Dress for Yacht.—(a) A black lace or canvas and silk dress is sufficient. Liberty’s soft silks are invaluable, as they take up little room, and pack well. Take a dark pretty dressing gown for your bath in the morning, and avoid making an object of yourself then by going attired in a waterproof, with your head tied up in a shawl, as is the fashion of many ladies. (b) For a month’s cruise on a public yacht a lady who has been a similar voyage advises dress as follows: One light weight serge or cloth dress, one tweed ditto, a jacket that can be worn with both, an ulster, and plenty of wraps, a rug, a high short dress for dinner, a dress for excursions, one lace dress. A useful and nearly essential item is a short dark silk tea gown, which can be easily slipped on for dinner in rough weather; for instance, a black Merveilleux satin, trimmed with black lace and red ribbons. Other necessaries are pockets to nail against the cabin walls, plenty of Florida water or eau de Cologne. A large supply of under-linen, to enable you to be independent of the laundress during the hurried washing in port, is a great advantage.
Outfits for Abroad. Australia.—A necessary outfit for a voyage to Australia is as follows, whether you go by the Cape or Canal, bearing in mind the southern seas are cold, and that 10 days by the Cape route sees you through the tropics. A regulation sized box is only allowed in the cabin, together with a bonnet box; but luggage marked “Wanted on the voyage” is brought up from the hold once a week. Old underclothing is best to wear, for when soiled it is dropped overboard, and saves washing. On arrival in a country where labour is dear, and also as the trunks from the hold are packed and unpacked in public, it is pleasanter to be rid of soiled linen. Take 7-8 weeks’ change of everything. The voyage is 6 weeks as a rule. Friends will supply you with old underclothing, if you ask. Take 4 doz. paper cuffs and collars; you will need a clean one a day. Buy a few dozen cheap pocket handkerchiefs to ensure having enough. No washing whatever is done on board. At Ceylon, the natives come out for clothes, but as steamers’ sailings are irregular, you may leave your belongings behind. Frilling becomes limp, but have a few dozen yards to freshen up a dress. Have warm flannels; a pair of mittens are a boon, keeping your hands cosy while your fingers are free to work. Tennis shoes are not elegant, but comfortable, and, when decks are slippery with wet, they are invaluable. Avoid high heels, for the ship’s rolling is apt to make walking unsafe. Have besides tennis shoes a pair of bath slippers, house shoes, a pair of strong walking shoes, and a pair of boots to land in. Remember a wave may sneak in at an open port and invade a cabin, so have bags for boots hung high, bags for brush, comb, scent, and all toilette requisites, and a few pouches for ribbons, cuffs, handkerchiefs, to avoid opening your box when you want any trifle; a hanging pincushion, and a few large linen bags to slip things into when rough, for it is objectionable to wake and find your clothes about the floor. The stewards act as housemaids, come in to shut ports, clean out cabins, carry water, so a lady should have things specially tidy. Have a hat capable of keeping firmly on the head in wind, a shady one for the tropics, though it really matters little, the decks being covered with awning, and keep your hat for landing strapped up high above invading waves in the cabin. A cabin’s furniture consists only of bunks, basin stands, mirrors, a shelf for the water bottle, each berth a rack, such as are in railway carriages, useful to hold books, workbox, &c.; but do not in calm weather pile it too high, for when you run into rolling seas of course the things slip out. You may be in a cabin with three other ladies; space is very limited, trunks are thrust below the bunks, and at most two pegs apiece allowed to hang dresses on; but for the bags mentioned, take a few thin tacks and put them up yourself. Only keep out the dress you wish to change and your dressing gown, for, if you hang out more, the cabin, even if you have the luck to have only one fellow-traveller in with you, gets stuffed up, and you blush for its untidiness when you learn the captain inspects every cabin at 11 A.M. daily.
Take a few pairs of old scissors, a few penny button hooks, and hang one of each up by the mirror to have handy, and keep the others stored in your cabin box for fear of losing or mislaying the two out for use. Take plenty of pins and thread and needles, and an extra pair or two of stay busks. To break one in mid ocean is a misfortune, unless you have others get-at-able to remedy the evil.
