Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-10-03
ESTABLISHED 1850.
A NEEDED PROTEST


should have been Intentionally or unintention-
ally on the part of its opponents retired to the
playground, and the most radical side of
lnnoVatlon which was introduced more or less
as an experiment brought to the front. 1t is
quite time that an open, fearless, and persist
ent protest was made against any attempt to
revive or perpetuate manifest indecencies, vul-
gar1t1eS ana injurious fashions in dress, and a
widespread opinion exists both In this country
and England, which would be found formids-
bly, strong II unhampered by revolutionary
ideas. An attempt will shortly be made to OBJ
tain an expression from the intelligent women
Of America in regard to two points relating to
dress upon which there ought not to be two
opinions, and which ought at once to receive
the united condemnation of all pure minded,
honest women. One is the renewal of the bus
tie; the other the attempt to naturalze
here the low neck for "full'' dress The crea-
tor OF this revival of the ''crinolette" are men
whose simple idea is trade. They were in the
business years ago; they lost money by the
subsistence Of the hoop vogue; they have ever
since been trying to start the fashion" again by
having authoritative paragraphs written toim-
pose upon the ignorant and by inducing corset
and other shops to keep their wares on
exhibition. This autumn a decisive step
was felt to be necessary, and the
entire ignorance of the originators of
any advance in the minds or thought
of women is exhibited plainly in the new article
by which it is proposed to Improve" the gen
eral outline of a woman's form. 1t in effect
creates two humps, one on each hip, a la Marie
Antoinette, and the walk which accompanies
this singular manifestation Of physical perfec-
ton is the fac simile of the half-jerk, half-wao
die OF dou bic panniered and overloaded don
key. This is what it suggests, and the state
ment is not intended as an exaggeration or the
the mere forcing OF a grotesQue comparison.
It is simply to show how far removed the ideas
of these people are who endeavor to foist these
things upon the public from any common
not 20 say artistic sense. and how
little credit they give to women for the exer
else OF reason where dress is concerned. A
feeble hope is expressed in some fashionable
quarters that bustles will not again attain the
measure OF absurdity that called down upon
them before such storm of ridicule; yet the
very beginning is almost worse than the previ-
Gus ending, and shows plainly enough that
only very little encouragement is needed to
induce Manufacturers at least to go any lengths
or breadths. At present the hustle has made
very little headway. 1t is not found in the best
shops, nor among the best classes; and it is easy
to prevent it from obtaining foothold, but it
ought TO be done in a thorough and unmistak-
able manner. Intelligent women everywhere
should refuse to countenance such attempts at
distortion and deformity, and give manufactu-
can only exist by the consent of a majority,
and that they refuse their consent to that
which has no excuse in art, sense or taste for
existence
THE GREAT MOTHER.
In the play of the "Cup." as produced by
Mr.. irving at the Lyceum Theatre in London,
one OF the scenes gives the interior of tenn
pie dedicated to the service of a goddess. the
ure of grand, many -bosomed woman, with
little children of all types in her wide arms.
This Is at first a shock to the ultra modesty of
some Who can look upon half dressed woman
In ball room without the slightest disturb
ance. e The rdiSOn detre in one instance is
visible, in the other it is not. 1t is considered
vulgar for woman to nurse her babyin public,
and il compelled to do so by stress Of circpm-
stances the modest woman conceaIs the foun-
tain from which the infant draws its susie
nance as completely as possible: yet this is
natural and beautiful provision for the supply
OF an Imperative want, and has been made the
theme OF poet and artist, while for such an ex-
hIbltion as is sometimes made to the gaze of
hbertines, and men and women who are Stran.
gers, and who only look to geer. or blush, for
one who has not the grace to blush for herself
there is no excuse, no possibility Of motive,
save vanity SO overpowering to kill mod
esty. Some may plead thoughtlessness, but if
the pu0llc opinion among women expresses
itself as it ought, this cannot long be consid.
cred reason for outraging the finer sense of
those women who have thought upon the
subject. Why should women expose
any more than men? Why should
1t be considered any more decent, any less vui-
gar? Yet imagine man presenting himself
In suchlguise in any assemblagel Is it be-
cause women have more flesh to show than
men, or because they imagine it enhances
their attractions and acts as q magnet to men?
