FASHIONLAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9790, 5 March 1910, Page 4

FASHIONLAND.

[From oob London Correspondent.] January 7. Jewellery is undergoing a reformation, and the change is decidedly for the better if it will do away with some of the huge and verv ugly trinkets that were worn once upon a time. New York and Paris are responsible for leading the fashion of delicately set jewels, and England appears to be following their good example. Gems set in platinum are a very beautiful improvement on the old method, and a diamond star, nowadays, looks indeed a star. Exquisito, too, are the intricate lace designs that are being copied by jewellers. In place of the cumbersome gold lockets of old time, we have tiny jewelled watches, the size, shape and thickness of a florin. Some watches are even so small that they can be mounted as rings I It is interesting, and at the same time rather'difficult to trace the origin of some of the names of materials that we see every day, and in " Nash's Magazine " a list is given that throws some light. Muslin derives its nam© from Mossoul, in Asia; calico was first made up at Calicut; Damask comes from Darnas in Syria, the locality where the exquisite brocaded silks are woven; gauze comes from Gaza, a Syrian town, and serge derives its name from the Spanish xerga, a woollen fabric. Velvet is from the Italian Veluto. ' An exceedingly useful hint is given in the same monthly, that will be appreciated by neat housekeepers, on how to make dustless dusters. Old pieces of flannel should be well soaked in paraffin all night, wrung out and washed through, lukewarm water next day. The result is a duster that gathers up every bit of dust and leaves no fluff behind it. In hairdressiug, curls and plaits—the Pompadour fashion —are once more prime favourites, and the turban style is hardly seen. There is still a chignon effect, but it is now soft looking and decidedly modified. It is no time for the woman of scanty locks or straight hair, and though the fasluon is decidedly pretty and. becoming, the false hair scare is evidently to be forgotten. No less eminent a man than Dr Arbuthnot Lane, the celebrated Harley Street surgeon, ha? written a paper *gon*;fch© value of corsefcv Sttwuma to

6ay ho even advocates them for men! The necessity for tho corset, we are told, arises from the change in men, in the course of evolution, from the position on all fours, to the upright position. > The upright position causes the abdominal organs to fall downward with great pressure to the lower part of the abdominal cavity, and Dr Lane holds that the best practical remedy for the unnatural position into which the intestines fall is a well-made corset. "Women need corsets more than men, because their abdominal walls are weaker, but many men, and especially stout men, would derivo great bonefit from them. The straight front French corset, which holds in the lower part of tho abdomen, is, says this authority, very satisfactory, as it presses the lower abdominal wall upward and inward, and relieves the dragging down of the internal organs.