HOW NEW YORK WOMEN TAKE THEIR BATH.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8317, 16 May 1905, Page 1

HOW NEW YORK WOMEN TAKE THEIR BATH.

» A QUEER CLUB. The latest thing among those New York women who possess a surplus amount of money and time, is the Turkish Bath Club, a very exclusive organisation, whose sessions are thus described by Miss Elizabeth Thomas in a leading American weekly. The members, who are figures In that Society beginning with a capital " S," meet at a certain bath-house not many steps from Fifth Avenue. You can gain an idea of the exclusiveness ot the club by trying for admission to the bath-house. The manager wants to know your name, residence, and social standing before giving you a card of admission. "We do not care for a large patronage. We cater only to the select," you are informed with a yawn. But the manager's eye is not sleepy, tt has taken you in from head to foot. Here-, you have perfection as far as it can be obtained in a bath-house. The surroundings and appliances are not for the plebeian. The stairways and floors are of marble. The dressingrooms are furnished with every possible device for convenience, comfort and luxury. You massage is dealt by hands that are the most deft in the city, hairdressers, manicures, chiropodists are not only adepts; they are artists. It is here that the women who. dazzle Newport, Narragansett and Saratoga gather during the New York season arid .spend the entire day — -not from seven in the morning, of course, but from a reasonably early hour — and stay until time to dress for dinner. It is here that they . come to discuss social triumphs and failures. Many a brilliant campaign has been planned in chatting on the couches in the 'rest-room. Madam has her own maid, who helps' her disrobe, and throws ovor her snowy shoulders the silken sheet,* for, strange to say, nothing has been invented to take the place of the sheet in the Turkish bath. With much care does Therese store madam's valuables away in the tiny safe built in the dressingroom for that .purpose, and then madam is ready for the hot-room. , Here the facial masseuse takes madam and opens a jar of madam's own cream. For, be it understood, these ladies are as particular about their own cream as men are about 1 their shaving soap. The, attendant massages the patron's face, and meantime milady is sipping copiously of hot or cold water, according to preference. Then, after the quarter of an hour of massage, madam's face is cleansed with hot towels and the facial masseuse rings the tiny electric bell hanging from a cord at her side ; Enter the hair masseuse. Dry, hot air is not good for the hair, and she brings a pomade of sweet-scented oil and bay rum, with which madam's hair is anointed and then massaged for another quarter of an hour. By this time madam feels quite nearly roasted, and is ready to go through the parboiling process in the steam-room. Here she wanders around at her own sweet will, stopping once in a while for the' work of the masseuse. So rapidly do these expert attendants work that a dozen people can enter the room at once, get their massage, and leave the room together for the lounging-room. After the steam-room, the members sit and chat, some leaving for the "scrub." Then comes the plunge, but the exercise is hardly as violent as that indulged in by the members of the actresses' club. Some take the plunge, of course, but others prefer the- invigorating needle spray. After this come the rubbers with their brisk arms and rough towels. They dry one patron after another, and bundle them off to the rest-room with a fresh sheet. In the rest-room, madam again submits to the massage. Her body is rubbed first .with oil and then with alcohol. Her face is given another half-hour of massaging. Then she is supposed to sleep for an hour. This is one feature of the programme, however, that is seldom carried out. There is too much conversation to permit its fulfilment. But the hour is spent in the rest-room, and in this respect the regulation* are carried out. At the expiration of the allotted period the maid brings a »varm ?own made for the bath, and the silken sheet is discarded' for the. heavier garment. "It is time for luncheon — what, willmadam'order?" Madam's appetite is very good, thank you, after the routine of the bath. Luncheon is ordered a la carte, and it is a substantial affair, not even omitting the refreshment of a cold bottle or a spicy cocktail. The order is given, and meantime the manicure dresses madam's hands, and the chiropodist attends to madam's pink toes. As soon as they finish, luncheon is served. No Roman maid or matron ever made a more delightful picture at the feasts of antiquity than madam at luncheon as she reclines on her couch. But madam is not yet ready to go. Far from it. The most important phase of the bath is yet to come. Enter the hairdresser. Madam's hair is lathered. The lather remains on the head five minutes — no more, no less. She sits in the' rubber-encased chair, which is made water-tight. The hair is rinsed in hot water~warm, cooler, cold — for ten minutes. Five to six gallons are used to spray her locks. She then steps out of her chair to the dryer, a piece of mechanism with a hood fitting close around' the face. She . reolines in a comfortable chair until fhe attendant thoroughly dries and' brushes her hair.

The time usually spent is from thirty minutes to an hour. Madam does not hurry the hairdresser. She knows too well the result of time taken to perform the task well. , , Now come the final touches before her maid begins to dress her. . The hair is dressed the way madam usually wears it for dinner." The eyebrows are combed and clipped, the lashes dipped just enough to even their length, tne face given its final massage powder, and Jo! madam is ready for her maid and her drive home.. The entire day has been spent, but in a good cause. To-morrow her face will glow, tne sheen will be on her hair, and she is in fine condition for the rest of her busy week. .