The Osceola times., 1882-04-01
THE QUESTION OF THE HOUR.
Shall the nomeiy Trousers be Superseded
By Knee Drsschesf
Y Y uerald.

NY. Henld
The peace of fashionable society ap- |
pesrs TO he threatened by the breaking
ont of a warm kind of controversy on |
the question of knee breeches. The ad-
vent of Oscar Wilde started the ball
rolling, for he showed IN proprid persona
before large and fashionable and half |
a9miring audiences the superiority, from
an artistic standpoint, of the knee
breeches and stockings following the
wave-line of the limbs over straight cylin- |
drical trousers. Miss Kate Field has
now taken a hand in behalf of knee
breeches, and, as she seldom falters in
ANYTHING she undertakes, the discussion
promises to last and be lively. Over
hearing person observe that knee
breeches was unmanly Miss Field, who
has keen eye for unsound generaliza'
tions, retorted that she thought it was
quite the reverse and that she was justi-
fed in thinking so from the fact that a
finer set of men than could well be col
lected nowadays the revolutionary
fathers-wore knee breeches. The OBJ
seryation led her into train Of thought
upon the matter, and she contributed an
article solely on the question of knee
breeches to aweekly journal which some
critics, she says, with more leyity and
coarseness than decency and common
sense, passed in review. Miss Field,
when met yesterday by Herald report
er, said, "Elow strange that the papers
should trouble themselves so much about
any trivial things may sayl"
That is the penalty OF having a ma
tional reputation"
What bother is national reputa-
tionw
at seems to sit lightly on you, Miss
Field"
at might as well. l suppose | must
stand it."
you insist upon the knee breechesY"
"Why, no; insist on nothing. The
knee breeches may not be adopted in
this generation. | merely desire TO point
out how much more attractive it is than
the trousers. There are many men who,
endowed with a love of beauty, confess
to hatred of the all.pervading trousers
and to a desire that knee breeches shall
prevail as evening attire. Why not?
| WHY should all men be as atrociously
alike as broomsticks2 Why should gen
! tleman and waiter so closely resemble
each other as to be undistinguishable-
the waiter sometimes looking the gen
tleman and the gentleman the waiter
| Why should color, grace and beauty be
confined to one sex when the history Of
costume tells us of times when the
dress of man charmed like that of wom-
an?"
shall we ever have such times
again?"
81 really think we may when this city
has new class of rulers, when the un-
slightly ash-barrel is put out of sight,
when the filthy streets are made clean,
| when the sidewalks are improved and
when the people are educated up to a
higher appreciation of forms of art, in
dress, painting, sculpture, architecture,
etc"
But don't you think, Miss Field, men
might consider the knee breeches too
slow and too expensye?'
"Why, | have known men spend more
time than a woman would preparing
themselves for ball or reception of an
evening. | could never make out what
they could be doing. They had no hair
to bang, no powder or cosmetics TO use,
no bracelets or necklaces 70 arrange, and
yet they dawdled as long over their toilet
as the greatest belle"
"You don't suppose the knee breeches
would ever be popular with the masses
as an everyday costume?"
IL don't know about that. Custom is
everything. Let the fashionable people
set the example Of knee breeches and il
will penetrate all the way down to the
lowest strata of society. In this country
people are the slaves Of fashion after il
is once fairly started"
How is it in Englsnd?"
There is more individuality there. A
woman or man will dress after his or her
idea of propriety and not after fashions
dictum."
How do the English women in dress
compare with the American"
The average American woman is bet
ter dressed than the average English
woman and the average American is bet.
ter educated than the average English
man, but there are here and there
English women of more refined taste in
dress and of course Englishmen who
are finer scholars, artists, etc. than We
have here, but the day will come when
We shall be equal to the English in that
respect"
"You think men should show more OF
a disposition to please women in their
dress"
81 d =, decidedly. They cannot claim
to be very attractive now"
Women dress how?-to please them
selves or TO please the men,"
Six of one and half dozen Of the
other; but women would dress TO please
themselves if there were never any men
around, for men have an innate love of
beauty of form and color, and there is
quite as much unsehshness in the desire
of woman TO please others as there is OF
selishness in pleasing themselves"
"You have no good word at all for
trousers2"
"No; there is nothing whatever to be
brought forward in favor Of trousers, ex.
cept that they serve TO cover up bad
legs, Men without calves, when array ed
in the broadcloath of the PERIOD are as
pleasing as Apollos, But shall all male
beauty be sacrificed to the calhess?'
suppose the callless happen to be in
a majority"
well, let me ask, why are there I'M
developed legs2 Do they not indicate
physical degeneracy, neglect of athletic
sports, by which beauty of form is at
tanned? Might not the revival of knee
breeches lead to greater physical culture
and thereby aid in advancing the human
race?"
"You think the tout ensemble of ball.
room would be greatly improved by an
array Of knee breeches?"
"Of course it would. The men would
be in habiliments as fitting the occasio
as those worn by women in place Of
looking like walters or crows. Instead