Whatever the motive let it be understood for
what 1t is, let it be badge, an insignia note
or warning to some. an evidence to all that the
sacrifice is made upon the altar of a vanity
which leaves no room for refinement of deli
cacy and not upon that Of fashion.
ENGLISH wooLEN MANUFACTURES.
AS well attempt to oppose the natural cur
rent or stream as the strong tide of public
opinion when it has set in a certain direction
and the general ignorance in regard to the ex-
tent or social influence has found no better ex-
emplihcation of late than in the well intention
ed effort of an English lady of rank the Coun-
tess OF Beehive to make alpaca fashionable"
Alpaca and the stiff worsted serges received
their sentence ten years or more ago when CASH
mere. camel's hair, and the soft wooden goods
OF French manufacture came to the front.
American aSp1rants for preeminence in the
manufacture of wooden dress goods took the
front, and to-day as fine camel's hair cloths and
other softly draping woolens are turned out of
native mills as can be obtained abroad-al-
most; at least, as good for popular use and
wear.
But the British manufacturer, or at least the
British workman, could not unlearn his ira
d1t1ons There are plenty of cases on record
In which the manufacturer with his larger ex-
perience and clearer insight attempted to in
troduce new machinery and train his work
people to meet new demands, but they would
not be trained, they would not be taught, they
would not stand any innovation, they would go
on In the old way or not at all; and their igno-
rance and stupidity left them stranded
Sbne Tmle 6ne 6ne advancing ,.ds tide carried
cargoes bringing profit to others, but not to
them. Now the British workman sends up a
cry or distress and insists that women shall in
some way be made to dress themselves in al
paca, and the only way that is open is to get
some titled lady to ''set an example, )" and,
through her dressmaker and such snobs as she |
can find on the press. make it fashionable -
TO near the sage reflections in regard to the |
matter one would imagine that wooden fabrics
of every description had been waiting for the
Countess of Beehive to endow them with a soul
pefore they could come into active existance. |
In reality WOODEN materials have not been so |
universally used for half q century as since
the soft cashmere finished f1annels the camels |
hairs the vigognes, the chuddah cloths and |
other highly finished and softly draping fab |
RIGS took the hearts of women by storm 1t /
is common thing nowadays to hear
a lady say that ahe prefers wool to
silk, but no one would think of preferring the |
Wlrey, unV1elding alpaca to silk. Alpaca al /
ways stood as a synonym for all that was
dreary and unattractive In life: it was the /
badge OF the hard worker, and its uncompro-
missing tendencies as having a natural aff1liac
ton with the most exasperating of boarding
house keepers. Those who were bound by its
quality Of endurance give everything its duel |
in former years, remember it without tender
ness and have no desire to see il resussitated
not even to please the British workman who
should have adapted himself to the growth /
and progress of the age in refinement and NOT |
expect that women should live and die In |
alpaca that he may enjoy his ignorance and
his beer.
SATIN MERvE1LEUx
This charming fabric, which has recentlv
sprung into such fashionable pre- -eminence and
is necessarily so often quoted, is an unknown
quantity to those who live at a distance from
Che fashionable centres and must Judge from |
hearsay or the use to which fabric is put as |
to what it really is Satin merveiIeex is a
fine soft corded satin-fnished silk which has
not the stiffness or impenetrability of |
groS grain, nor the smooth gloss |
OF satin, but takes on lovely tiRts
falls easily into graceful folds, and is specially
adapted therefore to evening dresses and for
the princesse bodices which are draped over
the hips, and are so useful and pretty for half |
evening or at home toilets. Satin mervelleux |
Is employed in many different ways, however
or black tits as suitable for the grandmamma as
the ivory and cream tiots are for the grand |
daughter. The latter combines well with Nuns |
yelling and thin mousslin de LANES on the con-
structlon of short evening toilettes not too ex-
pensive and suited for small dances and socia-
bles. The skirt is of all wool, and ruff1ed
TO the knee, the back may be draped or ruffled
annnrdira. md h.