The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-10-10

| ton of the art of dress sees no other
way of escaping from the thraldon and
curing the evil than that of following
the simple principles of dress establish
ed by the Greeks, and which even now
govern the costumes of the Oriental
peoples. "The dress of the Indian
ayah, in which scarf eight yards in
length is made to form, without pin or
thread, a garment incomparably grace
full and convenient, and that Of all
ranks in ancient Hellas, offer extreme
or typical examples of this employment
OF easy means to admirable and varied
end" She then proceeds to indicate
the character of the dress with which she
would wage war against the modern
fashion autocrats. The garments should
be adapted to the lines of the human
frame, the weight falling where it is
least oppressive, and every organ and
muscle being allowed its free develop
ment, SO that the advantage. of the
wearer would be first SUBSCRIBED. They
should be put together according to es-
| tabllshed rule, and 50 as to
receive character, !. and not i'm
pose it on the person asa,;s They
should be easy to wash where the ma
teriai admitted of such publication, and
should not occupy an undue space in
wearing, keeping, or carrying about.
Finally. the dress ssshould be removed
from vulgar comparison by association
with some great and enduring monu-
ment of the past, associations whosere-
vlved presence would be felt as an i'm
pulse OF higher life throughout the
whole sphere of culture. y IS ist..:
Such q system of dress was actually in
use by the better class of Britains for
400 years. 1t was given them by the
Romans, and, with but slight alteration
was the dress of ancient Greece. 1t con-
sisted OF the tunic, or chyton, fastened
on the shoulders, and with a zone at the
waist through which the garment might
be drawn until the convenient length
was attained, and so as to dispose Of the
folds in graceful lines. Over this tuHic,
which could be made in half an hour.
the Grecian women draped shawls or
searfs as suited their taste or fancy.
She contends that this dress is not on
~ more graceful and convenient than
that at present worn by women, but that
1t is also more modest and becoming,
and that, with the help of shawl,
square or long, according as it is used
as cloak or a wrap, it affords a suffi-
Gent protection against the rigors of the
weather. The Dress too, can be made
as rich as the purse of the. wearer will
afford, and its simplicity and freedom
adapt it thoroughly to the necessities of
working women. It is easy to wash,
easier to pack, its length can be regu-
lated at pleasure, and its beauty is be-
yond dispute 1t would not SUBJ
lect the ,Wearer to inyidious re-
marx, for the general outline
and 'hang of the shawls or stuffs
thus arranged makes so near an ap-
proach to that obtained by the cutting
and goring, the piecing and ligatures Of
the present mode, that an eve uninform-
ed OF the facility of the means employed
would be slow to discover them for it.
SELF When the experiment. was late
~ tried in London of assembling num-
Der OF ladies of all ages in the garb of
ancient Greece, ssthe effect obtained.
though admitted beautiful and becoming,
differed so slightly from that to be seen
in many artistic circles of the day. that
the learned pundits, who had thought
t. behold animated statues, were disap-
pointed" Most of the ladies, declares
the writer, could have appeared in the
streets without attracting critical no.
tice..@ st@'s.
Women are always conservative in
social matters, and they will not be
quickly convinced by even the sound
arguments advanced by this English la
dy.. But the exactions Which fashion
makes are now SO heavy that they were
never ,. mo. more likely than at the present