River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1878-08-22

tire and the moulders of the most elegant and
refined society, and wealth, as we well know,
cannot always confer on It's possessors grace,
wit or cultivation. Therefore, it is a great
misfortune If fashion shuts many women out
beautiful influence, and which by nat ur.. and
requirement they are well fitted 10 adorn.
The later fashions not only frequently and
radically change the form of feminine dress
but they also so make their law that the ma
terial of which it is composed is cut into
hundred pieces. thus preventing any subse-
quent alteration of the shape of the garment
I'VE do not leave even to the moth its proper
work, but begin with our own hands to fret
our garments before they are made Our
damasks and brocades are all hacked to death
cut remorselessly through leaves and flowers,
and the stalk joined irrelevantly to tle heart
of the rose, and the mutilated bud to the
thorn.n Then comes the 'trimming," which
involves the ehoppings of the rich stuff into
bits. the whole work requiring great outlay
of time on thepart of the seamstress, and the
result being the destruction of the material
for any except present use, whereas in the old
days a gown so expensive and so elegant
1
and perhaps handed down to another gener-
alton.
hcEnglish protestant against the reckless
| tyranny of fasoion and corruption of the art OF
dress sees no other way of escaping from the
| thraldom and curing the evil than that Of fol
lowing the simple principles of the dress as
established by the Greeks, and which even
now govern the costumes of the Oriental peo-
pies. "The dress of the Indian ayah, in
which scarf eight yards in length is made
to form, without pm or thread a garment in
comparably graceful and convenient, and
that of all ranks in ancient Hellas, offer ex.
treme or typical examples Of this employ.
ment of easy means to admirable and varied
ends" She then proceeds to indicate the
character of the dress with VIII ch she would
wage war against the modern fashion auto
Gratis. The garments should be adapted t.
the,lines OF the human frame, the weigh
falling where it is least oppressive, and every
organ and muscle being allowed its free de
velopment, so that the advantage of the wear
er would be first subseryed. They should b'
put together according to the established rule
and so as to receive character and not ilnpos,
on the person. They should be easy to wasf
where the material admitted Of such puriflca
ion, and should not occupy an undue space
in wearing, keeping or carrying about
Finally, the dress SHOULD be removed from
vulgar comparison by association with some
great and enduring monu nent of the past
associations whose revived presence woul'
be felt as an impulse or higher life through
out the whole sphere OF culture
Such a Svstafn of dress was acfuaIlv in I1si
by the better class of Britons for 400 years.
was given them by the Romans, and, with bu
slight alteration, was the dress of ancien
Greece. Itconsisted Of the tunic, or chyton
fastened on the shoulders, and with zone a
the waist through whichithe garment nigh
be drawn until the convenient length was at
tanned, and so as to dispose of the folds il
graceful lines. Over this tunic, which coult
be made in half an hour, the Greeian wome
draped shawls or scarfs as suited their taste o
fancy
She contends that this dress lis not onl
more graceful and convenient than that a
present worn by women, but that it is ais
more modest and becoming, and that, wit
the help of a shawl square or long, accordin
, as it is used as cloak or a wrap, it affords
sufficient protection against the rigors of th
weather. The dress, too can be made as ric
as the purse of the wearer will afford, and il
simplicity and freedom adapt it thoroughly t
/ the necessities of working women. 1t is cas-
to wash, easier to pack, its length can be res
ulated at pleasure, and its beauty is beyon
dispute
1t would not subject the wearer to inTid
Gus remark, for the general outline an
hang of the shawls or stuffs thus arrange
makes so near an approach to that obtaine
, by the cutting and goring, the piecing an
ligatures of the present mode, that an eye III
r informed of the facility of the means employ
ed would be slow TO discover them for itself.
When the experiment was lately tried i
London of assembling a number of ladies {
all ages in the garb of ancient Greece" tn
! effect obtained, though admittedly beautiful
and becoming, differed so slightly from tha
to be seen in many artistic circles of the da.
that the learned pundits, who had thought t
behold animated statues, were disappointed.
Most of the ladies, declares the writer, coul
have appeared in the streets without attract
ing critical notice.
G Women are always conservative in socis
matters, and they will not be quickly convir
ced by even the sound arguments advance
by this English lady. But the exaetions whic
fashion makes are now so heavy that the
I were never more likely than at the presen
! day to open their ears to her.