Women and the Home

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16923, 23 December 1922, Page 4

Women and the Home

CONTRIBUTIONS BY SPECIAL WRITERS

DO YOU WANT WORK? HINTS THAT WILL HELP YOU. Nowadays, when there are dozens of applicants for every vacancy, the lot of the situation-seeker is harder than ever, and nothing that can be of the slightest assistance in the quest for work must be neglected. One of the most important points to remember is that employers are guided in their selection by the personal ap pea ranee and manners of applicants quite as much as by their qualifications J lor the post. In other words, you must make a good impression. This applies particularly to girls, the shy and shrinking girl will be weeded out just as soon as those who are bold and eelf-assertive. If you are overdressed, you will have no chance at ail. though you must not go to the other extreme and he shabby. Nearness should he the kevnote of your attird BARRED BY BEAUTY. It is an extraordinary fact that pretty girls are handicapped. Employers may appreciate beauty, but usualjithey are afraid that the introduction of a pretty girl into their office will mean flirting and neglect of business Consequently, if you are b le SS ed with good looks, you must do nothing to aecentn ate them by your dress, and. above all things, do not. show by your manner that yon know you are pretty. ihe way you answer questions mat, ters lar more to an employer than the actual answers you give. Be brief but not curt. Give your answers as quickly I as possible : employers are busy people. with no time to waste. Show that you | are business like by asking about te: ms holidays, hours and so on, but do not seem to he eager for privileges or afraid of work. Sit up and don’t lounge in your ohair. Look your prospective employer I straight in the eyes. This will tell ! him that .you are “ alive,* * and have a personality of your own. QUEER LIKES AND DISLIKES. I PEOPLE who hate the smell OR ROSES. The ancient writers tell us some wonderful stories about queer likes and dislikes, and some of the most amazing of these are about people who dreaded to see or smell a rose. According to Sir Kemlin Digby, one of the Ladies of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth had her cheek blistered by placing a rose against it. She was Lady Heneage. Afterwards, whenever she saw a rose she would fall into ft swoon. IN DANGER OF DEATH. Cardinal Don Henrique de Cardona became faint and ill if he entered a room where roses were placed; and it is said that Laurentius, Bishop of Uratislavia, wag killed by the smell of o rose. Cardinal OJiverius Carassa Jived in fear of roses. He would not allow a rose to be brought into his palace, and dreaded to approach any person had had a rose about him. The smell of a rose was considered fatal by all the members of a noble Venetian family named Barbarigi. Doctors warned them to remain at home in the rose season, as if they went abroad | they were in danger of being overcome. Johannes Querceto, Secretary to Francis I. of I ranee, was so affected when apples were on the table that he had to stop Jus nostrils with bread to exclude the smell of them. If an apple was held near his face, hie nose would immediately begin to bleed. Jegello, one of the early Kings of Poland, was unable to endure the smell of apples It is reported that Brassovolns. the younger daughter of Frederick, King of Naples, had a strange antipathy to any kind of flesh. If, greatly daring, she put even a small morsel of cooked meat into her mouth, she “was seized with fits, and. falling to the earth, would shriek fo r the space of half an hour, when she would return unto herself.” THE HOT-WEATHER GIRL. I Many a girl who desires to enter her social kingdom at a summer icsort is now busily planning her campaign, i | Pei haps she would welcome suggestions? e | To be popular at a summer resort one I should observe these fundamental 1 rules :—- . I Keep your temper. Be ready for auv- * j thing. Wear white whenever possible. Let your bathing costume be attractive J but modest. Rest yourself scientifically . Don t talk too much. Use your powder puff effectively. Any girl who follows these recipes faithfully (stands an excellent chance of coming homo just in time to prepare her trousseau for an autumn wedding. Though practically living in the open, the hot weather girl is required to perform the incompatible feat of keeping [ her hair, hands anti complexion in good condition; for. while men fall m I OV e with sun-kissed maids, theie is no record of one falling in love with a girl whose nose was peeled, cheeks cracked and whose hands are unsightly. The art of looking beautiful in a bathing costume is a gift of the gods to some women ; it is acquired by a few. Those who have been neither favoured by nature nor improved by physical culture are advised to refrain from don. ning a bathing suit in public. Those who do wear one must not purchase their costume recklessly, but plan it so as to hide blemishes and make the most of good point*. Walking along the beach is another 0 accomplishment that is acquired only through practice. To speak of “tripping over the sands ” sounds poetic, but the girl who advances by moderately long strides is more graceful. How to look pretty at noontime is a difficult problem for the seaside girl. £n the morning any girl can look fresh, and in her evening frocks she can look charming, but midday often brings a fagged-out appaa^anco. Unless the fatigue is deep-seated, she can recuperate in half an hour by lying | flat on her back in a quiet room with a | bunch of roses beside her. The roses ft are important, for their scent is restful. tßut the hot-weather girl’s chief asset a serene disposition. If she can keep her temper, her dignity and her sense ot comradeship through all the material and social emergencies of a summer campaign, she cannot fail to make an enduring appeal to some man’s heart. Especially if she provides herself with plenty of soft white frocks for her ft —•ttpmpnts.

