The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-03-06 00:00:00

DR. RICHARDSON ON HEALTH AND
"DRESS.

Dr. B. W. Richardson delivered a lecture in London on
Monday evening at the London Institution, Finsbury-
circus, upon the subject of Dress in relation to health. The
theatre of the institution was filled to its utmost capacity,
and the lecturer was applauded at frequent intervals by an
attentive audience.

At the outset Dr. Richardson repudiated any inten.
tion to deprecate good fashion or good change of fashion
in dress. He thought. with Mrs. Haweis, that it was
the bounden duty of every woman. to look as hand-
some as she could, and to maintain her beauty as
long as possible, for nothing was more beautiful
than beauty in old age, (Hear, hear.) Fashions,
as a rule were dictated by vain and ignorant
persons who set nature at defiance, as though
they were nature and she an idiot. (Laughter,)
What was wanted in the reform of dress was good
fashion for both sexes, and for every day life some
uniform costume that should tend to bind more closely
together the Vllrioll6 classes of the community. With
regard to the mechanical adaptation of dress to the
body, the most serious error was tightness by which
pressure was brought to bear upon any particular part,
such as the neck, feet, and limbs. The corset was
opposed to all that was healthful and all that was
beautiful, keeping as it did the heart and the adjoin-
ing organs under suppreagion. No subjection to which
women were liable could be greater than that which
they voluntarily inflicted on themselves by wearing
these articles, which deadened their mental capability
as well as their vital energy. Waistbands, garters,
and tight shoes, or shoes with pointed toes, were also
very. prejudicial to health. Belts interfered with.
respiration, and, moreover, among working men
who wore belts, it was the rule rather than the
exception for hernia to supervene, while bad
boots were responsible for raishapen feet among
nine.tenthe of the English community. Women's
dresses should be loose, and should be supported from
the shoulders as was usually the case with male attire,
Indeed, faulty as it was in an artistic point of view,
man's dress had greatly improved in those latter days,
and was, in relation to health, perfection as compared
with that of women. He suggested that the dress of
women ought to be—although of lighter materials—
the same as that of the opposite sex, with the excep-
tion of the exterior robe or gown, which should play
the same part as the outer coat of a man. In
regard to hate, the " gipsy " bonnet was very be-
coming for women, while the chimney-pot hat worn by
men was light and healthy, and far superior to some
descriptions of felt hats, which were in a hygienic
point of view bad and hideous to look at. The best
and most simple of all was the fine old Swiss cap some-
times called the Leonardo da Vinci. One of these, a
limp black velvet cap with flaps, was exhibited by Dr.
Richardson, who stated that he himself wore one as
graduate of a Scotch university, where the otiginal
one was supposed to have been made from John
Knox's breeches. It WAS especially necessary to adapt
one's clothing to the season of the year, as it had been
proved by the late Mr. Milner that the body under-
goes two pounds waste in the autumn and two pounds
increase in the spring. Waterproof clothing was in-
jurious to the system, as were also in another way the
aniline and other dyes now prevalent. The beet
colour for dress in warm or cold weather was white,
which might be modified to light grey as leas liable to
get dirty, while black was the worst. It was satis-
factory to think that mourning was slowly falling into
disuse, fox, after "suttee," it was almost the saddest
of miseries inflicted by society on the already miser-
able.
Dr. Richardson concluded by pointing out the news-
fifty for cleanliness in all wearing apparel, and by
commenting on the utter inefficiency ,of the laundry
system in London and other large towns.