CHILDREN'S CLOTHES SENSE.

Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15022, 19 August 1922, Page 13 (Supplement)

CHILDREN'S CLOTHES SENSE.

separate and pleated panels. And the finishing touch is a HI tic handkerchief of hem-stilched crepe dc chine —brilliantly cherry-red to match the belt — which is carefully stitched into its permanently jaunty position in the breast pocket. And ths is just one of the ways—and a very excellent way, too—in which Ihe serviceable frock is made smart nowadays.

Then I must tell you that the "Sunshine Styles" promise to be more fascinating than ever this season—just imagine a litlle cowslip-yellow gown with a pleated skirt and a long-waistcd bodice defined by a novel belt of while cloth with a great pearl buckle, its—more or less —inseparable companion being a long burnous cape, also softly yellow in its outer colouring, white in its lining, and showing just a telling touch or two of black in the embroidery edging the .hoodlike folds which so picturesquely (and sometimes, if need be, "protectively, loo) replace the ordinary collar.

Now doesn't the very thought of such a costume make you long for a chance'to wear the reality in the right kind of weather abroad, if not at home ? And there is already sunning itself at Biarritz another and even more summery dress of white crepe Marocain with coral-pink embroidery at neck and sleeves, and a long-waistcd bodice joined by deeply scalloped cordings to a skirt whose fulness at the sides is first gathered into gaugings and then pleated. Coral-pink in its colouring is the completing coatee of batiste worked with while stitchings in the oldfashioned quilted design which is the newest craze for satin coils, and silk and satin and crepe de chine hats. Another novelty fabric—a rival for Zenana —is the satin which looks as if it had been purposely crushed into a thousand and one crinkly folds—you may remember my description of a wonderful Royal wedding clonk of sil-ver-satin and chinchilla fur, which gave the new fabric an early and splendid start —one obvious advantage of this rather attractive patterning being that you can treat your cloak as unceremoniously as you like, and. it will never be able to show its resentment in the ordinary and unallractive way! Another variation of the new satin, called cloque, figures in one of the costumes illustrated, the artist's somewhat prosaic, but really very apt, description of its curiously marked surface being "satin, covered with blisters" !

A new nap-surface' doth, too —very soft and light and. warm—which is ideal for spring wear, h the fabric chosen for the coat of a three-piece costume which aims at being all things lo all kinds of weather. II should succeed splendidly, too, for the coat, of dark grey cloth, is long enough lo cover the whole of the little foulard gown, and ready to button cosily high about the neck when so desired, there being just one more button fastening attached to a cleverly introduced tab at the low waistline. When, however, the collar is deeply downturned it, gives the first outward glimpse of its decorative lining of the black and white crepe foulard—another new material worth noling, and

Pamela showed signs of dawning appreciation of clothes and her own appearance at the age bf eighteen months. She would come down the corridor holding out her little skirt, pointing her toes carefully as she moved slowly forward, beaming with pleasure, her eyes fixed on her new pale blue shoes. At the age of four Pamela would request her mother "to spread my things out on the bed," and when dressed would preen herself before the glass. Now she is six Pamela helps to choose her own clothes, is very particular about colours that suit her, and takes the utmost care of all her little garments. Develop Taste. Nearly every child exhibits some signs of the clothes sense at one age or j another. This trail can be usefully i trained, so that Ihe child develops i taste, care, and neatness with regard to dress. Sometimes children are severely snubbed for any display of interest in their own appearance, the result being that they grow up careless and untidy, with no idea of putting on or looking after their clothes. While it is preposterous that a child should dictate to her parents as to

what clothes should be bought for her, at the same time it is wise to let the little one have some pari in I he. purchases. In this way she can be trained lo notice the different effects of style and colour. When she makes a wrong or ugly choice her mistake, can be pointed out, and she can be shown how another frock or coat is really more suitable. In the same way it is quite simple for mother to show her little daughter that, fine muslin frocks are useless for beach wear, and elaborate sfyles unsuitable for school use. If, however, mother only says, "You can't have that" and "You must have this," Ihe child learns nothing and becomes discontented because site does not understand. A Satisfactory Result. When a girl has been carefully trained in the clothes sense almosl from babyhood she will have a natural good taste and common sense about clothes that will stand her in good stead when she begins to grow up. The bad. judgment, careless treatment, and indifference about dress that is so often shown by young girls is largely ilue to neglect of any clothes training in earlier yearsHAT HEADACHE. Women are threatened with a return of a lialf-forgotten malady—the hat headache, a disease stamped out by the fashion of Ihc small hat. Large hats demand hatpins, those fertile" sources of headaches, broken hair, and ill-temper. Will they also bring bark Ihe monstrous hair-pads which women once wore to make the large hal comfortable? Women have lo choose between the long skirl and wide-brimmed hat for fashion, or the short -skirt and "pullon" hat for comfort. In the millinery department of- one large store, the manager told a London Daily Mail'representative recently that the majority of the hats sold that morning were small. "Large hats are not for bobbed hair, and girls know it," she added, "and that may have some effect on hal fashions, for bobbed haired girls, in any group of young folks, are the ones who are noticed."