he aid of pads, and adds some inches to a
woman's stature.... Another type of coiffure is being adopted by some
hairdressers, who leave the hair flat and smooth round the face, and
only make a sort of bird's-nest of the ends, which stand well up so as
to lengthen the profile in an upward direction."
Nothing, however, is said about the relation of fashion to the
physique of the sterner sex. To correct this omission Mr. Punch
has interviewed a number of West-End tailors, hatters, hosiers and
bootmakers. The results of this inquiry may be briefly summarised.
Heads are to be larger this autumn, and to keep pace with the
extraordinary development of brain amongst our insurgent youth, as
evidenced by the correspondence in _The Morning Post_, it has been
found necessary to make a radical change in the stock sizes of hats.
But, where there has been no cranial distension, provision will be
made to remedy the defect by the insertion of a cork sheath, by the
aid of which a head of undersized circumference will be able to wear
a No. 8 hat. Again, to meet the needs of customers in whom the
temperature of the cranial region is habitually high, a hat has been
devised with a vacuum lining for the insertion of cold water. The
"Beverley" nickel-plated refrigerating helmet, as it is called, has
already found a large sale amongst Balliol undergraduates.
As a result of the revival of the "Apes _v._ Angels" controversy, in
which Canon BARNES has taken so prominent a part, and Mr. BOTTOMLEY
has declared himself as a whole-hearted supporter of DARWIN (_vide_
his article in _The Sunday Pictorial_), hands will be supple and
boneless this autumn, as in fashionable portraits. This reversion to
the prehensile type of hand, so noticeable in the chimpanzee, has its
drawbacks, and the rigidity necessary for certain manual functions,
such as winding up a motor or opening a champagne bottle, will be
furnished by gloves of a stiffer and stronger fabric, ranging from
simulation leatherette to chain-mail.
Owing to the continued over-crowding of trains, tubes and motor-buses,
elbows will be more prominent and aggressive than ever, and tailors
are building a type of coat calculated to relieve the strain on this
useful joint by a system of progressive padding, soft inside but
resembling a nutmeg-grater at the point of contact with the enemy.
It only remains to be added that in consequence of the publication of
the Jewish Protocol and other documents
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