INCONGRUITIES

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11737, 26 January 1924, Page 9

INCONGRUITIES

A SKETCH (For “New Zealand Times.”) The dust was blinding,, the wind at the extreme of boisteronsness, but up and down in their hundreds, girls and women paraded, their outward appearance giving the idea of the last word in silliness, self-consciousness, and incipient hysteria. If they had searched the world for unsuitable garments wherewith to battle with the elements so frequently found in “windy Wellington” they had succeeded admirably. So sky blue silk, pink silk, mustard silk, yellow peril silk—the kind that goes out yellow and comes home white —rubbed shoulders with each other, and all the wearers seemed very bad with “danglue fever.” Dangling panels on the sides of skirts, dangling fringe on shoes and gloves, danglers from their hat-s, dangling veils, dangling ohain© of cheap beads hanging down their powdered chests, dangling bags, furs with dangling heads of dead animals of unknown species; one woman had a shoulder “mat” adorned with three—two falling down her back, and one reposing on her shoulder. It was hard to say whether her faoe, or the faces of the animals of unknown species had the more intelligence ; the eyes of the animals were certainly brighter; the strain of excessive picture gazing had not affected their beadiness in the lamentable way it had affected the same quality in hers. And as the naked arms of the pvomenaders wildly clutched their millinery “creation©” in the high wind, and perpetually patted the bobbed' hair that would not remain glued to their cheeks in the approved fashion, their tempers became somewhat peppery and uncertain, and personalities were indulged in, making sundry passers-by smile broadly. The latter were not quite.©lire whether the handbags of barbaric brilliancy, adorned’ with many danglers, would not bo used as weapons of war, if the nagging continued 1 at what was quite a high state of ferocity. But when an individual in blue silk told an individual in mustard satin that she was “nor lady” and “she wanted no more of her company,” a parting of the

ways took place, both vowing vengeance at a later date. A sharp shower came on, and as “Shelters” are conspicuous bj" their absence in Wellington, the wearers of rubbishy silks, or what goes by the name of silk at the present day, presented a peculiar appearance. As the rain steadily descended, sili-tf that were plain an hour before became weirdly spotted, and stack and clung to their wearers in a beastly uncomfortable manner. From the Bacchanalian wreaths of fruit adorning the millinery “ere*; ations,” as they became saturated, streams of many hues descended, the colour runhing through the transparent, shapes, and trickling' fantastically dow;V the wearers’ faces; many looked like walking advertisements for “Twink’’ before they reached home. The boisterous wind shattered thd “oiled sunshades,” and the owners whd did not know Wellington, purchased what might have been suitable for boat use up the quiet reaches of some, sheltered river, clutched the frames, td which remnants of the paper—noli sadly denuded of the cherry blossoni adornments —still clung. Through this bedraggled, tawdry, rain-besoaked crowd, a visitor wendcu heT way; a boat she was travelling on had a few hours’ wait in Wellington) and she wished to make closer acquaint* ance with the premier seaside walk. The extraordinary appearance of the crowd fascinated her, as much as her appearance fascinated them. The boisterous elements had no detrimental effect on her outward trim appearance. I On the contrary, as she walked; through the rain storm, her colour and. eyes became brighter, and her faoe wa#j lit with joy, at the beautiful scenery of, the Bay. !

A close-fitting dark suit of not very full make, a small “tailored” hat of featherweight, with a small protectiva brim, lace up shoes, in which eha could walk, and not stagger, over thi, rough parts of the walk round thO] shore, gave her nothing to worry about regarding 'her appearance. j The cloth of her suit would stand any rain, and would come up smiling, it did not bear the date of any year’6 fashion j the well-worn hat looked as new at when it was bought, the trim shirtblouse was made of reliable linen, and the shoes of genuine leather gave no cause for anxiety, sea water or rain would not injure them. Yes! when so clothed, walking in any weather was a pleasure, and the visitor had discovered the secret to he aimed at, many years before, of doing without many so-called decorative adjuncts to her wardrobe, to secure perfectly cut clothing of really genuine materials, fit to stand the variability of any climate.’ She wondered, why on all sides, in such a place as Wellington -people indulged in every kind of fantastic gaudy, flimsy materials, giving the idea 1 to strangers of undisguised- poverty, as well as colossal ignorance, concerning suitable wear for an ever-changing cli- 1 mate. The plainly but suitably dressed woman from the Liner,who was making a tour, which included many countries, on her way 'back to the boat thought deeply on many subjects and particularly on the many incongruities of the present day. The gaudy, cheap attire, proclaimed the fact to the observant, that these tittering, loud-voiced, hysterically dressed women, were not improving the Dominion in any way, but were giving endless opportunities for adverse criticism to other nations, —who look ahead, —to prophesy, that a few more yean! of the universal over-indulgence in plea-sure-seeking of the non-uplifting character, with no real concentration on steady * work to keep the brain in healthy condition, will eventually proclaim to the world that the British nation is very far from the top of the Ladder of progress. Other nations in spite of war, and many adverse conditions, have kept an ideal before them, a firm grip on them-. selves, and an eye on the future of their country and race. But when work is shirked, and no interest or pride taken in it, beyond the fact that it brings a salary; when everything ennobling, everything uplifting is scorned; where noble plays and literary masterpieces are relegated to the background, and in their plaoe a freakish dress parade is substituted, to enable some wouhi-be actress to pose for a few more years before a public that has long since lost its ideals, and its taste. Where schools are very little more than “Sports playgrounds,” and parents see no improvement in the manners or mental development of their children, even after years of school life., Where in hotels, large and small, boarding houses, private houses, drinking goes on nightly, and a general looseness of behaviour is substituted as being more attractive than the dignity which a woman, some years back, would have cultivated as a matter or course: | If the flighty women of to-day get little respect, and are, to a great extent, shunned by quiet going, decent men, or by other women who have been brought up with very different ideas concerning matters of conduct, they have only themselves to blame for remaining outside the social cirole to which they aspired some years back, but which they never Teached, owing to their having aped the manners, appearance, and doings of gay women of more or less questionable character. The downward path is swift and easy for individuals, or for nations, and if the British nation is ever to regain lost heights, a campaign against all that is degrading in the home life, the school, life, or public life, should be undertaken. A steady watch should be kept by employers on the shirkers in shops, 1 factories, and offices, till the bright day dawns when the old pride in Work, in Truth, in Respectability—whether in the world of dress, manners, or behaviour in public or private—will be the aim of all who wish to uphold—particularly in our. colonies —the best tra-i ddtions of the British Empire that of recent years seem to have almost, vanished, during a period in our history of unseemliness, and widespread vul- 1 garity. —LAURA JEAN VICTORY.