UNIFORMS FOR WOMEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3403, 4 June 1919, Page 56

UNIFORMS FOR WOMEN.

In these days of high prices and extravagant fashions the problem of -woman's .dress lias become a very serious one. Every true woman loves to array herself in dainty and becoming garments, and it is perfectly natural and right that she should do so, but there is no gainsaying the fact that most of us at the present time are compelled to spend an abnormal amount of money, energy, and time on dres§. One reason of this, of course, is the high price of materials and the difficulty of procuring them, bub the chief reason is because Fashion has decreed that our garments must be made of the most expensive, and sometimes the least durable, of materials. Whereas our mothers were content to wear serviceable cotton and woollen clothing, with strong shoes, and stockings of substantial texture, we must be clad in expensive crepe de chines and ninons, • with silk stockings and dainty footgear. There was & time when £2O

a year was considered an ample dress allowance for a girl, but nowadays more than that sum is often asked for a single costume, while the übiquitous fur coat may cost double or treble that amount. A ie\v years ago the average woman could buy her best hat for £1 or 255, but now she can get only the very plainest for that, and if she wants something better must pay anything from -£2 upwards; and so it is with every other article of clothing. One wonders how much further the pendulum will swing in the direction of extravagance before the inevitable reaction sets in, for, sooner or later, it must come, if in every department of labour women are to become co-worker 3 with men. Even now many women whose incomes are small and whosa time is valuable would welcome with relief sorne scheme that would lessen the burden laid upon them by the whims and caprices of fashion. One solution of the problem 'is that women should all wear uniform, and it is quite within the range of possibility that this is what will eventually happen. At first sight the idea does not seem very attractive, but on consideration it will be seen that it possesses many advantages. The chief of these, of course, is its utility. The women who wore uniforms in pre-war days—the nuns, housemaids, and tea girls—did so primarily because it was found that a certain style of dress was more suitable to their work than any other, while' it also served as a distinguishing mark, and, in the case of nurses and sisters of charity, protected them from annoyance or insult. Since the war women have entered into many trades and occupations exclusively held previously by men, and the great majority of these women workers have adopted a uniform of some sort, it being found that their ordinary costume was not suitable for their new work. For instance, women who took up farm work found themselves hampered by their skirts, and adopted a costume differing little from that of an ordinary English farm labourer of the opposite sex, and it is said that now that they», have returned to private life they do not take kindly to their old dress. Moreover, a great many of these ■woman workers will remain at this class of work, and will continue to wear a uniform, and women in other trades and professions will discover the advantages of wearing a neat, serviceable, and distinguishing costume of uniform cut and matfenial, which, being independent of passing fashions, need not be discarded till it is shabby. The woman of the present day is pre-eminently a working woman, and much as she likes pretty and dainty clothes, and a variety of them, if she finds that her present dress hampers her in her work then she will, as her sisters engaged in war work have done, discard it cheerfully for one that is more Suitable. Two or three hundred years ago, when Englishmen of the upper classes followed no particular profession, they were just as much slaves of fashion as are the fine ladies of to-day. One has only to read the chronicles of the Stuarts and the Georges to see to what lengths the young bloods of those days went in their love of gorgeous attire. And yet the men of follow practically no fashion, and dress in a uniform style. It has been pointed out,that in a household,where the annual income is £IOOO, and a certain social position is kept up, it costs the wife. £IOO a year for dress, while the husband manages quite easily on £4O. If this is so, it gives rise to serious thought, and it would seem that this problem of the excessive cost of woman's dress must be grappled with. If the solution is to be found in the adoption of something approximating a uniform, standardised as to material and' cost, then the sooner this is done the better. Mr W. L. _ George, in discussing the question in his book, "The Intelligence of Woman," makes the following suggestions: 1. For general outdoor wear the coat * * and skirt, together with a blouse. Total cost,'£s., 2. For summer wear, a tunic blouse and skirt, to be made of a permanetly fixed plain and uni-coloured material. Total cost, £5. 3. If skirts are short shoes, stockings, gaiters, etc., would have to be standardised. 4. A fixed type of hat, made in straw and trimmed with flowers; produced in scores of thousands, it ought not to cost more than 10s. 5. A fixed type of evening gown, price £5 to £B, without any lace or trimmings, made of a stuff of good quality. No jewellery.

He estimates the total annual cost would amount to £3O, evidently forgetting that the above items form only a small part of a woman's wardrobe. Some of his ideas, particularly that about the hats, are rather quaint, and most of" us would object to pay £5 to £8 for a perfectly plain evening frock without trimmings of any kind. At the same time, there is something in what he says, and it seems quite possible that if -women were to set their wits to work they could evolve a sensible, useful, and becoming uniform style of dress, for every-day wear at any rate, procurable reasonable cost. We should then be relieved from the constant strain of with, the fashions, while the temptation to be extravagant would be removed. With the money thus saved we could * buy books and pictures, indulge in innocent pleasures that we have hitherto had to deny ourselves, and add considerably to the comfort and enjoyment of life. ELEANOR, Flour must always be kept in a perfectly dry place, as, with the least suspicion of damp about, it makes heavy cakej3 and bread.

The Art of Washing Clothes Clean without Rubbing 1 Slice Into copper 6oz of the pure "GOLDEN RULE" Soap, add small packet of "NO RUBBING" Laundry Help, boil briskly for thirty minutes, then rinse thoroughly, blue, and hang out. Result will delight you.—Hunter and Etheridgo, Ltd.