Take some cotton and also some woollen stockings, and do not forget a hot water bottle. The bed-room steward will readily get it filled, and, if it is cold, the bottle will be a great comfort. Have an ulster, a muffler, and a light shawl: the last to throw over your head, mantilla fashion, when sitting on deck during the delightful balmy evenings one enjoys on board. Have one warm dress, one cotton, either one grenadine made with high bodice, or an old silk for dinner. You hardly dress for that meal, but change your gown to a slightly smarter one, and a little addition of lace to any old afternoon costume is sufficient: also take a few flowers to vary it. On the tray of your cabin box keep another smarter dress to land in and to wear on Sundays, for a little variety is grateful to all. Let the warm dress and your dinner one, if you are economical, be old, and keep your new toilettes for Australia. Dresses get stickily salt on board, lose their freshness, and, as most folks wear their second best when travelling by sea, as long as you are tidy, neat, and clean, you need not trouble about a little shabbiness. One print, even by the Red Sea route, is quite sufficient, unless you are a very careless person, and cannot keep a cotton dress clean for two weeks. Put a silk costume in at the top of “Wanted on voyage trunk” to get out easily, for perhaps you may wish to be extra smart at a ship concert; and have packed on the top of that box also a cotton, for fear of soiling the other, your relays of underlinen, a few extra books and music to relieve the monotony of the ones in your cabin. Do not take more than what I have advised, or you will hamper up what is your bedroom for the time, and make it a sore vexation to your steward and uncomfortable for yourself. When you see the officers in white flannel trousers, take out your cotton dress. When they put on white hats and duck suits, lay away your thick dress and your ulster and rug. When you see them back to navy-blue attire, put away your cotton dress and take to your warm clothes. You can rely on the official sense to guide you aright. Have a neat dressing gown, as you may have to pass the saloon on your way to a bath. Do not forget a supply of hairpins. You will find a thick dress, a print, an evening dress all-sufficient, with underclothes and collars for a week or two, hats, boots, &c. These will fill up your cabin box; but keep room for a few books, although there is a library on board. You can lend your stock, and vary the ship’s literature. Of course, take a piece of work, but you will not do much after the first week. When you know your fellow-passengers, you will help them all day at doing nothing, for sea voyaging is idle and frivolous. Take music if you play, and have a store in the “wanted” trunk, for your fellow-passengers will get tired of your songs if you have but 3 or 4. If you paint, have your materials handy to illuminate a concert programme, for you must try and be ready to assist amusements, unless you wish to be killed with ennui. Take some tea (though on the Orient line they supply it freely), and a teapot, and a few cups. You can get hot water from your steward, and do not need a kettle. Afternoon tea-parties on board are pleasant as on shore, and it is well to have the means of entertaining. If you are to be at sea on Christmas Day take some cards. Your neighbours will thank you when they find a greeting on their breakfast plates. Take some mimic note paper and envelopes for invitations to tea, &c., as all these little odds and ends to amuse others are sure to help you to enjoy seafaring.
Fancy balls are a common form of fun on Australian steamers; and, if you are taking a fancy dress out with you, put it in the “Wanted box,” and, if not, exert your ingenuity. Take some games with you in your cabin box—cards, chess, backgammon, dominoes. You can get them all in mimic sets.
If you are going to Australia to live, look well on the map as to your future colony, and, as you are near the equator, prepare for heat. Western and South Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales, are all very warm, especially during 3 months in the year; but also bear in mind in the bush servants are scarce, and do not have your cotton dresses too elaborate, for fear you may have to wash them yourself. There is winter too in Australia, and at first you think it like our May at home, but after a year you will suffer from the least cold keenly, so have some warm clothes, and over all the colonies it is dusty, therefore do not forget a dust cloak. Victoria is not quite so warm, nor Tasmania, as the northern colonies. The South Island of New Zealand is like home, with a vastly improved climate, and clothes for there identical with England. North Island is hotter, but never so warm as Australia. If you are going to live in a town you will need the same sort and amount of dress as in England. Clothes are not much dearer. Frilling, gloves, and small items are, however, more expensive, and bear in mind people in the antipodes are very smartly dressed, so have a few well-made things in preference to many dowdy ones. If you are to live on a station, or in the bush, as the country is called, you will not need evening or garden-party dresses—only a couple of cotton dresses, a grey summer bège, a warm dress of tweed, a commoner one for the morning and a better one for afternoon wear, a habit, ulster, dust cloak, garden hat, and gloves; a hat to drive to the township in, and one thoroughly good costume, bonnet, and mantle, all well-made of some handsome material for a marriage, a race meeting, the show, or any such event as comes to relieve bush life’s quiet routine.
