DRESS REFORM FOR MEN GOES BY THE BOARD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18939, 9 December 1929, Page 9

DRESS REFORM FOR MEN GOES BY THE BOARD.

Dress reform for men as a movement in Christchurch has reverted to the list of unsuccessful experiments. Primarily the demise of the venture, which was to have given the nation’s manhood freedom from stifle and discomfort, was due to the inability of the re formers to obtain a design for an open shirt which would combine the qualities of comfort and dressiness. All manufacturers in New Zealand were approached, but nothing suitable was forthcoming, and the movement, following its boom last year, slumped, and is now defunct. One or two individual members are still keen on the canoe shirt, and may be seen wearing it in the course of their daily business in Armagh Street. In Wellington, it is stated, the movement is meeting with a measure of success, and those men of Wellington who have discarded the conventional collar and tie have made offers to support the movement in Christchurch, should a revival be considered. In England, a medical practitioner, who heads a band of 5000 dress reformers, recently carried his faith to the extreme by taking his place at the matri monial altar wearing a shirt open at the neck. A battery of Press cameras brought him the fame that was due to sn pniiraupfiiiQ n