WOMEN AND THE HOME

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18938, 7 December 1929, Page 20 (Supplement)

WOMEN AND THE HOME

LEAVES FROM A PARISIENNE'S DIARY.

(By COLLINE ROUFF.)

Afternoon frocks have a favoured place in the fashionable world this season. Designers seem to have taken more trouble over them than usual, which is, perhaps natural at this time of the year. Frocks for bridge, receptions, and tea parties are both elegant and ornamental, made oi printed materials and of plain fabrics • in dark colours like blue-black, old moss-green, burgundy-red, deep old brick, brown and, of course, black! Is there anything more becoming than a black afternoon frock? Especially if it be of that gloriously delicate chiffon-like material which we know as ring velvet. How They Are Trimmed These gowns are either embroidered on the material, or trimmed with ap plied embroidery; they have collars and cuffs of real lace, or of closely braided silks. Rows of sequins and beads are the more exotic choice of some elegantes for these so essential accessories. Quite a number of frocks have lace tops. The lace is used just as any other material, and made substantial by foundation layers of chiffon in flesh or black. I saw a model in thick black cire lace, which Madame assured me would look equally well in navy or beige. It had a pouched-at-the-waist blouse, long tight sleeves, and a slightly flared skirt which dipped a tiny bit at one side. It was mounted on thick cire satin, and at the waist was a simple belt of black velvet ribbon fastened by a square buckle of brilliants. A posy of deep red velvet roses was tucked into this belt, after the fashion of pre-war days. When the afternoon frocks are of more substantial materials, they almost invariably follow the lines of evening gowns, with the close princess “ mould ” to the hips, and the skirt made full with godets, flounces or kilted frills. Ring velvet kilts perfectly, when done by an expert; but do not let your “ little dressmaker ” do it with the ironing board, a damp cloth, and an iron, or you will be very disappointed ! About Sleeves. Sleeves are quite tight and slender on day-time models, and are seen quits a lot, too, in the evening. One famous designer made a marvellous reception gown for a well-known whitehaired hostess. It was of black ring velvet patterned with glowing rose and yellow tulips, and I happen to know that the day after the frock was shown, every inch of that material was bought up, so beautiful was it! The bodice was plain and slightly pouched at a low waistline. It had a deep V, and into this V was let a panel of chiffon of exactly the same pattern as the velvet. The sleeves, of similar chiffon, were very full from above the elbow, the full “ bells ” were slit and the edges were picoted and drawn into plain band cuffs. A New Panel Skirt. The skirt was made in four broad panels over a foundation of dull black crepe de chine. Two panels—very generous ones so that they hung together with scarcely a break—made the front, and two more of equal amplitude, but long enough to touch the ground, made the back. Such elegance! Another frock you would admire was made of deep rose georgette. It fastened up one side with a row of flat gold buttons, and when these buttons were undone the panel hung down in a large loose rever lined with white crepe de chine, disclosing a vest of the rose coloured material embroidered with gold. The skirt fell in even flares from a plain hip-yoke, and at the waist and on the edge of the yoke were narrow belts of the material fastened with small gold buckles. Some of the models have three flounces which wrap round and meet in the centre front, each one sloping up a little towards the waist and dipping low at the back. A very graceful line!

GOOD HEALTH BY SIMPLE MEANS.

(By H. C. AYLEN.)

