AG een 8) Toes TTR RTA Home “ Women’s Activities “ Family FASHIONS New designs plain racket By JO LYNNE Remember the pinched waist Whale-bone corsets the designers ‘tried to foist on American women Several years ago? The overwhelming majority of us just laughed when we saw the ads for them and the fashion Slinked out, leaving .a few retail- ers with some satin and lastex lemons on their shelves. It would be nice if we could do the same thing to the new styles the clothing industry is trying to put over for the most blatant reason possible—to make obsolete every single item in a Woman’s wardrobe from her slips to her winter coat. ’ It’s as though the designers sat down with pencil and pad and tried to figure out the opposite for every single fashion feature in’ yogue for the last few years. Shoulders have been broad; make ‘em narrow. Skirts have been Short; make ’em long. Waists have been high; drop ’em. Shoes have been flat and open-toed; Make ’em high-heeled and closed. Coats have been fitted; make 'em like slacks. The results? Just lengthening a hem won’t do the trick — and anyhow, with war restrictions on clothing dresses bought in recent years had no hems7~ worth mentioning. Just how much the designers are going to get away with de- Pends on the good sense of the Woman. Probably the fight to keep dresses as short as they’ve been is already lost. Any woman would feel . conspicuous with a dress above her knees in a room full of women with longer dresses. A slightly longer hemline is gen- erally more attractive anyhow— the dresses don’t hike up when you sit down and _ unattractive legs get a bit of camouflage. But the designers are not try- ing to make any slight changes; they’re attempting a revolution. Some months ago, the trade pa- Pers were full of suggestions on how to accomplish the putsch— Most of them added up to plug- Sing the new styles alongside of Pictures showing the worst fea- tures (and there were some) of the old styles. That technique is being used on. the retail level now. It shouldn’t work. The manufacturers realize that With ordinary living costs so high--with food and lodging and Children’s clothing all at fantastic heights—women just aren’t going to buy new clothes. That is, un- less they are made so_ self- Conscious that they will be . ashamed to be seen. in clothes that seem to them as outmoded as the styles during the first World war used to appear—until the unscrupulous designers got to Work, “Maybe we wouldn’t get so an- Noyed if at least the new styles Were pretty. But they’re actually ugly. Are we going to shell out 800d, hard-earned money to look like little girls dressed up in their mother’s old clothes? I hope not! anes Union runs own store Members of Local 400, United wives to the union’s cooperative Auto Workers (CIO), take their store in Highland Park, Mich., where they purchase weekly supplies of canned goods and produce at cost price. The union’s greatest problem is to keep up with the demand, food prices in the retail stores being what they are. WOMEN IN POLITICS Woman MP watches over child welfare in Bulgaria By ROSE GRANT LONDON—Though she has only: one child of her own, Rumen, aged eight, Bulgaria’s Todora Noeva, is in charge of a vast family of youngsters. when she visited London recently. She told me about her work Presiding over the National Council of Social Welfare and Child Education is a job for which this 45-year-old Communist M.P., exuberant with vitality and confidence, is well suited. In every town and every village of post-war Bulgaria you will find a branch of the council. It has provided maternity homes —since 1945 the number has grown from 15 to 160—creches, kinder- gartens, schools for midwwives, children’s nurses and other per- sonnel] needed for mother and child welfare. \ The eyes of this fine-looking woman sparkled as she spoke to me about her son. "I love children,” she said, “and I would like to have had more myself, but I spent too many years in prison. a Twelve years to be exact. When between the two world wars reaction ruled in Bulgaria, Todora Noeva, then a , tobacco worker, won respect and renown among her people for her courage. , Twice the Fascists sentenced her to death, but so great was the public outcry that she was kept in jail instead. In the days of the German oc- cupation, she helped to form the Fatherland Front, and organized the. secret social welfare organ- ization which nursed wounded re- sistance fighters and found shel- ter, food and money for their wives and children. Today she is one of the most distinguished members of the Bul- garian government. With her in in a parliament of 476 members are 38 other women, 35 of them Communists. . Quietly but very proudly she said: “Woman has come of age politi- cally in most European countries today. During the war she proved her worth as a worker and fight- er. “Now we must make sure that she can enjoy her reward, her newly won equality with men.” HOW TO STRETCH YOUR DOLLAR Use lower .grades (less .ex- pensivé) cuts of meat:,these have less waste fat and require grain feeds to produce them. