Our Beauty Note.

“We live in a woman's world,” I read the other day. “The place is absolutely run for them now and soon will be run by them.”

I felt extremely sceptical about this. True enough that women have emerged rather aggressively and with much spectacular display from their age-old obscurity. Naturally they are absorbing rather more than their share of attention just at present, and are very much “to the fore” in all things. But surely a balance will be achieved, and from being merely ornamental, women will be useful too. We must not concentrate too wholeheartedly upon our equality with men, and although we have revolted from the long accepted idea that our sphere in life is to be beautiful—we must not altogether forget it. Once a woman's only claim to notice lay in her charms and they were her sole weapon in the struggle. Now it is believed that she actually possesses quite remarkable brain powers—so that she no longer has to rely entirely upon her face as her fortune.

Yet we still wish men to idealise us and to admire our beauty.

There are so many artificialities and cults and so many methods of acquiring beauty that the business girl of to-day is tempted sometimes to give up the struggle. She simply can't be bothered, and hasn't time.

But here is a point to remember. Although you have hundreds of things to think about beyond yourself, try always to be well groomed. This is far more important than being ultra-fashionable. Too many girls concentrate any spare energy they may have upon clothes alone and forget the little things that matter, such as beautifully brushed and well-cut hair, hands which have had a little attention beyond soap and water, teeth which shine, and a skin which glows with health and care. Holes in gloves, heels down-trodden, a hastily darned ladder, safety-pins—all these are impossible to the wellgroomed girl. She knows how much they matter, and sometimes she will spend money on general repairs rather than on acquiring at once what Fashion has decreed shall be worn this winter. This woman has a sense of proportion.