Pride In Their Appearance

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20928, 6 January 1938, Page 8

Pride In Their Appearance

Natural Fa Young IFomen

JT is as natural for a woman to wish to be admired as it is for her to breathe. Indeed, a woman owes it to herself to make herself attractive and pleasant to look upon as possible. Yet frequently the early attempts of the growing girl to reflect in herself all that she most admires in others are distressing and painful for the mother. The latter dislikes to see the girl whom she has up till now regarded as her little daughter embark upon her first adventures with lipstick and other sophisticated cosmetics. The feelings of a mother are demonstrated in the following letter from a perturbed parent to a friend:— “My daughter, who is a prefect in her class at school, and who up till now has done nothing to make me other than proud of her, has lately taken to chatting for hours with her schoolmates over clothes and beauty aids. “Though they are the dearest girls in the world, it reems wrong to me that they should be spending almost all their after-school hours poring over magazines devoted almost solely to self-adornment. “My daughter and her friends have taken to spending their pin money on cosmetics. “Apart from the fact that 1 cannot truly say I like to see these worldly adornments appearing on m v little girl’s face, as we arc by no means wealthy people, 1 feel tha‘ all this yearning for the newest in fashionable clothes and accessories will cause her to be dissatisfied with the very modest spending capacity which will be hers when she leaves school. “I have spoken to her - several times about using powder and lipstick, yet she

tells me that all the girls do it. and the ones who don't are thought old-fashioned and ull.” It is very natural for the thoughts of girls in their last year of school to turn to the matter of personal appearance. Though excursions into such worldly experiments as coloured eye shadow and over-exaggerated eyebrow arching are to be regretted, you will find, I think, that your girl’s natural good taste and discretion will soon assert themselves, once the first thrill of novelty has worn off. Her desire to possess the newest that comes into fashion is a very understandable and human one, though it must not be allowed to reach proportions that will make her discontented with the lot that is going to be hers. A good idea would be to start your daughter on a small dress allowance, for she is really old enough to learn how far money will go. You 11 find that after one or two unwise ventures into extravagant and ill-planned purchasing, she will soon develop the sound clothes sense and spending-consciousness that arc characteristic of the modern girl. Beauty is dear to the heart of a woman. She who is not blessed with this, can still feel on equal terms with her luckier sisters, provided she is able to keep herself well and immaculately groomed and wear the sort of clothes that speak »f taste and distinction. Faith in her personal appearance is an absolute necessity to the woman of to-day, whether in her own home or in the world of business.