St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-02-07
DECOLLETE DRESSING.
Severe but Merited Structures by n
Writer ON Fashions Freaks.

Writer ON FASHIONS Freaks.
I hope 1 shall be pardOned for saying
something more on the subject of decollete
dressing. There is room here for a real
reform. The question is, Have the intelli-
gent, substantial, influential women the
moral courage to combat the aggressiveness
of a scandalous fashion that had its ex-
tremest length in France at q time when
virtue was but little respected and when
almost every sound principle of society and
government was set at naught? The de-
collete custom of to-day is quite as ex-
treme as in the days of Louis XVI. or a
little later, under the Directory. In truth.
II Is difficnlt to see how it could ever have
been or could ever be more extreme than II
is now and be a costume at all. II
is the nearest to nothing TO wear this
side of Eve, when she hastily improvised
A scANTY RAIAIENT
of fig leaves. l am sure if the many per-
fectly innocent and good women who wear
decollete dresses would but stop a moment
and consider the origin and history OF that
style of attire and the opportunity il fur
nishes the large part of the world that is
always seeking for excuses for its own
wickedness as well as for grounds Of dis
repectful comment against whatever is
sacred or pure they could but blush at the
hazard they are running and their failure
to be truly loyal TO their own sex. II men
are to protect good women, good women
ought to set the example by making an en-
deavOr TO protect themselves. How is any
man. however stong and chivalrous, to pro-
teet women from a thousand curious ewes
and all manner Of jest and innuendo by all
manner OF people when she goes INFO a
miscellaneous assemblage dressed as scores
of women are on every occasion of this
kind? l confess l cannot understand, and
that. too. after some experience and some
endeayOr 10 look at the better side of things,
how
A MODEST WOMEN
can screw herself ND to the point of making
herself the inevitable subject of this sort of
remark. What is conspicuous is not neces-
sarily wrong or harmful. A woman's hair
may be SO red as to be conspicuous and rs
TO excite comment, and yet do not imagine
the reddest-haired woman who ever lived
was SO red-haired that il did her or anybody
else any harm because something was said
about it. But there is a difference between
conspicuous red hair and conspicuous bare
shoulders. Let US save something from
comment and the common gaze.
imagine no woman in decollete dress
however pure her motive or blameless her
life. ever burst upon an assembled company
without creating more OF less of shock
And why shock? The very reason why
there is shock is the reason why she is
violating the rules of propriety and good
taste. l claim that a respectable woman
has no right to shock people in this way.
She does it solely under the protecting
agis Of fashion conceived and given its
/ rGf m nv hot nd do
spised class IF her sex whom she would not
allow to kiss the hem of her garment. and
In so doing recognizes power OF which she
should sometimes at least be independent
To what eXtremities would respectable
women go for the sake of compliance
with
THE DICTATES OF FASHION?
The subserviency of womankind in this
respect is humiliating and pitiful. Individ-
uality, private Judgment independence of
character, respect of the prophecies of life
are all deserted and forgotten in the crazy,
mad rush. What is condemned on the stage
is practised IN the most exclusive circles OF
private life. Consistency is treated with
contempt and the world is left to make the
most of it. If you ind fault with il the
only answer you get is shrug of the Shout
derS and another blind. reckless leap in the
same direction. Woman is at once the
most modest and immodeSt of human be-
ings. She is modest by nature and imm Cd
est through custom. That scores of the
decollete dresses worn now in what is
called society are grossly immodest is no
more debatable proposition than that two
and two make four. That any woman
should ever be deluded into a contrary be-
lief is only an evidence of the duIling aud
debasing influence Of fashion. 1t is not a
question OF whether the fashion Is bad or
good one, but simply question whether
it is the fashion. Admitted that il Is the
fashion. that settles 1t. II is accepted. en-
braced and adhered to with a zeal that
would do honor to better cause If this
is done at
THE SACRIFICE OF MoDEsTY,
the sacrifice is not realized by the woman
who makes il, because she satisfies her con-
science by hiding under an imaginary
shield. Ii is sacrifice nevertheless. She
may not realize it-she may be as innocent
as sunbeam-but the great outside world
realizes it and marvels at it. and makes evil
OF it. Thus she does herself wrong and
commits crime against society. She
makes herself an example that is used TO
the debaselent Of others, and by her own
trucking subserviency, lowers the standard
OF her sex and robs herself Of that charm
of ideaIity with which men delight TO invest
her. The decollete dress as we see il nine
times out Of ten is shame, q disgrace and