India.—To have a reasonable outfit, and often renewed, is far better economy, and is also much pleasanter, than taking very many things at once, as in this way one does not so soon tire of one’s wardrobe; and new things can be had out from home of a later fashion. For a life to be spent in the plains of India, 2 doz. of each article of underlinen would be an ample allowance; while for those who can go to the cool climate of the hills 1½ doz. would be quite sufficient. A good supply of dark-coloured finest cotton stockings (say 1½ doz.), and ½ doz. black spun silk stockings, should also be taken. ½ doz. fine flannel jerseys (flannel is by far the safest wear in India) and 4 flannel petticoats would be a very fair quantity, and 1 doz. white petticoats, with one or two pretty-coloured warmer ones for the cold weather, will always be found quite sufficient. Much embroidery or lace on one’s clothes is a great mistake, as the “dhobees” (washermen) beat them to pieces in no time. Also ½ doz. high petticoat bodices, and ½ doz. embroidered low ones to wear with thin dresses. Avoid having the petticoat skirt and bodice in one, as very often in the hot weather one is glad to change the bodice when it is quite unnecessary to change the skirt also; so little walking is done in the hot weather that the skirt remains clean for some time, and, as the “dhobees” beat one’s clothes most unmercifully in washing them, it is a consideration not to have them undergo this process oftener than is necessary. Collars, cuffs, ties, neck ribbons, pocket handkerchiefs, should be taken ad lib., also one or two pretty fichus, with materials to make others from them, as these things are very expensive in India, and do not spoil by keeping if put carefully away and looked at occasionally. It is much better to have boots and shoes out as you require them. The best plan is to have 2 pairs pretty walking boots and 3 or 4 of house shoes out at a time. The Chinamen in Calcutta can copy boots and shoes remarkably well, and even up-country “maachees” (shoemakers) can make them up pretty well from a pattern; but the leather never lasts long, nor do they keep in shape. In the hills it is absolutely necessary to have good strong English walking boots, with very thick soles and moderately high heels—not very high ones, as they are apt to make one fall, and the sharp stones and rocky ground grind them down at once. To have a number of dresses is a great mistake; a handsome, well-made black silk is indispensable, and the most useful thing a lady can have; this, with a pretty visiting dress and (say) 2 cashmeres, or some such material, is ample for the cold weather. These, with the exception of the visiting dress, should be a walking length. A warm coat is also necessary, as it is very cold for about 2½ months; a thick “burruk” coat, trimmed with fur, is not at all too much, and very comfortable wear; also a lighter coat for the hills, or when the mornings and evenings are chilly. A well-fitting ulster is a necessity for the hills, and if waterproof so much the better, but it should be made of a light material. Of course, some people go out much more than others do; but a handsome dinner dress (a black satin, with jet trimmings, &c., is very useful), one for small parties, and 2 pretty ball dresses, will be ample for any one. Of course to those who live in Calcutta or Simla more dresses would be necessary, as there is so much more gaiety there; but in up-country stations this is a very good allowance, and more than the quantity named would only get old-fashioned and be very much in the way. Shoes to match, and silk stockings also, should be taken. Some sort of opera cloak is necessary; a black cashmere dolman, lined with thin silk, is the nicest, and, if sent to Delhi to be embroidered in gold or silver thread, or in coloured silk in what is called the “enamel” or the “peacock” pattern (both very handsome), it would be lovely, always look well, and last for years. This embroidery is not very expensive. Silk gloves for India are the nicest things that were ever invented, as they do not spot and spoil as kid, nor get hard in rainy weather; it is best to have a good many pairs, as they wear out so soon, and they are very dear out here. Bonnets are very seldom worn, but some ladies like them for visiting and for going to church. Hats are much pleasanter wear, and, as a rule, more becoming; 2 pretty hats are ample, with a plainer one with no feathers (except perhaps a wing or a hackle one) for dull rainy days, or for travelling. Hats and bonnets can so easily come out by P. and O. parcel post that it is much nicer to have a few, and have them yearly, when one gets the latest fashions. A well-made habit should of course be taken; a good native “dirzi” (tailor) could easily copy in cloth or any thinner material for daily wear, as habits do not last long, and are such expensive things to buy. For the hills, the fewer clothes one has the better, as fish, insects, and the damp destroy them; and in the rains nothing