If You Are Underweight. The woman with thin arms, thin legs, a thin body and a thin face is as much to be pitied as her sister of too-abundant flesh! Why are you so thin? There must be a reason which should be discovered and dealt with at once. A doctor should be asked to diagnose the cause of excessive thinness. It may be indigestion, wrong feeding, worry, or overwork, and he who decides this must outline any special treatment. This article will deal merely with general means of putting on a little weight. Usually the thin girl is one who worries from morning until night over every happening. She uses her energy in this way, and then, being of a restless, nervous disposition, she overdraws her health account by working early and late, giving herself no time for the rest and relaxation she needs. Do not let yourself worry. When you feel inclined to fret, get absorbed in some interesting hobbyj or read a book go exciting that you forget yourself and the thing that threatened to bother you. Diet Helps. Diet of the right kind will help the thin woman immensely, but she must give herself time to eat slowly and to have proper meals. Things which will help to put on flesh are: Cereals eaten with a little fresh cream; milk —malted if ordinary milk proves indigestible; honey; baked potatoes; all vegetable salads, without vinegar, but with olive oil and lemon juice as a dressing; new laid eggs, lightly boiled and sparingly used. As important as food are fresh air, sunshine and sleep. Deep breathing will be found very useful, and so will relaxing exercises to relieve nervous tension. Exercises. While deep breathing will improve the chest and bust development, the following is an excellent exercise for developing hips': Stand upright, legs together, hands to the sides. Bring the right knee upwards, then downwards, with a circular motion, the toe just touching the floor in the downward movement. Repeat with the left leg, doing the exercise ten times.

UllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllM OUR SENTIMENTAL AGE.

(By FAITH FOSTER.)

There are indications that, despite all beliefs to the contrary, this is a sentimental age. Even the smart society woman allows herself to become enthusiastic about what sh~ calls her “sentimental necklace”, which is either a “choker” or a long string composed of a variety of beads, each contributed by a different friend. It is amazing how attractive and interesting may be these mixed collections of crystal, quartz, amber, cornelian, amethyst, pearl, turquoise, jade and the rest! The beads being necessarily of different sizes, the right method of grouping them must be considered, while colours must also be taken into account. Cleverly arranged, the “Sentimental Necklace” can be an artistic and charming piece of jewellery. The “Garden of Sentiment” is another pleasing notion, which may be carried out with the aid of friends, each one of whom contributes a plant. Rosemary for remembrance, Honesty and Rue will surely be selected . by many donors, and those who rejoice in such floral names as Lily, Rose and Violet will doubtless elect to be represented by their namesakes. Just a corner of the garden devoted to sentiment will certainly repay its owner in the interest it affords. The “Sentimental Coverlet”, to which each friend contributes a linen square embroidered by herself in a design which is more or less uniform with the rest, is another happy idea. Crossstitch designs are best for the purpose, as individual technique shows up less vividly in these and a better result is achieved than would be possible with other forms of stitchery.

|l!inilllillll!lllll!llll!ll!n!!ll!llll11!UIIII!lllli!!ll!ll!!l!!lll!illlllUIIII!l!ll!llllllll!lllllll SONNY SOLILOQUISES.

BY HELEN LOWE.

Yes, I love my mother. I have the nicest mother in our road. When I take the kids around for tea after school, she doesn’t say “ Now you boys get away from here with your muddy boots and don’t bring that Jimmy Smith around here, like Bobby’s mother does. She just says “ Hello Sonny,” and gives me a hug. I’m awful glad she does not kiss me when the other kids are around. And the boys take off their caps and act as though my mummy was a queen, and when we get outside, Bobby always says, “ your mother is great,” ’cause Bobby’s mother is terrible. She always has her hair hanging down over one eye and her face never looks like mummy’s. I don’t like Jimmy’s mother either. She always give us apples with worm-holes in them or else she gives us bread with hardly any butter on it, and we always throw it away. But I think it’s a good thing that all mothers are not like my mother ’cause we wouldn’t have so much fun I guess. We made Bobby’s mother wild to-day. I’ll bet she was. After she got her front garden so nice and clean she saw us and she says: “Now you kids keep away from here.” We hadn’t even thought of going in. But she made us mad, so we went and got a dead cat that has been lying behind the fence at Jimmy’s place, to put on her doorstep. Just when we came down the street, we saw my mummy coming, and the kids said: “ Here comes Billy’s mother, what will we do? ” But mummy had seen us so Bobby says: “ Hello, Mrs Reed, we are burying this poor cat, ’ and Mummy says, “ You are dear children, and the kids said: “Yes, Mrs Reed, we love animals.” Shorty says “We simply had to say that.” I don’t know why we had to say it, but I believe he knew. Anyway we put the cat on the step and ran away. When I went home, mummy says: “ Sonny, your little friends are dear children,”'and I said: “ \ es, mummy,” but when I said my prayers and mummy tucked me in, I said to God, “ Don’t be thinking about the dead cat on Mrs Brown’s doorstep, ’cause we didn’t mean to be bad. (Anglo American N. S. Copyright.)

