New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-04-19


Annihilate the former and the latter disappear.
And have no hesitation in saying that whenever
In history we find that dress has become absolutely
monstrous and ugly. il has been partly of course
through the mistaken idea that dress has an In 5e-
pendent existence of its own, but partly also
through the fashion Of hanging the lower garments
from the waist. In the sixteenth century. for
instance. to give the necessary compression. Cath
arine de Medicis. High-Priestess Of poison and
regarded as the climax of q of crime. IL
made of steel, had front and back To it like the
cuirass of fre-brigade man. and was secured
under the left arm by hasp and PIN like a
Saratoga trunk. Its object was TO diminish the
circumference of the waist to circle of thirteen
inches, which was the fashionable size without
which lady not allowed tO appear at court
and its influence on the health and beauty of the
age may be estimated by the fact that the normal
waist OF well-gr0wn woman Is an oval OF twenty
six To twenty eight inches certainly.
As one bad habit always breeds another in order
to support the weight OF the pettcoats the far
dngale was invented also. This was huge
structure, sometimes of wcker.work like large
clothes basket, sometimes OF steel ribs. aud
extended on each side to such extent that IN the
reign OF Elizabeth an English lady in full dress
took up quite as much room as we would give now
to a very good sized political meeting. need
considering the limited surface of the globe Then
in the last century there the hoop and in this
the crinoline. But will be told ladies have long
ago given up crinoline. hoop and fardIngale. That
ls so. And am sure We all feel very grateful to
them. / certainly do. Still, does there not lineer,
eye, even now amongst us that dreadful that wicked
yilest OF all dImnntives the crlnoette, still to be
seen y L am quite sure that none OF my readers
ever dream OF wearing anything of the kind. But
there may be Others who are net so WISE and
wish II could he conveyed to them delicately and
courteOusly. that the hOurgas is not the ideal Of
Form. Often modern dress begins extremely WELL
From the neck to the waist the lines of the dress
itself follow ont with more or less completeness the
lines of the figure but the lower part of the cos
tune becomes bell-shaped and heavy, and breaks
ont into series of marsh angles and coarse curves
Whereas if from the shoulders and the shoulders
only, each separate article were hung, there would
be then necessity for any artificial supports of
the kind have alluded to. and tight lacing could
be done away with. If some support is considered
necessary, as it often Is, a broad woollen band
band of elastic webbing. held up by shoulder
straps will be found quite sufficient.
SO mnch on the cut of the Dress now for its
decoration.
The French milliner passes a lurid and lucrative
existence in sewing on bows where there should be
no bows, aud houpces where there should De no
1ounces But. alas his industry Is in vain. For
all ieady-nade ornamentation merely makes
dress ugly to Look at and cumbersome to wear.
The beauty of dress as the beauty OF life, comes
always from freedom At every moment dress
should respond TO the play Of the girl who wears It,
and eIquisitely echo the melody of each movement
sought for IN the delicate play of light and line IN
dainty ripping folus. and not in the useless ugness
and ugly uselessness OF q stIf and stere"typed
decoration. Ii is true that in many of the latest
Paris dresses which have seen there seems to be
recognition OF the value OF folds. But unfor
tunately the folds are all artiiicially made and
sewn down. and their charm is entirely
destroyed. For fold in dress IS not q fact, an
item TO be entered in bill, but certain effect of
light and shade which is only exquisite because II
10 evanescent Indeed one might Just as we'll paint
a shadow dress AS sew a fold down on one.
And the CHIEF reason that modern dress wears
such short time is taat il cannot be sm0o he'd out
as a dress should be, when it is laid aside in the
wardrobe. In fact fashionable dress there is
far too much "shapng"; the very wealthy OF
those who are not millIonares that the more seams
the more snabbiness. A wellmade dress should
last almost as long as shawl. and If il well made
1t does And what mean by well made dress Is
a simple dress that hangs from the shoulders. that
takes its shape from the figure and its folds from
the movements of the gill who wears it, and what
mean by badly made dress IS an elaborate struct-
ure of Heterogeneous materials, which having been
first cut to pieces with the shears aud then sewn
together by tho machine, are ultimately so
covered with frlls and bows and houncrs to
become execrable to look at expensive TO pay for,
and absolutely useless 10 wear.
Well these are the principles of Dress And
probably it will be said thai all these principles
might be carried out to perfection, and yet no
definite style be the result Quite so. With q
deGne style. in che sense OF historical style, we
nave nothing whatsoever TO do There must be no
attempt to revive ancient mode OF apparel
that chaos OF costume. the Fancy Dress Ball. We
start. not from History, but from the proportions
of the human form Our ann is not archaeological
accuracy. but the highest possible amount of
freedom with the most equabie distribution of
warmth. And the question of warmth brings me
t0 my last point Ii has sometimes been said TO me,
who are really interested in the possibility OF a
beautiful dress, that the cold climate of Northern
ments one over the other, that II is quite mpOssbl
for dress to follow out express the lines OF the
figure at all. This objection, however. which at
first SIGHT may seem to he a reasonable one Is in
reality founded on wrong dea on the idea in
fact that the warmth of apparel depends on the
number OF garments worn. Now the weight OF
apparel depends very much on the number OF gar
msnts worn. but the warmth apparel depends
entirely on the material of which those garments
are made. And one of the chief errors IN modern
costume comes from the particular material which
is ALWAYS selected as the basis for dress. We have
always used linen, whereas the proper material IS
wool
Wool 70 begin with, Is a non-conductcr Of heat.
That means that in the summer the violent heat OF
the sun does not enter and scOrch the body, and
that the body IN winter remains at It's normal
natural temperature. and does not waste ITS vital
warmth on the air. Those OF my readers who play
lawn tennis and like outdoor sports know that, II
thew wear n complete flannel suit. they are per-
iectiy cool on the hottest day and perfectly warm
when the day is cold. All that claim Is that the
same laws which are clearly recognized on the
tennis ground hannel being woolien texture.
should DO recognized also as being equally suitable
for the dress Of people who live IN towns, and
whose lives often necessarily sedentary. There
are many other qualities III wool, such as JUS being
an absorber aud distributor of moisture. with
regard to which would Ike to refer my readers to
a little handbook on Health Culture, ny "
Jaeger. the Professor of Physiology at stuttgart
DR. Jaegcr does not enter into the question OF form
or beauty at least when he does he hardly seems TO
IN successful, put on Jne sanitary dlucs VI
different textures and colors he speaks OF course
with authority, and from n combination OF the
nrnciples OF science with the laws of art will come,
/ feel sure. the costume of the future
For if wool rs selected as the basis and chief
material of dress. FAR fewer garments may be worn
than at present with tho result of Immensely
increased warmth and much greater lghtness and
comfort Wool also has the advantage OF beng
almost the most delicate texture woven. SIX IS
often coarse compared TO it. being at once harder
aud colder. A large Cashmere shawl OF pure wool
can be drawn through q tiny, ring indeed py thls
show TO one the fneness of their goods Wool.
again. shows no creases. / should be sorry to see
snnh lovely texture as SATIN dlsapppear irom