The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-02-15

"i.n the piacing Of the weigh. upon the
shoulders" Nr Walker then showed
'ne reporter number of heavy w;r,or
skirts. plain one of cloth. with q fe,.
trimmings of plush, weighed about n;no
pounds, and hung wholly from wait.
pahd. Another, of cashmere wc;enoJ
a3out the same. That's nothing y said
:il' walker, think of womun's hoy.
ing 10 carry this around all dav." The
sAirt 10 which he referred weighed fullv
we've pounds and was Of plain cloth
( '2eIeral other skirts of the same kind
ana weight were exhibited, and all were
!"nnd TO be such as are commonly warn
III the street at this season. Mr.. Walkar
I aterwhrd took from box n hal, ,l,.s.
OF Diue and white satin and plush which
looked as light and airy as clouds. II had
long train and a low corsage. "That
doesn't weigh much," said the repnr,cr
About - pounds" said Mr. II,er' Walter
snlliihg. Inc reporter lifted the gar.
lnelit' and Judged that Mr. Walker was
right. The bulk of the weight in the
aress was III the skirt A number of
ncnvy felt skirts, such as are worn under
iight dresses, were examined and found
10 weigh from eight to ten pounds,
! are there any substitutes for these
skirts' inquired the reporter. He WAS
tolu That there were, and was shown some
quilted satin skirt. lined wii! cotton
wadding. These weighed about Two
pounds each, and ranged in price from
- upwards, while the felt skirts as high
as -. Consequently felt skirt weigh.
ing two pounds could be replaced by a
satin one weighing two pounds and cost.
ing no more. Skirts of quilted japanese
silk filled with elder down were also
shown. These weighed about a pound
or pound and one-half, and were de-
clared to be very warm. OF course they
were expensive, but not beyond the
reach of a large class of women who
tired themselves out in carrying much
heavier garments under the impression
That they were warmer. The young
woman who was in attendance at the
skirt counter was asked if women often
wore heavy cloth or felt skirt and q
heavy sealskin dolman at the same time.
She said they did SO very frequently,
thus carrying a heavy burden.
Z. Q. Shayne, q fur manufacturer,
said that when q sealskin sacque did n ot
TIT n lady she complained that it felt
'N"'yI "hSaSaSy III thC SSSC VI u kOOu III,
the weight was more evenly distributed.
Ar. Shayne saw il Il miIlner's shop the
other day dress whose trimmings alone
weighed more than sealskin circular
Sealskin was not much heavier than
cloth, and otter Was trifie heavier than
seal. fur-lincd circulars or dolmans
weighed from four to six pounds about
tho same weight as that of seal dolmans
untrimmed and otter sacques about
seven pounds. These heavy garments
are still growing in favor with the fairer
sex, more sealskin having becn sold this
year than last, while otter is making in.
roads, it is said, on its popularity. Gen
| tlcmen do not take so kindly to sealskin
overcoats, rs q handsome fit cannot be
| made with this material, but ii is ayaiia
| ble for driving coats and trimmings. 4
lady's fur jacket weighs about the same
rs n gentleman's, and a lady's sealskin
! Derby hat does not tin the beam so much
as Il mans double. banded hat by quar-
ter Of q pound more The heavy coach
mans capes are no longer worn by la
dies with saques, which, being made of
beaver, are a little heavier than seal.
Several physicians who we're seen eX.
pressed interesting opinions on the sub
ject. DR.. Robert f. Weir said that fa.
| tigue was one of the most common
causes of nervous disease, but it was al
most useless to fight against prevailing
fashion. The harm from wearing heavy
clothes about the waist lay in the pres.
sure on the abdominal cavity. The low
er classes particularly wore heavy
weights about their waists and used ILL.,
fitting corse,s. DR.. Weir spoke of q
hospital case that had come under his
notice in which a woman's liver was
almost cut in two by wearing skirts
tightly around her waiat with worn-out
corsets. He added that fashionable wo-
men did not lace SO tightly nowadays as
formerly, owing to the spread OF knowi-
edge Of physiological principles. The
doIman hanging over the shoulders by
diifusing its weight, did not do as much
harm as the skirts. Stockings held up
by supporters we're an additional strain
on tho waist. Many women were daily
tagged out by the heaviness of their
dress, and especially was this true of
conyalescent who is just out OF the house
to resume her wonted round of gayety.
"a great deal of the evils of dressing
could be obviated by shoulder supports"
said the Doctor, "but they would be vis-
ible with the low neck style of dressing
in the winter and the diaphanous mate.
rails in use for summer toilets" DR..
Weir said he would like to see reform in
woman's dress, but it was like running
ones head against stone wall to at
tempt anything of the sort.
DR.. Nathan Bozemsn, of the Woman's
Hospital, said: "The writer in the
Lancet is correct. My practice has con-
vinced me that women dress to heavily.
The fatigue caused by carrying their
heavy clothing is an element OF great
trouble in all cases of organic disease.
It is very hard on delicate women to car
~ heavy cloaks and skirts. The weight
on the hips is more harmful than that on
the shoulders. 1t is more in accordance
with nature, both in man and women, to
carry a load on the shoulders than on
the hips. The fashion of contracted
skirts is also very bad, because, in add.
tion to the weight, The dress cramps and
confines the limbs. and compels woman
IN nut forth lust that much more exer-
tion in walking or climbing steps. The
weight of men clothing IS better ols-
tributed than that of women"
DR.. Mary p. jacob said that 1t was
plain that women wore too heavy clothes,
which, hanging about the waist, caused
trouble of the pelvic organs Heavy
clothes interfered with muscular activity,
and, as women were hampered by their
dress, walking with them was less ya'u'
able than it otherwise would be. Their
clothes should be as light as is consist
ent with warmth. There is an expendi'