Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1869-10-05
Decency in Female Dress.

Young girls and ripper matrons need not
go about robed like religious fanatics; but
let those to whom high-necked and long
sleeved party dress would be grievous at
Fiction content themselves with showing
a modest rim of shoulders above their bod
ices. And let them not forget that we'll
turned white arms can be seen and appre-
ciated without of necessity being exposed
clear up to the arm-pits. No fair young
girl ever lost anything in the estimation.
of men, whose opinion is worth having, by
appearing with neck, shoulders and arms
chastely yelled in delicate lace or muslin,
instead of exposing them to the promlscu-
Gus gaze of public assembly.
We hoard away the jewel that we prize
the most; we draw curtain before the
picture that we dote upon; we hide our
most sacred feelings in our hearts; we vel
the shrine of the temple we hedge the lily
about, lest its whiteness should be solled !;
we want to cover up from other eyes the
things that are the fairest, the dearest, and
the most sacred to us.
Oh, woman! the most sacred thing, the
fairest and dearest that man has in this
world is yourself. And I hold that mans
instructive protest is the best guide in this
matter.
And the feeling of the father, the broth
er, the lover and the husband, when his
nature is unperverted, is that the arms that
caress and enfold him, the bosom, which
is the dearest home his head can have on
earth, should be as sacred as was the holy
of holes in the days Of old Jewish rites.
A woman's body is the temple of her
soul, and her SOULS outward symbol. What
we want to keep pure, holy and undefled
we do not expose to be common bait for
all the eyes Of all the world, pure and i'm
pure, to gloat upon.
The way in which men, as body, act
and express themselves, when brought face
to face with this dress reform question, is
| inconsistent, unjust, and ungenerous to
woman, and unworthy of themselves as
gentlemen (; they think because woman is
not their sister, or wife, or sweetheart, that
1t is no concern of theirs how she demeans
! herself in this matter Ofdress. On the con
trary, they seem eager to help push her into
false position by hypocritical compli-
ments and phrases of hollow admiration
which are as false and bitter as Dead Sea
fruit, II she will but stop to analyze the
feeling from which they spring, the motives
which prompt them. Too much familiari
ty breeds contempt. No one knows this bet
ter than the man who watches over the dres
and department of his wife or sister Will
the stern jealousy of an Oriental, while a
the same time he blandly encourages tn
wives, and daughters, and sisters of othe
men IN every species of license.
Women do not always know-the yer,
young ones especially a certain dasl
and freedom in the style of dress encourage
familiarity in the manner of men t0wart
them. They too often follow blindIy afte
the reigning mode, without questioning it
meaning, or the effect it Will have upol
mems opinion of them. They feel strOn
because they 60 in droves, and in drove
they dare to indulge in style of dress 70
which any one woman would be ignomin
iously hooted out Of society, if she dared t
appear in it alone, and upon any occasio
for which it Is not sanctioned by fashion.
Ifmen would but give up their abomi1
able two-sided policy on this question an
act toward every reputable woman, whor
they find masquerading in a disreputabl
attire, just as they would under like Gil
cumstances toward their own wives ,daugE
tiers or sisters as far as is consistent wit
surroundings and circumstances, this mod
of dress would soon be driven to its right
full home-the haunts of the profigate an
the lost woman.
For my own dear cOuntrvwOmem hav
; one wish, which has moved me to speak
| have spoken. Plain and hard words
I say, but words which must be spoken, ne,
ertheless, and which are better spoken 500
p er or later. 1t Is that they should be know
all over the world as the most modest
women in dress and department, even
: they are now distinguished for wit, Ell
gance, patriotism, and innate purity
character. Let the women of other coul
tries belle themselves if they will, bv
mode of attire which is in direct opposite
t to the dictates of their natural modest
7. but let ours set a bright example in tn
+ respect to the world, and then, indeed, Il
: nations shall rise up and proclaim Il
q American women blessed.-HOwARD GIL
: DON, IN Packard's NonthLy for September.