SEE HOW THEY RUN

Short legs and long legs, fat legs and thin, legs clad in forty gauge gunmetal silk stockings and legs in beige lisle thread, all running, as if to catch the bus home, after that elusive creature MAN. If only they’d realise it, it’s such a mistake. “ I can’t think what is the matter with Tony! ” cries Mona, puzzled. “ I rang him up three times on Friday; I asked him to go to the tennis dance with me, and to a river picnic, and to blow in after supper on Tuesday, but he’s refused them all.” If Mona doesn’t know what is the matter with Tony, I do. He’s fed up with thinking of excuses for invitations he doesn’t want to accept, tired of hearing Mona’s voice on the telephone, sick of seeing her writing on an envelope, bored to tears with being pursued. Then there’s Effie, another blind mouse. Johnny was such a dear. He promised to write to her, and Effie simply can’t believe that the reason why she hasn’t had a letter from him is merely that Johnny has forgotten to write! No, he must have lost her address she concludes, and promptly sits down and writes a letter for which Johnny will certainly have to pay twopence overweight. Still no answer. Effie writes again, convinced that her letter must have got lost in the post. Still no reply. Faint, but pursuing, Effie sends a postcard painted with pansies, ‘ for thoughts’’—but, alas, whoever Johnny is thinking of, it is evidently not her! It is a fashion to decry the old order of things, the times when it was the men who issued the invitations, wrote the ardent letters, and called round with a bouquet in a paper frill, while the girls sat back and looked coy. To-day, this policy of masterly activity is denounced as “ early-Victorian. It’s Only Natural. Believe me, it is even more ancient, but not so out of date! This preference on the part of man to be the hunter, rather than the hunted, is elemental, as old as life itself. It may be irrational, unfair, but it is as deeprooted to-day as it was in the Stone Age. - , ' If men won’t run after you, don t, m your desperation, run after them; it’s a policy that doesn’t pay. If you are wise, resist the temptation to ring up Reginald; wait for Arthur to invite you out, before you bombard him with invitations; and no matter what promises you made when under the spell of seaside romance, never, never write to that charming man you met on your holidays, till he has written to you—and then don’t reply by return of post. Remember the fate of the three blind mice, and if you must run, try the effect of running in the opposite direction for a change!

CHRISTMAS WITHOUT TEARS.

