The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1865-05-03

Hoops. .r -ss... a.
4 weiehty are the words of Jove, and ;,n:
portant is the dress of Juno. When tho
Emperor Napoleon speaks, al the cabinets
of Europe listen; when the Empress
appears Ut . ball, the attention Of the
millners Of Europe is concentrated. on hef
dress.
On the occasion of Prince Nspoleon's
ball the Empress and the Princess Ciotilds
appeared with skirts of much less than the
ordinary dimensions. Who can estimate
the importance Of that simple factl It's
q manifesto to all womankind, and in Il the
interest Of every father of family In Eng.
land is concerned. 1t lnesns greatef eass
on the pavement and at the promenade;
quieter egress from church; theatre, aud
concert room, and fewer deaths BY fire.
The waltzer will bless the Empress: 80
also will the man Of business who travels
much in omnibuses; so also will the sick
man, for his nurse will not whisk about 80
chapter could be written by the satirical
philosopher on the vagarics of fashion in
female dress. In old engravings our ahSes:
tresses look hideous. The fensle waist
seems to have no proper locale sometimes
il is at the armpits, sometimes Immediately
above the hips. Then the head dresses and
bonnets !-who shall describe them ? Yet
these women were loved; and Strephcn in
puce- -colored coat, and long lowered satin
vest, and rapisr and shoe. buckles, and
cooked hat under his arm, and hair powder
ed with the barber's utmost skill, bowed
his compliments in the ball room to Chloe,
rouged, black patches on her cheek, her
hair frizzled up into strange architecture
and her waist wherever her dressmaker
might choose to place it. There is little
doubt that the present style Of female dress;
when crinoline is kept in moderation-the
looped up wi1cey, the scarlet petticoat, the
strong, comfortable boots--islthe best for
outdoor exercise that has ever been in
vogue. In rainy or frosty weather a lady
can now visit her friends or perform little
charitable passages without the aid of
private carriage or hired cab. It is, how.
ever, at the theatre, the concert, the dancing
party and the dinner table that the presens
extraordinary extension of,female skirt be.
comes nuisance and . bore. A lady
dressed for public occasion, sitting alone
in cab, occupying the entire vehicle, her
dress surging up to her ears, while her hus-
band is forced to take his seat beside the
driver, is one CT the most comical sights
which this world presents. At public
gatherings dresses are being continually
torn, and the sweetest tempers ruined in
consequence. At promenade progression
is every now and again an impossibility.-
At a dancing party a slim young man has
frequently to stand up with q lady whose
exuberant skirts make her as rotund as .
haystack, and the awkward man is being
continually caught in a lady's hoops a. Ger
tainly as ever . hill fox vas caught In .
trap, and finds extrication nearly as difficult
too. And then, to sum up the indictment
against the present style Of d.ess, just think
of largely be-crinolined domestic servants
She is an incarnate earthquake; ruined
crockery in her wake she sweeps fre irons
from the fender every time she turns she
upsets chairs, and is nearly as trying to the
nervous man as the organ. grinder was t.
Mr.. Babbage. On the whole, there is much
to be said for moderate amplitude Of skirh
1t would never do--in q climate like ours,
ct least-to have our women clad like the
female figures we see on Etruscan vases-.
But there should be moderation in all
things; and We are glad to notice that tho
Empress Of the French, who is mainly re.
sponsible for the whole movement, is be.
ginning to call halt We trust that her
later example will be followed as well as he4
earlier one se ii .n... .0. s.. .......