Letter to Kitty

Southland Times, Issue 22511, 20 February 1935, Page 5

Letter to Kitty

My dear Kitty,

Do you know, my girl, that your new hat for the Autumn is going to be quite different from any other type of hat you have worn before? Seems peculiar, doesn’t it, to be talking calmly of the Autumn when to-day (Tuesday) is quite one of the hottest. However, be early is my advice and herald the new season in a new model and not in last year’s cast off. The day of the soup plate hat is over, no longer will an almost complete lack of crown be fashionable except in the case of the new, and very difficult to wear, tarns which, even though they are quite flat are worn at such an angle that they stand up fairly high at the back. A word about these tarns, my dear, they must be chosen with care for they are not the type of hat which flatters easily and will do anything but help the appearance when one is hot feeling or looking, one’s best. If you are wise you will choose a model in soft felt and the crown must be pleated or folded to stand up at the back. The aim of the new hats seems to be to accentuate the height of the wearer and the addition of a feather standing upright above the highest peak of the hat will help to achieve this aim. Feathers have replaced the metal dips and motifs which have trimmed our hats in the past and authorities say that they must be tall and show high above the crown of the hat. With all this height, the hat must be worn at a forward tilt and the lower part of the head still remains exposed. Angle is the chief thing, my dear, if you want to wear your hat with an air, so remember that it must be put on with care and not just crammed on to the head in haste.

Hair will be shorter next Winter, Kitty, and from the salons in Paris we hear that the vogue for curls on the neck is a thing of the past for they have mounted almost to the crown of the head so that the whole of the back of the head is a mass of curls while the top and sides are loosely waved. Loosely, mark you, and not just a series of ridges like a corrugated iron fence.

Love, JANE.