and jaw-line, and particularly the brow, are not good. On the other hand, a man with plain features and a good head will develop a certain attraction for most women. She thinks small mouths are ugly, and large ones often handsome. As the wife of an artist and a keen critic of masculine models, Mrs. David Jagger is emphatic that a man's eyes are his most important feature. They should, she says, be keen, dark, and deep-set. "With eves like this most men will bo found likeable in the opinion of women," she adds. "And with them go usually—so as to make the perfect type, a strong, well-cut jaw-line and a thin nose."

Another woman artist thinks that small well-shaped ears are most important. "Men have no gracefully waved coiffure to help them to overcome the defect of ugly ears, which is sufficient, in my opinion, (o spoil the otherwise most handsome head and face," is her verdict.