The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-02-15
voHAN,s BURDEN OF DRESS.
Weighing Garmcnto Which Women Wear
uou the Heavy Burden may Cause
,,,.saso or Exhaustion.
Fam he Ncp York Times.

4
Fjym he Ncp York Times.
u;,h .hccled French shoes and tight
i:"ss have hitherto borne the burden
%i7,me for the sutieriDgs of women.
g 81 now comes the Lancet, of London,
@ = the track of other iconOclasts, and
I" -. a, Ieas, doubt upon this favorite
80 by M article in regard to the
EsaisL, of womcn's clothes. The article
y r. o,es,ion is brief and pointed, calling
~ 9nHGn,inn in few words to what the
,,r regards as II serious evil. II was
S,;n,eI in tho issue of December ,, aud
I; -" ",rjrcipal part of it reads rs followa ::
"rrhe clothes worn by women are, as a
.aEcIe, too heavy, and, by IL perversity of
\. ..hon, they receive an enormous in
Ir,amep, OF weight at this season in the
i.bsne of coaks and mantles of sealskin
n S blush with quilted Innings. The at
,sr;ion of medical practitioners needs to
Ete .pecially drawn to this matter in or
lSsr iha, they may demonstrate with their
FINALE patients, and also avoid miscon.
Fren,ioa as to the actual strength of some
Who complain of fatigue in walking,
Which may be mistaken for a token Of
IHeskness, whereas it is only natural ex-
ibsustion from carrying a burden that
flew strong men would care TO bear.
Tie waist is eucircied as with belt or
Iboop, to which load heavier than q
ieIoa's chains is attached, and the shoul-
Eders and chest are compressed by an ad-
diiional burden. Breathing is laborious-
lis performed, and the contents of the
trunk aud pelyis are thrust down with
force which if represented in pounds
would OCCASION considerable surprise"
In order to ascertain how far the state
men,s contained in this article were
borne out by facts, q reporter investiga-
led some of the mysteries of the feminine
toilet at Lord & Taylor's by exploring a
number Of the departments and having
the weight accurately ascertained Of
every article under examination. Four
dresses of medium size were weighed.
S1 pounds was the weight Of q dress of
velvet and cloth; a silk dress weighed
three and half pounds, plush FIVE and
quarter pounds, and r dress of ladies'
cloth on cloth skirt five pounds three
ounces Dresses of ladies' cloth are
very generally worn, and with fur trim
ning5 are still heavier. Twenty years
sgo dresses had plain underskirts and
waists, and we're not loaded down with
elaborate trimmings, which are now the
rage. Steel trimmings, now happily
gone out Of fashion, were very heavy
adornments, but the real jet trimmings
worn in certain circles are also load 10
carry. When lady's heart is set on
having stylish dress she seldom enter
tains the problem of weight. Dress
makers try to make them as liph. as pos
sible, but with plush and silk this is no
easy task. With all these trimmings
dresses will continue to be burdens until
the o!d.fashioned skirt, gathered in at
the waist, comes in vogue again. The
reporter timidly Investigated those
atiicies OF dress which may DC boldly
characterized as ladies' underwear. He
Uss informed that the gossamer gauze
for sumner use, and the silk goods in
pink. blue and flesh colora, were rs light
As fairy and could hardly be weighed,
but cold, scientific inquiry, with the
of scales, showed a weight of
10 ! ounccs for gauze cashmere suits,
according to size, and S to Ii ounces for
!he silk, The latter is expensive, cost
ing from II to SIS garment, but it fits
cIosely to the skin, is q preventative
against cold, and affords rs much COM
'oF', they say, as wool. The heavy me-
liLo underwear for winter weighs from
:. 10 25 ounces suit. Many ladies wear
ga1ze o. silk all the year round, rs they
want t" look as symmetrical; and in some
instances as aesthetic as possible. Close.
y httlng underwear, il is reported, is an
In securing perfectly fitting
l1ess. Muslin underwear has also its
IIslm q Tor popularity on this score, and
me 81 sum total of an outfit runs from %
% % ounces. The underskirt is an i'm
pottant factor in determining the weight
" iauy's clothing colored underskirt
%tlsnlng Il ounces, and plain or cam
oflc lnderskirt s ounces. A satin walk
,ng !, SKIRT scores 20 ounces, and one of
lanael Il ounces. The latter, it is need
!. eas 70 say, sells by the thousand on the
''In,oopping thoroughfares of the city.
w. " heh me reporter asked the weight of
ue sealskin dolman, the young weigher
leclared it to be four pounds. AS this
Mas Mas evidently inaccurate, the reporter
1a eu' ~ PACK to be reweighed. Six pounds
"s :, tue result this time, and the weigher
,.e.santiy excused the discrepancy by
tsy'ns ny he thought he was "doing it for
ue express company" Furlined dol
mans mans were found to weigh exactly five
'Oghds, furliued circulars four pounds,
- !aa sealskin sacks, four pounds each.
,%e H.. young lady who would be comforta-
y! ny and fashionably shod for the street
uusI 'n wear cork. soled shoes whose aver
=. weight is pound. If she dons e
'a1 20, OF rubbers an additional five ounces
~; 'Hl oe added. For stormy weather a
'a!f "a. OF arctics may be desirable, mat.
81 oi hfteen ounces. The problem Of
.oSiSlhgs depends on whether the lady
iuef In discussion is going to the ball and
'm wear a pair adorned with beads,
ns asxy y bangles, and what not, and weigh
Is ! 1--WE I've or SIX ounces, whether she will
J s1 content with silk stockings weighing
W. W. y. three ounces, Isle or cotton stock
.sa ,s 1I three or four ounces weight, or
leu leu Derby ribbed cotton at six ounces.
,'T'es .;v are light weights; a six-button
n,,. M registering one ounce; twelve.
~ o,'oh ~ par two ounces, and fur-topped
as skln pair three ounces. A lady's
~ nDakerchIef . weighs an ounce, her col
ro1 anu cults one and two ounces respec-
sssy e,y' and her walking hat, say of plush,
'a''s and feathers, nine ounces.
~ az Arnold & Constable's storo Mr..
sa., aAer, manager of the manufacturing
oor,,",.m!ent, afforded the reporter an or
suunlty s,my of seeing the various heavy
iitments worn by women at this season
'.;a ;ae year, and gave him estimates OF
IA "a weights. The first garment exam
jHa ~ "ss q saiih-iined seaiskip dolman.
ana!'" said Mr.. Walker, yais q: f.vorite