Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-07-02

Darwinism in Dress.
lF.om the London Globe.
The individual on the lookout for I
subject of curious interest, would be IKE
" to think of good many things before
it occurred to him to inquire into whai
we may call the archaeology OF his Owl
garments. Where, in the name OF al
that is tasteful and convenient, did West
ern Europeans get the idea of chimney
pot hat? Who first invented PAIR o
trousers, and what sportive genius frs
set society in roar of laughter by ap'
pearing in n swallow-tail coat VINO
first conceived the idea of putting on 9
hat-band when his wifes grandmother
died, and where did we get the notion oi
gloves? There was a highly interesting
meteorological collection exhibited IL
Bethnel- green Museum four of five years
ago, from which it was made evident tc
the meanest comprehension that unclvilIz.
ed man never invented anything-that all
his implements of warfare, his articles OF
clothing or domestic utility, his tribal
emblems and his musical instruments
were the gradual outSrowth OF rudlmen-
tary ideas, sometimes furnished by some
natural form evident enough, but some
times lost in the obscurity of unhlstorlcal
times. Highly civilized people, such as
nineteenth century Londoners, could not
of course but wonder at the puny powers
of these infants of nature us displayed III
their relics To how few of the specta-
tors would it occur that from the crowns
of their hats to the soles OF their shoes
everything about them bore witness to
the same want of inventiveness and the
the same gradual growth out of rudlmen-
tary IDEAS A very cursory study Of such
book as Fairholt's Costume III Eng
land" suggests that this really is the
case. and Mr.. G.. II. Darwin, son of the
famous biologist, has in very interest
ing manner proved that it lis so, at any
rate, to n very great extent.
The hat presents n remarkable illus!ra-
ton of gradual transition. Pugin says,
in his GLOSSARY of Ecclesiastical Orna-
ment and Costume" that hoods are the
most ancient covering of the head. They
formed part of the principal outer gar
ment Of the body and it is not difficult to
understand that the ideas of u hat would
arise in the mere separation Of the hood
/ for convenience This is quite consistent
with what Mr.. Darwin says, that hats
"were originally made OF some sort OF
material, probably of cloth or leather,
and in, order to make them fit the head,
n cord was fastened round them so MS to
make sort of contraction" All the
early hats, he says, seems to be provided
with some sort of band, which survived
the gradual stiffening of the material OF
which the hat was formed, and is obscrva-
BILE i'll the strings of the Scotch cap and
Of l,n al,
thus proves itself to have had common
origin with the layman's ordinary head
gear. The common buckled band on n
black hat has been retained, probably
because it has served the purpose of hid
ing the seam between the brim and the
upper part. and it was no doubt the OK
istence of this narrow ribbon that orig
mated the mourning band, which Is
merely the original ribbon windened and
made in suitable material But this is
not all. The stiff material of which in
course of time it came to be the fashion
TO make hats precluded the possibility OF
tying them SO as to make them fit the
head Still the ideas of such trying and
Of its desirability survived, and WAS
actually perpetuated III the lining, which,
rs everybody may see by taking off his
hat, still presents II little silk cord thread
ed through n series of silts on the upper
edge of the thin band of leather fitting to
the head. Nobody, Of course, ever
thinks of trying this lining to his head,
but there is the surviving idea, and so
plainly obsolete, that it is not unusual to
see the edge OF the leather merely indent-
cd and small bow of silk cord alone
testifying to the old form of hat. 1t is
certainly a very amusing proof that 1t Is
not only savages who lazlly develop and
adapt rather than invent.
Then, again, the coat. Fairholt says
The modern gentleman coat may be
said to take its origin from the vest or
long outer garment worn towards the
reign of Char H. Tins vest, which he
illustrates by c,.grayings, appears To have
been merely n loose Carmen: .slthOut any
gathering i'll it at the waist aui having
buttons and butt5nhules ali down the
front. No doubt It had arrived at that
form through inumerable mutations, aud
it has certainly undergone a great many
since Charles time To one feature of 1t
may clearly be traced the modern 'swal-
low tail'-the division of the tail OF
dress or frock coat by slit down the
middle A mere bag shaped garment
reaching far down the legs and buttoned
all the way would evidently be inconveni-
ent for riding on horseback Necessity,
therefore, suggested slit little way up
the tail of the vest, and this was furnish
ed with buttons and buttonholes like the
front. Hence it was, says Mr.. Darwin,
that long after the vest had developed |
into the coat, coat tails were ornamental |
with gold lacing on either side of the |
slit Ill the tail, Just as when buttons and |
buttonholes were there. The first ud- |
vance towards the modern coat seems TO |
have been the gathering in Of the loose |
vest ut the waist. Thus We have at once |
the coat body and the coat tails, the lat
ter having, as has Just been said, already |
been slit i'll two for convenience i'll riding |
on horseback. This gathering III at the |
waist was done by loops at the front |
edges of the vest, being fastened 10 but-
tons on the hips. We still have traces of .
this stage Of development i'll the two but |
tons ut the back of the modern coat and |
i'll the folds i'll the tail which notwith-
standing that they appear "a though .
they were made for the recesses for the .
pockets, and are commonly used for that .
purpose, are, says, Mr.. Darwin, descend .
toning i'll OF the vest of Charles time. I
The actual swallow tail now worn as
evening dress was no grand experiment /
on the pnrt Of some bold and enterpris-
ing genius, anxious to distinguish him |
self, and sufficiently exalted i'll position !
to lead fashion. 1t seems to have orig
mated In nothing more novel than the .
buttoninS back of the front lower corners
of the vest SO as TO be ont of the way of /.
the legs i'll walking After society Ind ,
been familiar with the custom of button /.
ing back the corners long enough to be .
come reconciled to the loss of the super
iiuous cloth in appearance, the corners 4
were cut off, though whether this was
done by some daring and original genius
at n stroke, or whether the corners were
gradually nibblcd away, SO to speak, /
docs not clearly appear. 1t was in the
reign of George Ill, We are told, that
the present evening coat WIS fairly III
troduced. \ volume might be written
on the single article of dress, bit only
one other point need be touched upon
here. We have not only in every one of
our garments striking counterparts OF
those changes which, naturalists tell us,
are ever going on in the animal and |
vegetable world around us but even |
''ruJimentary organs" have their rep |
resentatives in our dress. Every one |
must have noticed" says the writer
quoted already, ''the nick i'll the folded
collar OF the coat and waistcoat this is, :
of course, made to allow for buttoning
round the neck, but it is Ill the condition
OF n rudimentury organ, for the nick !
would probably not come into the right
place, and III the waistcont, ut least, there
are usually neither the requisite buttons
nor buttonholes.
TIE Ludlow Tri5uae has the following;
I'VE see by the Burlington FEEE Press that
the many fiieads OF Hon. Henry Ballard of
that city wish to nominate and reelect him
to the State Senate, n movement which we
most heartily approve Senator ballard was
one Of the first if not the recognized leader
n 4