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1%, 1947 Serve more fish: it’s one rotein food not dependent on the grain crop; it’s delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner, Make use of dried eggs: they're plentiful and conven- ient for egg dishes and other food preparation. bl I to excuse my mistakes. You funny. One minute they holler to get your hands .off that type- writer and the next thing you know, they've got a new idea for a column and bingo, you’ve got the job. The only thing is, they didn’t tell me what to write about so now they can’t blame me for sayin’ things that maybe I shouldn’t. ; * x * I THINK Ill write about the things I don’t like about grown ups. It’s funny, but when I do something they don’t like they run off for a big book that’s supposed to tell you what makes kids tick and they get all wor- ried and flustered and wonder if maybe I’m not normal. Usually I end up by myself in my room, but that’s okay because I have all my toys in there and anyway it was too hot in the kitchen. But they get so touchy if you do the slightest thing wrong. Heck, they’re always doing some- thing like washing dishes or baking or changing the baby and I can’t just stand around watch- ing all the time, but if I make any noise I get hushed; if I’m too quiet they think I’m doing something I shouldn’t, so, gee whiz, what can a four-year old do with herself all day long? * * * : ONCE I went to a school with other boys and girls and it was fun. There were so many things to do and there were nice ladies to help you cut out and color and then we'd sing a little bit and play games. Gosh, I wish I could go again. But the grown ups pull long faces and use that funny voice they have for talking to kids. They tell me that Daddy hasn’t got enough money this year. I don’t know what it’s all about, but it’s» because the people who make things keep putting the prices up, like my new shoes. My Daddy says they cost as much as his do. And that’s another thing. Once I used to rate an ice cream cone nearly every day (unless I had done something really bad like pinching the baby where he is so round and pink and pinchy looking), but now I get one only once a week. When I get to be a big girl I’m going to go down and work in my Daddy’s office, and then I can buy an ice cream cone whenever I want to. My Daddy says, but maybe they won’t pay you enough, but I told him I’d make the boss man pay me and if he didn’t I wouldn’t work for him. They tell me I'm a little Red, whatever that is, but I wouldn’t work for anybody who didn’t give me _ enough nickels. * * * MY MOM says to stop gabbling and to tell you something useful. She says to tell you about my good habit chart, which.I will as it is a good thing to humor parents. I have a chart in my room with pictures on it of a little girl washing her hands, putting her toys away, eating up ZENITH CAFE 105 E. Hastings Vancouver GOSH, this business of writing isn’t as easy as it looks, and seein’ that this is the first time I’ve ever done this sort of thing all you ladies that read my Mom’s column will have know, grown up people are her vegetables and so on. I get a star to paste on my chart every time I remember to do all my good habits without being told. And, oh boy! if I can go a whole week remembering every- thing, I get an all day sucker. Just between you and me I think it’s straight bribery, but then as I said before it’s good to humor parents. P.S. My Mom says to tell you she will write something sensible next week. That’s all the thanks I get for my work.—B.G. PATTERN FEATURE \\ 229 3-8 yrs. This bolero outfit is just the thing for your little girl. Easy to make, Rattern 8225 comes in sizes designed for 3 to 8 years. Send 25 cents in coin, your name, address, pattern number and size to Sue Burnett, Fed- erated Press Pattern Service, 1150 Avenue of the Americas, New York, 19, N.Y. HIGHEST PRICES PAID for DIAMONDS, OLD GOLD Other Valuable Jewellery STAR LOAN CO. Ltd. EST. 1905 719 Robson St. — MAr. 2622 EAST END TAXI UNION DRIVERS HA. 0334 Fully 24-Hour Insured Service 613 East Hastings, Vancouver Excellent Acoustics ALWAYS MEET AT THE PENDER AUDITORIUM Renovated—Modernized—Hall Large and Small for Every Need DANCING — CONVENTIONS — MEETINGS Triple Mike P.A. System — Wired for Broadcasting 389 West Pender Street For CONSTANTINE FINE CUSTOM TAILORING 501 Granville St. Ladies and Gentlemen PA. 1452 PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 7