APPAREL FOR WOMEN

Taranaki Daily News, 29 September 1930, Page 5

APPAREL FOR WOMEN

LOCAL GOODS LURE OF PARIS' FASHIONS. “PANDERING TO SNOBBERY.” A charge that New Zealanders are . ashamed of goods manufaetured\in their ; own country was made by Miss Ellen Melville during a lecture given before ' the Manufacturers’ Association at Auckland on Wednesday evening. Factory managers had told her, she said, that the/ dared not put the mark, “Made J in New Zealand,” on locally-made clothes, hats, ‘boots and toothbrushes because people would not buy them and “'it would ruin their business.” “We have an extraordinary inferiority. complex as regards our own goods,” said Miss Melville. “It was only by accident that I learned that hats for women were imade in New Zealand. They ; have no mark on them to show where they are made and when I asked one manager... why not, he said, ‘if we did the women would not buy them.’” New Zealand-made hats were better for New Zealand women, she added, because the New Zealand-shaped head was different from the English or the Latin. “New Zealanders are broader between the ears than the British,” said Miss Melville. “That is where the brains are, and also the s'well-headedness. Imported. hats do not fit us because our heads are different, but in recent years we have noticed an improvement be- 1 cause now hats are being made in New Zealand. : . “MORE MONEY THAN SENSE.” “I was in. a dress factory in Wellington the other day where they were' making some of the most beautiful dresses that anyone could ever wear. The material was bought in bulk and only a small duty was paid and they were being made up by healthy, intelligent New* Zealand girls instead of by French, Ger-;_ man or Czecho-Slovakian girls, yet I ,am told that New Zealand women will not buy these dresses. If that is not carrying inferiority complex to imbecil-' ity complex I do not know what is. It is pandering to the snobbery of fashionable women who have more money than sense. ■ “The first time I saw women’s hats say out loudly that they were made in New Zealand was in a Paeroa shop and they were very pretty hats. I have no doubt that thousands of the spring hats in Queen Street shop windows are made in New Zealand, although/they •do not 'say so.” People were.,-told that Paris was the’, centre of the fashion world and tried to delude themselves that they followed Paris fashions and that the smart women of New Zealand wore Paris ’; gowns. Smart women did nothing of the sort. While they might look for inspiration t<> Paris they rarely copiedL slavishly, but adapted, the models to suit, their own. national type. CHOICE IN SILK STOCKINGS“There are thousands of pairs of arti* fieial silk- and woollen stockings madd in New Zealand but you never see them proclaiming their history and added Miss Melville. “You can get bet* ter value for your money in New Zea* land-made stockings than in any othersYou can get ’ New Zealand-made pure silk stockings for 8s lid and. it is one of the hardest-wearing stockings I know. The duty on silk stockings is 2s 6d to 3s 9d a pair. and. you cannot darn a customs duty. “1 know they do not make full-fash-ion stockings in New Zealand,” added. Miss Melville. “That is because it is not economical to instal the necessary ma- » chinery. Then you hear people say, T must wear a full-fashion stocking.’ You will forgive me for saying that it is not the shape of the stocking that matters but the shape of the leg inside it. All that talk about. full-fashion is just a gag.” TOOTHBRUSHES AND JAMS.

Ne— Zealand jams were next dealt 1 j with by Miss Melville. “A lady once told -5: me that the reason why people buy;' South African jams is because there are preservatives in New Zealand jams,” , she said. “Now, anyone who goes through » a jam factory'will tell you that the only preservative in New Zealand jams '■■■; is Al sugar from Chelsea. Is it worth. while going to America for nice coloured ;, jams and condiments and see . 150 to 200 . ‘ New Zealand girls out of work in the winter. It is too big a price for a bottle of pickles.” - Miss Melville said she recently bought a toothbrush marked “British Made.”)' She asked the shopkeeper, “Where ?” and he replied, “Can’t you • see it says ‘British Made?’” “Yes, but what coun-i j; try?” she asked. “Oh, as a matter of fact; .it is made in Auckland,” lie re-; - * plied. . ’ ' , " “They are not afraid to mark the country of origin on Japanese toothbrushes,” said Miss Melville. “In Japan ? child labour laws do not exist; Japanese children of 11 and 12 years of age work 10 to 11 hours a. night, not day.” .4' For overseas purchases of apparel and . ready-made clothing in 1028 New Zealand paid £BO,OOO to the United States, ?’ £25,000 to Japan, £218,556. to ‘ Germany, i . £20,000 to .Belgium, £11,600 to Czechoslovakia and £114,700 to France. ‘‘And , : ,i then we ask why New Zealand girls are out of work,” was Miss Melville’s com- i, menh “We are making those foreign countries rich at our expense. Are we not hypocrites running round and ■ ing why we have so much unemployment?” . ' .