Christmas is often a season of heartlongs for a wireless set from Uncle William, and, mstead, he gets' a tin of toffee. Mother sighs for fust one pair of decent silk stockings, and she is given six pairs of nice warm woolly ones 8 Little Bobby groan, with rapture for weeks in anticipation of the feast ahead-and is so strung up with excitement that he s worse than a wasp upon the great day and like a dying gladiator for the following week. In a praiseworthy determination to be early with her preparations, mother makes her mince meat and puddings early in October, and finds to her horror, a few days before Christmas, that they haven't kept At the very last minute Aunt Matilda decides to make a brave effort and have her Christmas dinner with the family, although her asthma is worse than usual. Christmas eve is the time to discover that no present has been obtained for Aunt Matilda, by the way, and she has to be given one of the kewpies, which greatly shocks her soul. We all know this list, don t we? It really seems to be quite inevitable in the lives of the best of us. But there is such a thing as taking a few simple precautions to make this season a really happy one, with as few flaws as possible to mar anyone’s pleasure. The children, for instance, should not be given indigestible food and sweets all day long by misguided aunts and uncles, whose idea of a child’s stomach is something between that owned by an ostrich and a pig. Otherwise wakeful nights are sure to follow, with moans and groans. I don’t think children are any happier for chocolates ad lib., and so many toys that it bothers their little brains to know which to play with first. Put some of the toys away at once, to come out the following week, when the children will love them the more. Don’t, I beseech you, buy the sort of presents that will “ have to do—because there’s no time to think of anything else.” A cheery letter giving all the news, or a warm kiss, would be far better than one of those obviously lastminute presents that are so apt to jar. Don’t give a very splendid present to Molly, and then have to scimp over everyone else’s. Buying presents we can’t afford is a heart-burning, useless thing to do. Because Molly is rich is all the more reason why you should give her something very simple. Flowers in such a case are always a charming thought. Then, is it necessary to give pretty Cissie that charming scarf, and plain Jane the sensible gloves? It’s rather a good plan to make a point of giving beauty-starved folk something especially pretty to make up. It’s always a difficult thing to find suitable presents for people we do not see very often. Make such gifts strictly impersonal—just pretty trifles. But often it is easy to discover, a few weeks ahead, something that really will delight the soul of your friend. And there is nothing more pleasant than to receive a present that we really do want, and can wholeheartedly admire.

KEDGEREE DE LUXE.

This is a particularly delicious way of using up the remains of boiled fish and the white sauce which was originally served with it.

Well wash some rice, throw it into slightly salted boiling water, stirring with a fork to prevent sticking. Boil for ten minutes, strain into a colander, and hold under the cold-water tap for a moment or two. Now reheat it between two plates in the oven. Fry a little shredded onion in butter. Flake the cold fish carefully and chop a hard-boiled egg. Melt a little butter in a pan and put in the fish, fried onion, chopped egg and rice, and stir all together gently. Just before serving, add a little anchovy sauce, and if cream is available, it will be found a delicious addition. Pile the kedgeree into a hot pie dish* and serve piping hot. PAINTS AND POLISHES. FOR FURNITURE RENOVATIONS. FVjlk talk airily about transforming shabby, old-fashioned furniture by removing the varnish, sandpapering the surface and giving the whole a coat or two of enamel before painting a border, and so forth! But, having omitted almost all the essential details as to the materials to be employed in the process, they often leave us in a state of doubt which brings with it potential disaster. The shop at which artists obtain their paints is the best place to go to for the materials with which the design is to be carried out. Ask for the tube-paints into the composition of which wax enters, for they will respond readily to the polishing which will follow the renovation; on the other hand, the highly-glossed enamel paints, which rely upon an admixture of varnish, tend to lose their surface more readily as well as to crack on the least provocation. Instructions are usually issued with the paints as to an admixture of turpentine or benzine. The polish is equally important. Yotl can do the job in a jiffy with a bottle of liquid polish, but if you desire really satisfying results you will make your own from melted white wax stirred gently with a little linseed oil and a small amount of turpentine until it takes on the consistency of cold cream. The merest spot of this, applied to an old silk handerchief, will soon produce a most satisfactory surface. Decorations applied to the natural wood, however humble that may be, are often more effective than when the ground has been painted.

RUMANIAN POTATO PUDDING.

Ingredients—2lbs potatoes, *lb creamcheese, 1 or 2 eggs, 1 cupful millc, 1 tablespoonful butter, salt, breadcrumbs obtained by thoroughly toasting breal in the oven and pounding to a powder. Boil the potatoes in their jackets, peel and cut into slices. Well grease a fireproof dish and sprinkle thickly with breadcrumbs; arrange a layer of potatoes in it and sprinkle lightly with salt. Over the potato layer spread one of cream-cheese salted to taste. Put ; potatoes again, salt, cheese, and so on, : finishing with potatoes, i When all is used up, beat the eggs • very well, add to them the milk, the melted butter, and salt to taste, and : pour this mixture over the ingredients ! in the dish. Bake in a moderate oven ; for about 20 minutes. Serve hot in the same dish.