Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-06-29
The Object of Dress.

Ressoners on costumes sometimes
write as if the sole object of the dress
should be, beyond comfort, the indi-
cation or expression, with due reserves
Of the human form divine. Given awell-
shaped young person of either sex, and
this might be accepted as the light and
law of apparel. A young man Of fine
proportions may wear tight-fitting gar
ments. showing not only the exact out
lines of his body, but the shape and
curve of every limb. Neither the skirt
ofa tunic nor the folds Of trousers would
be required to enhance the appearance
of an Antinous. The dress of a tall, 1.-the,
graceful young girl may also be very
simple affair. She needs no stays
to compress her slender waist or give
her Support" A simple gown girt by
belt, and falling to within few inch
es of the ground, would partly ex-
press while it partly hid the beauty and
increment of her body and limbs.
Butthe human form is not always "di-
vine" Some men and women, even
when young, are too stout. Others are
conscious of alteration from the perfect
s'line of beauty" or have defects arising
from accident or weak Le.,ltn The in
cident cares are blessings-for they are
both-of maternity Or advancing years
themselves change the fairy form once
worshipped by the lover. and it is not
| only Lady Jane who says with sigh.
There viii be too much of me in the
coming by and by" Costume, both
male and female, is devised at first or
| altered afterward in view Of such con-
tingencies. The frock coat conceals the
tious when no friendly skirt tones down
the bulky figure. Trousers were inven-
ted by men who have ceased to be proud
of their lower limbs. In old essays and
| comedies it is curious to note how often
| the hero is eulogized for having ga good
| leg'-an element of male beauty that
| now must as rule be taken on trust
| In fact, SO far as the dress of gentlemen
| at the present dav refuses to follow the
| outlines of the human form, it makes O
concession to those who, whether young
middle-aged, or old, ere no longer anx.
| ious to display themselves like acrobats
| knowing that, through defect or excess
! they fall short of perfection.
If these considerations affect men who
| generally sacrifice little to the beautiful
and busy in the worlds work, are obliged
to neglect adornment, how much more
does it apply to women? 1t is only 8
small minority of the sect who can af
ford to despise ali artifce and conceal.
ment. They are the handsome, healthy
vigorous, well-lnade, light, 1.-the. and
graceful girls who look best with few
skirts, no stays, and no paddings, and
who would be beautiful in Turkish trou
sers or in the short petticoats of Bo.
logne or Newhaven fsherwoman. AS
however, they marry and become moth
ers, as they become older and probably
stouter these::very young women must, 70,
the sake of decorum, beauty, and health
adopt much of the customary costume
| of the sex.
The only suggestion of law is thai
there ought to be more freedom ano
more variety for the individual woman
Young, active, and healthy girls, con
scious Of fine figures, can dispense witt
corsets and voluminous skirts, but there
are all degrees Of departure from thi.
! original erfection.-London Telegraph