THE HOUSE WIFE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18458, 17 April 1922, Page 8

THE HOUSE WIFE

A GRACEFUL CLOAK. No fashions could have been better planned to suit the extreme heat of the past two months than the “little” dress and the jumper-dress, with their abandonment of any pretetnion to fit, their absence of the superfluous, their short sleeves, shor skirts, and low necks. The coolest of fashions, they have been singularly appropriate to the hottest of summers.

But as fashion is apt to go from one extreme to the other, so it is not surprising that although the special features referred to have marked the most popular modes of the summer, yet coat-frocks with chin-high collars, buttoned up tightly, and sleeves extending to the bnuekles and closely following the lines of the arm, have also been among the chic styles affected, and these are the modes that we must look to when the time conies for putting asde the short-sleeved cretonne frock and finding a substitute more suitable for September. The pendulum will swing back again from the bare arm to the covered hand, and if only for the sake of economy in gloves, the long-sleeve fashion has decided merits.

In summer-time gloves are of less consideration than in autumn, since, in the hot season, cotton and silk gloves are accepted instead of kid ones, and, indeed, many short-sleev-ed girls go gloveless during the holiday season. The long sleeve

only needs a short glove, of course; but this must be a light one. The importance of a light glove to a navy blue coat-frock or costume, for intsance, is at once recognised. At one time the white kid glove held sway; but for the present the palest shades of apricot, banana, and “chamios” have eclipsed white for hand-wear.

As regards shoes and stockings, nothing is in better taste than dustcoloured footwear, the shoes of antelope, with a single, very wide strap on each, passing right across to the sole from side to side, and bordered with sitching or small, punched holes, and the hosiery as fine as possible. It is footwear that gives the seal of success to the smart and simple costume, and its importance, like that of gloves, cannot be overlooked. A vogue that has grown steadily in favour since the spring is the long cloak. At first, it was doubted whether the cloak would survive as a fashion, but that doubt has been set at rest, and it is evident that the cloak has come to stay. A few years ago it made a tentative appearance, but was no great success; then its disappeared for several seasons, and has emerged again to be hailed as a triumph—emerged in a fresh character, as it were, with little differences of style that avert monotony.

The exceedingly graceful cloak illustrated is a particularly charming model. Nearly every cloak is now made with a yoke, which, as often as not, is covered with a deep, falling collar; but in the present instance the yoke is cleverly continued into straps, that cross the figure under the cloak and are united at the back with a button and buttonhole. This cloak, therefore, can be worn with slightly open fronts; but all the same, slits for the arms to pass through can be made at each side.

For the most part, the fashionable cloak is of black satin or navy-blue gaberdine or cloth—sometimes in a mixture of cloth and satin, united in various ways.

THE CROSS-FRONTED BLOUSE. The skirt and blouse with belted waist is a fashion that to a great extent has given way to the skirt and jumper or blouse that covers the waist, no belt being necessary. This newer fashion solves what has hitherto been a distressing problem, namely, how to ensure a neat appearance of the waist-line, for with the ordinary skirt and blouse with belted waist there has always been the danger of an ugly gap appearing between the skirt and blouse, or if not a gay an ugly line, caused by the riding up of the belt and the dropping of the skirt.

Small wonder, therefore, the preference shown for the blouse that is worn outside the skirt and does away with the likelihood of any unseemly line occurring at the waist.

One of the newer blouses that cover the waist in a completely sat-

isfactory way is illustrated, and offers a change from the jumper fashion. This blouse is made with cross-over fronts—a generally becoming style—and the left one is supplied with a long end that falls to the knees. The collar and ends of the sleeves that are turned up are faced with stuff in a different coloui- to th 3 blouse itself, and the long end tnat is stitched to the left front, while having the appearance of being cut in one with it, is either passed through a fancy ring, covered with the blouse material, or knotted at the top. At the waist the material is slightly draped. The simplicity of the blouse finds an excellent set-off in an accordionpleated skirt. This would be nice in navy-blue Japanese silk, mervsatin or voile, with a top of navyblue satin and collar and sleeve-fac-ings of white charmeuse; or, again, a skirt of black Japanese silk and blouse of black charmeuse, faced with pale pink, would make up a very smart dress. Stockinette is a fashionable material that is very much used for one-piece dresses, and has a lovely, soft appearance. Few things are more useful than a frock of black stockinette, made all in one with skirt and jumper, and arranged in such a way that it is equally suitable for afternoon or evening wear. Most women would, assuredly, find a dress of the sort one of the most useful “stand-bys” of the wardrobe. Very serviceable, also, for afternoon and evening wear, is the one-piece frock of pale grey charmeuse, cut with low, oval-shaped neck and short sleeves. A slight trimming of tiny cut-steel beads would be a delightful addition at the neck and elbows, with, perhaps, a bead ornament worked' on the front of the bodice.

TO OBTAIN PATTERNS. Patterns of all the designs appearing in this column, week by week, can be obtained by sending stamps, value 1/-, for every pattern required (coat, skirt, blouse, one-piece gown, etc.), to Miss Ida Meller, Care of The Editor. The envelope should be marked “Patterns.”

IRON-MOULD AND RUST STAINS. \ Even with home laundry, with which special care is taken, as a rule, to avoid iron-mould or rust marks from staining the linen, these unwanted marks generally make their appearance, and are more or less evident on tea-cloths and serviettes, face-towels, petticoats, and so on. It is otfen a mystery to the home laundress how the linen is thus stained.. The possibilities are that the iron used is responsible. Maybe, it has not been rubbed as it should have been before being used, with sandpaper or a clean duster to remove any rust that may be lingering on it, rust that may have been picked up from the iron-stand on which it rests while the ironing is in progress, wherefore the necessity of seeing that the stand as well as the iron itself is rubbed clean before it is used. As linen, also washing silk, must be slightly damp, of course, when ironed, it is easily understood that rust-marks from the iron are liable to imprint themselves on the fabric unless the iron is perfectly clean and bright every time it is psed. Such marks will be ironed in, as it were.

Another thing. When hung up to dry, linen is sometimes allowed to touch a rusty nail, or piece of metal of one kind or another, that causes the yellow stain that is so difficult to remove. Even the damp towel in everyday use may pick up a rust stain through hanging on a brass rod that is not clean, or even through hanging on a wooden rod with brass screws at the end. Ironmould and rust stains ' may come from any of these causes, that are otfen quite over-looked even by experienced laundresses, and that attack flannel as well as linen and silk. Where the stained goods are white, the best and safest thing to remove the marks is lemon juice. Sprinkle the stain with salt, moisten it with lemon juice, and place the garments on table linen in the sun. Add more lemon juice if necessary.

When more drastic measures are imperative, salts-of-lemon, or a weak solution of oxalic acid may be resorted to, but both these things must be very carefully used, and the fingers must not touch them. Acids of any kind are liable to rot the material they clean, and it is wiser to avoid them; anyway, they should not be used to coloured goods. In using salts-of-lemon, hold the stained linen over a basin, sprinkle the stain well with the salts and gently pour very hot water over the injured, parts, “mixing” and rubbing the salts over the stain with a piece of wood. On no account employ a spoon used for table purposes, and be sure to pour away the water used immediately, and to thoroughly clean out the basin, for salts-of- lemon is a poison, and should be carefully labelled and put away in a safe place after use. Whatever is used to remove ironmould must be washed off afterwards and the linen must be well rinsed in fresh water. Hooks and , eyes on washable garments are, of: course, a frequent cause of rust- I stain.