Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1883-07-12
NO. 81.
The Object Of Dress.
London TelegrRDh.

London Telegraph.
ReasOners on costumes sometimes write as
If the sole object Of dress should be beyond
comfort, the indication of expression, with
due reserves Of the human form divine
Given well-shaped young person of either
sex, and this might be accer'es. a. lie light
and law OF apparel. a young man OF fine
proportions may wear tight-ftting garments,
showing not only the the exact outlines of
his body, but the shape and curve Of every
limb. Neither the skirt Of q tunic nor the
folds of trousers would be required to en-
hance the appearance of an Antinous The
dress of 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 inches of the
ground would partly express while it partly
hid the beauty and movement of her body
and limbs
But the human form is not always "di-
vine" Some men and women even when
young, are too stout. Others are too con-
scious of alteration from the perfect line of
beauty" or have defects from accident or
weak health. The incidental cares or bless
ings-for they are both-of maternity or ad-
vancing years themselves change the fairy
form once worshipped by the lover, and it is
not only Lady Jane who says with sigh,
There will be too much OF me in the COM
ing by and by" Costume, both male and
female, is devised at first or altered after
ward in view of such contingencies. The
frock coat conceals the obesity which looks
much more ostentatious when no friendly
skirt tones down the bulky figure. Trousers
were invented by men who have ceased to
be proud of their lower limbs. In old es-
md ioc iS IN nnto hou
often the hero is eulogized for having "a
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 day refuses to follow the outline of
the human form, it makes a concession to
those who, whether young, middle aged or
old, are no longer anxious to display them
selves like acIobats, knowing that, through
defects or excess. they fall short of perfec-
ton.
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? It is only small minor
ity of the sex who can afford to despise all
artifce and concealment. They are the
handsome, healthy, vigorous, we'll made,
light, 1.-THE and graceful girls who look best
with few skirts, no stays and no padding,
and who would be beautiful in Turkish
trousers or in the short petticoat Of "a New
Haven or Boulogne tisherwoman. As, how
ever, they marry and become mothers, as
they grow older and probably stouter, these
very young women must, for the sake Of de-
corum, beauty and health, adopt much of
the customary costume OF the sex.
The only suggestion of a law is that there
ought to be more freedom and more variety
for individual women. Young, active and
healthy girls, conscious of fine figures, can
dispense with corsets and voluminous skirts,
but there are all degrees Of departure from
this original perfection.