Ladies Column

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXVI, Issue 17534, 29 March 1919, Page 7

Ladies Column

A SIMPLE FROCK WITH CROSSOVER BODICE.

F&w styles are uiore becoming to the average figure than the cross-over bodice, which suits slim and stout, short and tall alike. A very attractive design for a cross-ov.er bodice, allied to a simple one-piece frock, is illustrated, and will appeal no doubt to many girls and women. The frock is of the most practical kind but elegant withal, the

wide belt giving a pretty effect at the waist, while the pockets of ample size are usef ul^ and smart-looking at tho same time.. Any/material, from cloth to silk, might be used for the development of the design. The simple little bodice is eased to the belt, to which the skirt is also gathered, and. the sole trimming employed throughout is Stitching, which is used with handsome effect,' suggestin ga tablier on the skirt. The belt is covered stitching, which, again, takes the place of cuffs on the sleeves. These latter are buttoned on the outer side, so that the wrist retains a tight fit. Each pocket is turned over at the top wifch two Vandykes, stitched and buttoned.

/GIRLS AND THEIR CLOTHES

The prettiest styles for girls are those that are simple t and such things as jumper blouses and sports coats are | among the most becoming fashions. The blouse that covers 4he waist-line is a particularly good style for giite. ' The hardest wear on a blouse or a shirt comes on the sides, under the arms, and for this reason it is an excellent plan to protect this pari of a blouse with a strip of Oil-silk. Fashionable dressmakers adopt this "trick of the trade," and find that a blouse is very much strengthened thereby. Certain new blouses foT girls are made with pretty little frills at the waist proceeding from gaugings, from throe to five deep. Muslin and soft washingsilk blouses are so made and are very dainty-looking. " The sleeves also are frilled and gauged aj^the termination and tho collars, maybe, are also finished i • ■ •• . if"

with frills. Collars are a very special feature of. girls' frocks, and the sailor collar is, as usual, among the most popular styles. As for suits, the Norfolk is one of the most generally becoming costumecoats to girls of from 10 to 16 yeara. The coat-frock is another popular style for growing girls as well as for their elders, and tno new fashions for the coming season show some exceptionally smart eoat-froeks for girls over twelve years of age. The materials favoured are the ever-popular serge, whipcord, i»nd smooth-faced cloths, while for everyday, hardy wear, heather-tweeds are recommended.

A very smart coat-frock, the fashion of which is suitable for any of the materials named, is illustrated, and is a becoming style for the schoolgirl. It would work out very well in saxe-blue or in white; or., again, for autumn wear the costume would be very serviceable materialised in cigar-brown cloth or serge. The design presents a novel feature in the arrangement of the belt in front, and a change from the ordinary is again evident in the overlapping of the waistline by ths bodice, back and front, while the sides are belted. The front of. the bodice is laced across with ribbon, and at the neck is a. big. loose collar of the sailor type. The sleeves are finished with smart cuffs, and these, the hem of the skirt and waist of the bodice are liahtly embroidered. The hat illustrated, with its high crown and rolled-un brim, is a particularly becoming model.

THE COMPLEXION.

To keep the complexion clear, it is advisable now and then to cleanse the pores of the skin by steaming the face for a few minutes, until the skin is thoroughly soft and moist, and the pores exude their contents of dust. Soap and water alone are not always sufficient to keep the skin as clear as it should be. At the same time, it is not advisable to encourage the steaming process too often, as the pores would be enlarged by so doing, and the skin in the long run would be coarsened.

It cannot be too often repeated that in drying the face the tendency should bo to rub upwards and in circles, as this helps to prevent the face from ageing quickly and to check the formation of downward lines. *

/ BRINK PLENTY OF WATER.

/ Those who suffer from rheumatism in its earliest stages are recommended, by a doctpr, to drink plenty of barley water, or even plain water, in order to flush the system thoroughly and help in this way to get rid of the cause of rheumatism. The " cure" is simple and inexpensive, and within the reach of anybody. A certain quantity of plain water, other than that used in tea and coffee making, should be drunk every day to keep the body healthy.

TRANSPARENT HOSIERY

Transparent hosiery is a great set-off to a costume, but it is frail, and tho threads are easily broken. It is worth remembering that by stitching with, a sewing machine above and below >.ny brokeri stitch in si!k hose, the broken thread runs no farther. Only about half-an-inch of stitching )s needed.

A POLISHING PAD FOR SHOES,

The sound part of towels that ore worn out at the end a may serve a very useful purpose. The worn-out ends should be- cut off, and the centre pieces hemmed. These will make nice dish cloths.

Any odd cuttings of velveteen should be saved and made up into iron-holders or shoe-polishers. A polisher is easily made from n, square or oblong piece or velveteen, either black or of dark colour. This ehould ho doub'ed, «nd stitched along two of the open parts; then the little bag thus made should be stuffed with two or three layers cf soft material—pieces of an old pair of Rtockihgs answer admirably—and the remaining open part should be seamed. In ord»r to keep the lining flat it should be of the size and shape of the polishing pad, and the various thicknesses should be stitched together before they are inserted in the pad.