Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-08-05

ONE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE IN THE MODERN
STYLE OF ATTIRE.
A thoughtful man who was ''roughing it" in
the mountains, whose attire there consisted only
of a flannel shirt, a pair of pantaloons, a hat,
and shoes and stockings. who, on arising in the
morning, was ''up and dressed" within three
minutes. thus reflected regarding the shackles
Ofmale dress impose upon him in the city by
custom and fashion: "HOw many bandages am
L required to put on every morning? / will
commence at the feet. Tight shoes, stockings
trousers, drawers undershirt, shirt, vest, coat,
collar and necktie. Shirt bosom and collar
starched as stiff as board, and about as COM
Portable. How many bandages in all? Ten. Do
they add to my COM fort, especially i'm warm
weather? Assuredly, they do not. NV first
move on warm morning on getting to the
Office is to remove my coat, and sometimes my
collar and necktie. Why should 1 wear at all
garments which are so uncomfortable? Again.
Do these ten bandages in which custom says 1
must daily envelOp myself cOnduce to my health
and strength? think not. Because, dressing
as do now in loose trousers, loose shirt. with
neck and throat uncOared. / do certainly ex-
perience a vigOr and freedom OfmOtiOn unknown
in my city garb. Precipitation passes off quickly
and does not oblige me to wear all day sod
den, wet piece of linen in the shape of shirt
l think my skin has better chance to act, and
as am told there arethOusands on thousands of
minute lungs in the skin which both absorb live
elements and throw off dead matter. it strikes
me that the garb prescribed by custom is not at
all calculated to assist nature in the machinery
Of he cutcle.
Regarding my feet. find them far more
comfortable in pair of canvas slippers and if
You please without stockings, than i'm my city
CATERS. | can now easily wash them as many
times day as 1 do my hands, and find they
need washing as many times. 1t strikes me
that these feet of mine have all their lives. or
rather during all my life, been too much swad-
died and cramped. Look at them now! They
are sore and out of shape with corns and bun
ions. What has done this? Shoe shackles
leather fashion and the shoemaker. What life
long barbarous treatment of two such useful
members of society! believe now that our
modern swathed up, bandaged. tight fitting
style of male attire is fruitful cause of bodily
weakness: and of diseases dire coming through
such weakness which diseases doctors dignity
and render the origin more obscure by giving
them learned and Latin names. l do not.
through one or another bodily discomforts, heed
the demands of nature. When am Overheated
feverish, and out of sorts generally, it is in
many cases a call from the body that take off
the bandages and wear less of them. Do 1
obey! No. Usually take a glass Of beer and
then another. So the needless wear. tear and
abuse Of my fearful and wonderful anatomy goes
on from day to day, from week to week; from
summer to summer. And at last the wear and
tear and weakness attacks some particular Or
gan; maybe the head, the bladder, the kidneys
the lungs, the stomach, and the doctor comes
after the damage is irreparable and tries to
bolster me up: saddled as 1 am with my worn
out internal machinery by his advice and his
drugs. And at last am dead, and an autopsy
is held on me and he finds the part that gave
way and writes about it. partly in English partly
in Latin, and feels wiser than ever. But died
partly Of ignorant dressing, partly of ignorant
eating, partly of persistent breathing of bad
house made air, partly of other simple evils not
as yet recognized as belligerent powers laying
pf f. <3<lo
Such were the thinkngs of the man in the
flannel shirt and trOusers.-M y Graphic.