Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-12-01
A FASHION NOTE.

A FASHION NOTE.
don't paw much attention to the fash
| ions. There is such variety of patterns,
both old and new, the old coming new
again, "as round and round we rum" that
no woman can tell what is the Every la
test st, le," unless she "givcs her mind to
it to degrading extent Amid the con,
hicting reports | hear at least one an
nouncement that gives me pleasure: SIM
phcity is elegance noW!" Indeed! When
was elegance anything elseP Here we are
all punched and upholstered and tied back,
with ruflies, and shirrs, and pleatings. and
pipings. all over us, in dutitul obedience
to fashions behests, and nOW-" Simple
ity is elegance!' Here ale our best silks
and satlns all cut up and shirred, and
plated according to directions, and it is
no easy matter when the eye is wearled,
and the taste nauseated with fussiness upon
business, to get rid of our rulfies, and
Iplaitings, and straighten and press out the
sashed and shirred goods-into elegant
simplicity.
| knew it would come to this-though
after all doubt if it really has come; an
era of simplicity in dress, IA little rest from
the long reign of fuss snd feathers" 1t
cannot have come to stay, for woman is
not yet sufficiently educated to understand
the reason and use of clothing, and the
first principles of beauty and art. The
earliest, or barbaric, idea of dress was
mere ornamentation-paint and feathers,
and tinselry; and woman has not out
grown it. Thousands of women individ-
ualy know and keenly feel how Disgrace
full and degrading this is, and they wear
clothes which they emphatcally condemn
rs uncomfortable, inconvenent, and ugly.
They conform to the changing fashions,
avoiding the most glaring outrages, t e.
cause singularity in dress, without great
wealth or beauty to back it, is social mar
tyrdom, affecting not only their own hap
piness but their family's and friends AS
well.
Then she has "a fashion for mothers to
keep" which shows her Faith by her
works. We have often wondered why so
few little girls died, when we have seen
them out in the freezing winter weather.
with their stockings only covering their
legs to the knee, while the boys have their
wooden trousers and drawers, and stout
boots. But hear Faith:
FASHION FOR MOTHERS TO KEEP.
The warm. colored, outside drawers for
little girls ought not to be given up. Many
still wear them, but | think they are less
common than they were few years ago
Wooden under drawers reaching to the
ankles are necessary for girls and women
in the winter. These being the real "un-
der clothing" it is hardly reasonable to
put white cotton drawers over them-the
same as are worn next the body in sum
mer. For warmth and protection, strong
colored, wooden cloth is the best that can
be found. Being an outer garment in re-
ality it seldom needs washing, and to most
mothers this is recommendation. Fast
ened with band below the knee, the
dress skirt will usually conceal the draw
ers, and when exposed there is no sacri
flee of modesty. 1t is such a serious task
to keep the long merino stockings darned
on the knees, that think we do well to
encourage style of dressing the lower
limbs, that relieves us from this needless
i labor. The banded drawers, being loose
over the keees, are not so easily worn
through, and are more easily mended.
Please, fashion makers, consider well
these very important things for the sake
of all poor and overworked mothers and
their children. Make the fashions grace
full and pretty, and teach us by precept
and pattern that simplicity is elegance!"
Let us, who have the fashions to follow,
hold fast that which is good-among 9TH
er things, the colored winter drawers for
;our children.
Then as school begins soon after Thanks
giving she has word to say on that,
and Il wise word too. We heartily agree
with her on pupils being over-worked in
schools, especially in our large village
schools. Principals of institutions natur.
ally feel pride in having their charges in
a fiourishing condition, and we question
whether it is not rather matter of pride
with the superintendents of reform schools
and prisons that their institutions are so
full. So teachers want their system" in
their schools. and so much must be gone
over, so many studies taken by each pu-
pill, because every other pupil takes the
same. We believe pupils are often over
worked. We believe, with Faith, that the
thing of first importance is to
KEEP THE LITTLE FOLKS HEALTHY,
and nature alone will do the work to a
surprising extent. That is to say, she
alone will do better work for healthy
child who has IA good home than all your
educational systems put together can do
for sickly child with poor home influ.
ences. Let these healthy children grow
up to be healthy teachers and parents, and
this mud lie about education will clear it.
self up, Healthy children love to learn
knowledge is the natural food ofthe mind,
and they crave it. They do not always
like to :" sit on a bench and say A." but
they want to know about everything, and
healthy teachers and parents love to ans
wer the questions they ask. At present it
is common thing for both teachers and
pupils to be over-worked, and to have to
leave school for period of brain rest.
Sometimes the breakdown is sudden. but
the worst cases often come about so grad
ually as scarcely to seem like break downs
until the work of exhaustion is SO com
plete as TO be almost hopeless. These
cases take long time for recovery, and
sometimes entire recovery is impossible
, 1t is wicked thing for parents to be care.
, less of their childreus rights lin this re-
spect When the whole of life is school.
and education is never finished, how fool