The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1880-07-16
CHARMS DISPLAYED.
Queer Bathing Suits to be Seen n. IN.
Sea shore.

YEA ShOre.
New York Letter.1
Imagine, If You can, the anxiety of the
thousands of women who mean to bathe
and who know how hard it is not 70 he
ideous while doing it. They are rack
ing Their brains upon devices for MAKING
themselves at least presentable. if not
bewitching, in wet clothes. A GOOD nro-
portion OF them will give up the prob
lem, and appear, when the time comes
IN the ordinarily loose blouse and irons
ers, III which no mortal can look other
wise than decidedly unenchantino. Once
drenched, these garments droop in n
manner that utterly puts to naught what
ever shapeliness the woman inside NAV
possess. But there are MANY who will
not give it up SO. The fashionable dress
makers are beset by their customers ON
this subject, and the outcome is consid-
cradle novelty in designs. It should be
borne IN mind that, if woman be per-
lect III bodily outline, and brazenly au-
daucious, she can, without trouble. con-
quer the difficulty, for she has only to
dress herself in tight-titting garments of
the usual flannel, or in loose ones made
OF cotton (Which, when wet will cling TO
her skim, and she will reveal herself n
thing of beauty.
A startling bathing costume of this
sort was shown to me by the designer. a
French man-milliner, and he saws that
he has already received orders for more
than thirty substantial duplicates. He
is man, and L woman: therefore. I
dared not ask him to be explicit in tell
ing me about the character of the pros-
pectlve wearers, but it stands to reason
that they can not amount to much. The
costume was displayed for my benefit on
n living model-one of those perfectly
formed creatures, whose good luck IN
that respect yields them 80 per week for
standing to order Ill making estab-
hshments to try things on. The body
garment was ostensibly simple blouse of
pinllish gray flannel, but it was really
most artful continuance. Instead of
being straight and shirt-like, it was cut
in to fit the waist almost tight, so that
when wet it would only have fullness
enough to wrinkle a little, while really
following every curve of the figure. A
belt encircled the waist. The skirt was
very short-not long enough to fairly
sit down inland here another clever de-
ception was introduced The material
was, as a slight concession to decency,
left just long enough at the front and
back to cover the actual body; but at
the side 1t was cut away well up on the
hips. The trousers were moderately
full around the upper legs, but tapered
off rapidly to the knees, where they be-
came skin-tight over the calves, termi-
mating at the ankle. Thus the effect
tights wasproduced from the knees down
but without changing the material. The
feet were left bare. The sleeves were
moderately tight from shoulder to waist
There was no trimming or plating any
where. The girl looked nude, yet she
was completely covered with the cool,
gray material and the cut was such that
q wetting would not render it bedraggled
or baggy. Its style was what the boys
call 'gallus, and warranted to wash.
There was something else about this cos
tune that is quite necessary to tell of.
Corsets are hardly ever worn under bath
ing dresses because the wetting of the
flannel of the outer garment reveals their
presence, and no woman would like to
have it known that she bathed III them
On the other hand, few are so lean as not
10 llll OlJ Ol Slltll WliuOil iucll. wen,
to preserve the shape of the wearer of
this costume, corset has been made of
fine wire, Melted iii large meshes, and
fitted neatly to her body. This odd cor
set was perfectly pliable, yielding to the
movements of the flesh, yet maintaining
graceful outlines. The girl was put into
n variety of attitudes, to show me how
apparently untrammeled this wire-work
enclosure left her figure 1t was, | am
bound to say, a great success. OF more
respectable bathing costumes, the pref
test are made of two or three different
colors of soft flannel. The shapes are
about the same as before, but there is a
new use of bright hues, and tendency
to use trimmings profusely. A putting
sustained by fine wire OF hair-cloth, is
employed to some extent, and has the adj
vantage of sustaining its shape when
wet For misses, up to the age of
twelve, bare legs to the knees are deemed
permissible; but the objection to this is
that, like bare arms, they soon tan and
even blister i'll the sun.
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