Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1869-08-16
NewpOrt-HOw the Bathers LOok-.-
An Analytical DeseriptiOn...Bath
ing dresses. r.-.t

NewpOrt-HOw the Bathers Lo0k-..
An Analytical Tn.
ing dresses.
! Correspondence of the Boston Post.l
Dress, after all, is the great distin-
| gushing mark OF republican aristocracy,
and undress-or bathing dress, which is
! the same thing-is the great rleveler.
The pretty girl who comes down in q
pony carriage, dressed in the regulation
cambric morning suit, with underskirts,
, overskirts, rufles, sash, and the multi.
tude of other adornments to which | do
not dare affix names, steps into her
bathing house, and with the grit of her
little high-heeled boots upon the sandy
boards you have the last of her for the
next hour. For after suitable time OF
disrobing and rehabilitation. she emerges,
o cbrysslis from butterfly. You do
not recognize .he blonde locks under the
oil silk cap, which confines them from
the assaults of the envious waves. The
trim form which seemed created to sway
to the airiest of Strauss waltzes is
enshrouded in dark flannel. The
thin hoops are replaced by still
simmer garments, in which you see the
pantaloons for which Miss Anthony sighs.
The neat ankle is no longer there, only q
huge Tapping rufle, which overshadows
the high curved instep, and reaches al
most to the concealment of the little
pnched toes which curl 30 daintily as
| they touch the wet sand. From neigh
boring box comes another, similar except
! that her pantaloons are loose, and show
beneath their lower edge the round,
shapely ankle. Then approaches the
swell brother, who has been driven down
on the tigers seat A manly form, in
deed, hardly more easily recognized than
that of the lady, but whose appearance.i is
an i'm mediate proof of the skill of his
tailor by contrast. You now see the
slightly stopped shoulders, the weak
looking back, the meagre detoid and BIZ
ceps which were hidden under the dis
guise of the promenade and ballroom,
but now displayed by the honest surf suit
of flannel They clasp hands-and ifthe
ladies are careful Of appearances they
don't run.
In going into the surf, it is queer to
see with what gingerly gait the bathers
will at first step over each roller as it
| foams, spent, under their feet. Then,
with the water at their ankles, dip their
hands and bathe their brows-danger of
rush of blood to the head, you know.
Then, gathering boldness, they step,
hand in hand, little scream here and
timorous shrinking there, into the waves,
until the water reaches the knee. The
first plump now. A breaker comes curs-
ing and kissing at them. A hasty grasp
of the nose by each Of the little band; a
hurried. scared STOPPING, with half
glance at the approaching terror, and it
is over and they are left crouchipg on
the sand. Now the fear is passed and
rollers are welcomed, the only care being
least the hair should be soaked, or that
some of the beautiful but nauseating
flood find its way into the little mouth.
The aesthetics of bathing cannot be
better studied than in the crosses. The
dresses may be set down as never be-
coming, but after what | have seen this
morning | must say that ugliness, as
we'll as beauty, is only comparative
term. The orthodox bathing dress L
have described. 1t looks well upon
young woman; but costume of that
sort, neatly and tightly belted about the
waist of massive mother of three
daughters is relatively ridiculous. Those
ladies who require 200 pound balance
when ascertaining their weight should
adopt a modified sea toilette, or be pre-
pared to efface the sublime impression
produced by the elegance of their full
dress appearances. Yet this is TO be pre-
ferred to the " loose gown" style OF
attire in which the more plebeian
matrons disport amid the waves. 1t is
convenient for the student of anatomy,
and let us hope 1t is pleasant to the
wesrers 1t is offensive to the sight.
/ distinctly catslogued sixteen different
STYLES of ankles-let me use that word IN
its most elevated sense--and general con-
tour Of form displayed by the wearers OF
these mockeries Of clothing this forenoon.
As they descend the long beach, the
sportive breeze catches up the flowing
garment, waits and twists it about,
spreads and contracts it, until, with
desperate clutch, the victim plunges into
the edge Of the waves and vets them. As
she advances it grows worse. After the
first souse the sacred gown clings to her
limbs and form with the tenacity of
poor-man's plaster, developing each angle
and swelling, defining each depression
and protuberauce, until the human form,
generally by no means divine, stands
covered but not concealed. Then a
breaker catches it With a pud Of wind,
and the structure Of an inverted balloon
is presented. Then it 10 washed and
flirted about, and as she steps out again
upon the sand, it is caught by the swift
following wave and thrown IN one spite
ful dash under her feet.
This is one extreme of the fashion OF
bathing dresses. The other was shown
this morning on the persons Of couple
Of little ladies, vho complied with the
letter, but hardly the spirit Of the law,
BY chasing the breakers in costume
identical with .h.. of "hszeppa, as
performed by the late lamented Menken.
Il is an incontroveriible fact that they
were much more attractive in appearance
than their less distinguished neigh5ors.
/ noticed reverend gentleman, Who wore
his spectacles into the surf, mildly re-
moHstrating with them, aud once his /
hand went where his coat-tail pocket ]