very good should be worn. A pretty cashmere dress is by far the most useful. For hot weather in the plains, it is nice to have a foulard silk or Cora silk dress for the rains, as muslins and such things get very limp there and look untidy. Coloured prints and muslins are very pretty and tempting, but they are not the best wear for India, as, with the constant washing and the heat, they soon lose their colours and get washed out, and look far from fresh and nice; thin white materials (not piqués and such stuffs, which are the hottest wear possible), prettily made, with coloured ribbon bows down the front, &c., are the nicest. In the house, pretty morning dresses made like tea gowns are by far the most comfortable wear; it is a good plan to bring one pretty, nicely fitting one out, and also to bring the materials and trimmings for ½ doz. others, as then the native tailors can copy them beautifully at a small cost. These dresses, worn with different coloured ribbons, always look nice for the house, and are so much cooler than tight-fitting dresses. Pretty self-coloured muslins, worn over batiste slips of the same colour, are always nice for garden parties and visiting; and now hats are so often made of the same material as the dress, it is easy to have a variety of them, and they always look dressy, and are very light. Cottons, tapes, needles, buttons of all sorts, elastic, ribbon, wire, &c., should be taken in large quantities; but keep them under lock and key, or they disappear most mysteriously. A good supply of paper and envelopes also is necessary. Rooms in India are so bare and colourless, that one wants many bright little things to make them look home-like and cheerful. No one would regret bringing out some pretty inexpensive chromo-lithographs in nice frames; they need not all be framed (though all should be mounted), as the “mistris” (carpenters) can make the Oxford frames very neatly and cheaply from a pattern, and glasses can also be got out here in some places; these always make the room look pretty, and hide the walls which, not being papered, but only coloured plaster, are by no means the prettiest part of an Indian drawing room. Also bring a good many yards of coloured cretonne; black cretonne, with gold-coloured pattern on it, is nice, and does not fade as some of those with light grounds do; but it is well to include a few yards of different patterns of cretonne, as it is pretty to have the chairs not all the same, and makes the room look brighter. Over-mantels would be charming and uncommon; brackets for the walls, and pretty china wall baskets, also wall mirrors, would be found great additions to the look of a room, and would always be eagerly bought up if one was leaving a station, as it is almost impossible to get such things, except perhaps in Calcutta, where they are fearfully dear. By all means take glass and crockery out; it is twice or three times as expensive in Calcutta as at home; and if one trusts to station auctions, one is sure to get imperfect and shabby sets of things, and very often has to pay heavily for them. Electro-plate must, of course, be taken, also knives; and any pretty little ornament one can find for the table is nice, and makes it look bright. A few pudding moulds and any small things of this kind are very useful, and not always to be picked up up-country. Window curtains should certainly be taken, especially écru-coloured ones, but if white are preferred, it is a good plan to have several pieces of pretty pale-coloured cheap tarlatans to line them with; this always looks nice. Curtain cords should also be taken; some dozens of pretty brass-headed nails would be found very useful; also some yards of different coloured Utrecht velvets to cover small tables, and fringe to edge them with; by going to Maple’s or some such shop during the selling-off time remnants of these things can be got at a very moderate price. A few pretty-coloured tablecloths should certainly be included. For those who care for fancy work, all the materials must be taken, as it is not always easy or possible to get them in India, and even when one can they are very expensive. Table linen, &c., must be taken, of course; at the various jails in India, and also in Dinapore, the natives make very fair towels, bath sheets, tablecloths, &c., but they are not nearly as nice as English ones, nor do they last as long. As for having boxes out by steamer, there seems to be quite a risk in doing so now-a-days; it may be found that on arrival the tin has been neatly cut open, everything taken out, and the boxes filled up with straw and bricks, to make them weigh heavily. It is always most difficult to get any compensation from the ship’s company, and is never done without endless correspondence and delay. It is safer to have things out by P. and O. parcel post, but they allow only small boxes, so but few things can come at a time; these parcels are under the charge of Government from the time they leave till the time they are delivered, so they are perfectly safe.