HOW TO MAKE GOOD COFFEE. A French confectioner, whose coffee roasting and grinding machine renders his little oit of pavement one of the meet alluring in the world, informs his customers that if they want to make coffee “as in Paris,” they must use a French cafetiere in fireproof porcelain This is made in three parts—a strainer, a filter, and the pot to receive the brew itself. One must fill half the filter with ground coffee, press it down lightly, place the strainer on top and slowly pour boiling water through it, pausing as the coffee expands under 1 '• hot liquid, and leaving time for the bubbles to subside before continuing the process. With pathetic conscientiousness I have endeavoured to follow out the recipe (which I recognise may have excellent results when pursued by other housewives) merely to discover that, at the conclusion of the business. the coffee is but a chillv brew owing to the length of time taken in inducing percolation. A short time ago I was greatly cheered to find that a friend’s French cook, whesei after-dinner coffee was an inspiration, shared niv point of view

j ■ ———— l about the cafetiere, and used for her 3 coffee-making no machine at all, but ... . woven bag shaped very much like * stocking foot. This was filled with t coffee, proportionately to the number > of persona destined to drink it, tied at s the top and placed in a jug, the boil--1 ing water being poured over it, with - a pinch of salt added. Being of thrifty i mind, as becomes a French woman, she having served the brew that evenF ing, withdrew the bag. placed it in a • saucepan with more boiling water, and allowed it gently to simmer at the side

of the stove. The weaker brew of coffee thus obtained was reheated for breakfast next morning, and very excellent it was A\ e harbour a mistaken notion that coffee must not be allowed to boil. 7 me it is that it, must not be put on in cold water, but i: cooked for a short space in a saucepan with water already brought to the boil, even the cheaper brands of beiry can be induced to give forth a fragrance that one seeks in vain under the system of percolation A dash of cold water added at the fin ish, together with a pinch of salt, cause the grounds duly to settle at the bottom of the pan, FURBELOWS. WARM WEATHER FABRICS. Lawn, organdi and foulard are all -seen in happy rivalry in the creation of frocks for the warm weather. Many of them are made with loose-fitting cor sages and full skirts. AVhen organdi n. the fabricating medium. quaintlc shaped aprons of coloured silk are pre sent, sometimes with and sometimes without a bib. Another idea is to mount the organdi on silk of a con tiasting colour and then to cut it ir the form of fish-scales. to embellish, say. the hem of the skirt and the lower portion of the eoivage. rouiard irocks are made on lines that may bo described as reminiscent of • those worn by the Quakers. Much caro has been devoted to the creation of berthes and collars of lawn, net and lace. Embroidered lawn dresses are cut on simple lines, but there is a certain amount of fullness over the hips that is held in coition with gaily hued rib bons ol' clusters of flowers. Perfectly delightful arc the garden and pa nel back s T 1 > is a 1 lo w s* a vest "to be introduced in front, of the same ma terial as the panel at the back. The panel springs from between the sheul dors and extends to the heels Embroidered and plain lawn, as well as organdi and silk, is frequently used for these delectable frocks. A new material that is receiving a considerable amount of attention i Persian printed voile, -which is not at all expensive and is perfect for dainty gowuifc. Tlie colour schemes can b« varied by changing the colour of the fourreau, and it is wonderful how completely this alters the aspect of the gown. SLEEIVE VARIETY. There is an endless variety of sleeves for hard-wearing frocks. Some extend to the wrist and are quite tight fitting, but many women prefer those of the bell character, which are much cooler. Among the more bizarre types of sleeves are those of the Jtailian Renaissance period ; extremely full until the elbow is passed, from there onwards to the wrist they become quite tight and stiaiglit and are often finish ed with ruffles. Again there are modified Bishop’s sleeves, which are gathered into neat little cuffs at the wrists. In the domain of evening gowns sleeves are generallv conspicuous b>~ their absence, or it may be that soft draperies that never make any attempt to cover the arm are conceded the name of sleeve. LUXURIOUS BOUDOIR WRAPPERS A few months ago silk Zenana was looked upon with favour for the fash ioning of luxurious boudoir wrappers This is now changed! and hand-stitched satin has taken its place. Padded and lined with silk, some of the more elaborate! wrappers have the design picked out with simuli gems. Another material that has recently made its debut and is being used for the creation of wrappers is lame imprime—a metal tissue shewing a multi- > coloured chene design. A formidable

rival to this is lame repousse, which 's a silken tissue patterned to shew the repousse work generally seen on metals. SILKEN WIGS. Many women—for the fun of th« thing—are wearing with the fashionable old-world evening dresses, wigs made of rather coarse silken strands. No attempt is made to conceal the fact that they are not nature’s handiwork. Ornamented with trails of flowers, they bear a slight resemblance in design to those worn by Marie Antoinette. Women en route to the bath are wearing wigs made of coarse wool, the colours of which are marvellous, induct ing bright orange, purple and emeral : green. The grotesquenoss of these wigis accentuated by lovely lace and de chine boudoir cops.