The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-06-20
THE BATH OF BEAUTY.



"Clara Belle" writing from New York to
the Cincinnati Enquirer, says;
'lmagine II You can, the anxiety of the thousands
upon thousands of New York women who mean TO
battle, and who know how hard 1t is not be ideous
while doing 1t. They arc racking their brains upon
devices for making themselves AT least prcscntabc, IL
not hewltching, In wet clothes. good propori ion of
them VIII give up the problem and appear, when the
time comes, In the ordinary loose blouse and trousers,
In which no mortal woman can look otherwise than
decidedly uncnchnnting Once drcnchc,, these gar
mehts droop and drip In manner that utterly puts to
possess. 1ut there are many who will not give II up
50. The fashionable ressinakers are bcsc, by their
customers on this subject and the outcome is consd
cradle novelty In designs. II should he borne In mind
that If woman he perfect In bodily outline and bra
zenly audacious she can without trouble conquer the
iincuy, for she has only to dress herself In tight 1T
ting garments of the usual flannel in loose ones
made of cotton, (Which when wet Will cling Ia her
skin, and she will reveal herself thing of beauty.
startling bathing costume of this Improper sort
was shown to me by the designer Fifth avenue man
milner, and he says that he has already received
ders for more than thirty substantial duplicates. He
Isl man, and la woman; therefore, dared not ask
him to be explicit In telling me about the character of
,,e prospective wcarcrs bnt 1t stands to reason that
played for my benefit on living molc-onc of those
perecty-formed creatures Whose good luck In that
respect yields them $40 week for standing Ia order
In ress-makng establishments TO try things on.
The body garment was ostcnsbly single blouse of
pnkish gray flannel, but 1t really most artfnl
conrlvailce. Instead Of being straight and shrtlke,
II was cmt In to 1T the waist almost tight, 80 that
when wet u would only have fullness enough to
the figure. belt encircled the waist. The skirt
was very shori-no long enough to fairly stdown in
anu here another clever deception was Introduced
me material was, asa slight concession to decency
lett Just long enough at the front and back To
the actual body; but At the sides 1t WAS cut away well
mp on the hips. The trousers Were moderately fun
around the upper legs but tapeied of rapidly To the
knees, where they became akin tight over the calves
terminating at the ankle Thus the effect of tights
was produced from the knees down. hut without
changing the material. The feet left bare. Tho
sleeves were moderately tight from shoulder to wrist
hn
girl looked nude yet She was completely covered with
the cool, gray material. and the cut was such that
weting would not tender II hcdraggled baggy.
Its style was what the boys call 'galus - and war
rantel To wash. There was something else about this
costume that it is quite necessary to tell Of Corsets
are hardly ever worn under bathing because
the weting of the flannel outer garment reveals their
presence, and no woman would like To have il known
that she bathed In them. ON the other hand, few arc
so lean NJ not To fall out of shape without them.
Wen, to preserve tho shape of the wcarer of this
une corset had been made of fine wire, Melted In
large mesles and fitted neatly to her body. This odd
corset was perfectly pliabe, yielding 10 the move
mes of the ilesh yet maintaining graceful outlines
The girl was put into variety of attitudes, to show
me how apparently untrammee,i this wire work In
closure left her figure 1t was, am bound 10 say,
the ietiiea are made of two three different colors
of soft flannel The shapes about the same as he
iole but there lisa new use Of bright hies and
denry To use trimmings prof,iseiy. A putting, sus-
tanned by fine wire or aircoth, Is employed to some
extent and has the advantage of sustaining its shape
when wet For misses, up to the age of twelve, bare
legs to the knees are deemed permissle but the OBJ
lection to this is that, like bare ars they soon tan
and even blister In the sun.
These women who stick TO decent costumes for bath
ing may console themselves with the assurance that
NJ The best OF tile resorts, fragrant disregard of the
loieiies VIII not he allowed. II is strange but true
ihat never saw so much that objectionable In
ms matter anywhere rs. at Ocean Grove the great
Methodist camp. Injecting resort down below Long
HIahch Girls who were almost adults disporled them
selves on the sand and In the surf with legs barred To the
thigh, and even women's knees nakedly yisi-
BILE. More than this, II is the custom of that ocono,-
zeal resort Ia from the residences the shore ready
dressed for the surf and so avoid The expense oC hiring
''til-honses. 10 meet party Of females In the street
eau only upward from some point betwiyt hips AMI
caii was somewhat shocking 10 an unacclIstnmel
stranger Nothing wrong was intended, of course AM,
The practice was simply An indication Of freedom from
restraint. I.nt Tho Methodist managers of the place
have resolved upon bathing- reform and have
published the following resolution:
he II enacted by the trustees Of the Ocean Grove
Camp-ineeiing Association that bathing In a nude
s,at, or IN improper bathing apparel, or passing
through the streets without suitable covering isheIeby
prohibited. In Violation of the they shall he fined
~ or imprisoned for five days In the county Jail. ~
so the sisters Will have to folegO their innocent
exposure Oi legs.