New Zealand.—In a lonely country district much toilette would not be required. In or near any of the principal towns there is a good deal of gaiety—small and large dances—constant tennis parties for about 7 months in the year, small dinners, luncheons, &c. Any clothes taken should be well made and fashionable, as very many of the ladies there now get their things from England every 6 weeks or so, from the best dressmakers in London. If a lady intends riding, a well cut habit should be taken. Very heavy furs, such as a sealskin jacket, are hardly required in the north island, down south it might be useful. More summer clothes than winter ones are wanted, as the summer season lasts long, although rarely if ever so hot as in London sometimes. It will be well to remember that life in New Zealand, except in one or two remote places, is simply English life, with a bright blue sky and pleasant climate. New Zealand is as large as Great Britain, so of course the climate varies with the situation, warmer in the north island, cooler in the south, although the extremes of heat and cold are not nearly so great as from North of Scotland to the South of England. Of course the outfit for the voyage depends much on the proposed route, whether across America, or by the Suez line, or by direct steam, New Zealand line (easiest and most comfortable of all), or by sailing vessel, a route avoided now by all except those ordered a long sea voyage for their health. In almost any case there is both hot and cold weather. Old underlinen that you can throw away is best, as the sea air ruins good linen. A little change for dinner is needed, but elaborate dressing on the voyage is quite out of taste.
North America.—The outfit a young man requires depends upon the occupation he intends taking up. If he looks forward to employment in a town, he should take a supply of good clothing, such as a gentleman would wear at home, adding 2 or 3 quite cool suits for summer wear. All gentlemen’s clothing, from hats to boots, from coats to vests, is inferior and very costly. Really superior cloth materials are not to be got at any price, nor are flannel shirts that will wash well. If the young man is going to a stock ranche, one good suit for winter, and another for summer, to wear on an occasional visit to town, are sufficient: he will never use them on the ranche, and stockmen’s clothing here is reasonable in price, and made to stand such wear and tear as no one in England has any idea of, even with school-boys. A close fitting, very warm jacket, or extremely thick warm kind of jersey to go on, either of them, under stockman’s jacket, would be invaluable. The rapid fall of temperature, in a few hours, from 70°-80° down to below freezing, accompanied by piercing wind, causes the cold to be felt intensely. The country has greatly changed during the past few years. In organised counties, carrying concealed firearms is prohibited by law. Many do carry them, but they are always liable to have them seized, and to be fined $25 in addition. Some stockmen on the ranges carry six-shooters and Winchester rifles, which are much better for their need than any English rifle. Ammunition for most of the English rifles is not to be obtained. The American six-shooter is much cheaper, and more suitable than the English. For steady men, careful not to get mixed up with gamblers and the rowdy element, Texas is as safe as England. Those who do associate with such classes hold their lives at risk.
West Indies.—(a) The best time for going out to the West Indies is November, after the rains; our winter is their cool season; the hot weather begins towards the end of April. For the voyage take for the first half of the time a serge dress, warm hat, cloaks, wraps, indiarubber-soled shoes. No one dresses for dinner on board the mail packets. The cabins are small. A bag with many pockets to hold all the odds and ends, is a comfort. An overland trunk to go under the berth, a tin bonnet box, and a travelling bag for the cabin, and tin-lined or tin cases for the hold. For the latter half of the voyage, you want a large shady hat and dark cotton dresses, glauntlet gloves, and gauze veils. It is very hot in Kingston; you would wear the same as in summer here, not linen collars or cuffs, lace, which washes easily is best; flannel underclothing, large boots, shoes, and gloves, and a good-sized parasol. People who travel in the island find a solar topee a comfort. A riding habit of thin cloth is necessary, and a low hat, no one wears a high one. A large loose skirt to wear over your dress on the hills is a comfort when you go out to dinner, which you must do on horseback; a low black dress is desirable. There are several parties in the course of the year, lawn-tennis parties, &c.