St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-02
CONCERNING CLOTHES.
Dc Men Wear Oorsets7---A Gentleman
Who Gould Not Pick Up a
Dine.
Turkish Dress for Women---W Would Men
Let the Dear Creatures
Wear It2
An Questionable Estimate of the
Tailor Dress w orth Does not
Like Them.
Fashion n ever Did Dictate Anything
accent and sensible i'll Woman's
Dress.

funny paper mere printed some pictures
representing the proper dress of beaut-
full DUDE at the seashore. To be perfectly
fashionable he had to change his costume
six times day. There was his one button
cutaway for morning, his fOur-button cut
away for afternoon, the trock for ioungng
upon the veranda with the girls, the dinner
dress and the spidery-looking evening dress
with which he skipped about the ballroom
at night.
Would to heaven the masculine sex did
have to change their costume six times
day for one year! Then. perhaps, they
would know something of the bother weak
woman is put to. 1t IS by no means GER
tain that they are not approaching that pc
riod, Judging from the many additional ar
ticles that are gradually being insiduously
loaded upon their wardrobe Corsets are
one of these You would be surprised if
you knew how many well-dressed New
YOrd men habituaIly beautify their figures
by stiffenmg themselves up in this manner.
| have always had suspicion all to myself
that the late lamented Gen. Hancock was
among the number.
At fashionable Fifth avenue tailor shop
this day can be seen the ornamentatal addi-
ton to gentlemen's wardrobe in question.
L az eiiii5o oiO AuhS III thO "iiiNO"t III
plain sight. They are beautifully made;
woven with silk and elastic. Stout gen
tlemen mostly wear them, it is whispered.
| An Obliging colored porter stood in the
doorway of the shop one morning as
passed. 1t was too early for the elegant
| and ariStOcratic customers of the place. and
| so I was mean enough to interview the
porter.
do gentlemen wear those-those corsets
much?" l asked.
Yes, madam, " the young man answered.
''They improve the figure"
| l was willing to get further information.
but do they call them corsets?"
No. madam, they calls 'em supportahs."
| A little while after that | was going the
| street with a gentleman who was
| so SWELL LOOKING
| that it was real satisfaction to walk be-
side him. | know every other woman was
looking back and wondering who that dis
tinguished looking man was. Well, he had
a dime in his hand convenient to pay
his gloved fingers and fell upon
the sidewalk. He sidIed this way
and sided that, and if you believe
me, as true as I live he could not stoop
down to pick up that dime. If his life had
depended On it l think he scarcely could
have done it. He stared helplessly at it.
turning red and half giggling till [ reached
down myself and picked it up and handed
it to him with great flourish. 1t was
| plain case of a supporter. The colored
young man Informed me that it was quite
common for gentlemen to wear these fig
ure improvers." | rejoice at it. 1t is
sign of progress. only hope that as
next step stuffed cushions foot square
will be loaded upon their backs, and that
| stiff steel semi-circleS will be gathered into
| their coat skirts, for them to sit down upon.
| Their pockets, meantime, should be tucked
away between the stuffed cushion and the
steel springs SO that they VIII have to poke
their hands away around to their backboneS
to get at them. and when found they will
be no bigger than a rat hole for fear of
destroying the style OF the garment. If
the already heavy cloth of which their gar
ment is made should be folded three thick
nesses deep and wrapped around them as if
| they were mummies, then the eStimable
masculine sex would know something of
the delights of the stunning and stylish"
tailormade dresses that women wear at
present. No wonder that Worth. the Pari-
sian man dreSSmaker. doesn't like them,
and calls them stable clothes
TAILoR-MADE DRESSES.
So great humbug has not been added
to wOmen'S costume in a century. If
women tlattered themselves they were going
to be emancipated from the evils of fashion
and be free like men, ''manniSh'' in cos
tune. in short they never were so much
mistaken. Except in just the one particu
lar of being made of excellent material. the
so-called tailor-g0wn eXaggerates all the
Inconvenience women already endured in
their dress. and added to 1t a load which
ought to break the back of a camel. The
tailor dress we ghs-good heavens, how the
thing weighs-seven to fifteen pounds. But
women don't stop little thing which would
break The back of camel when they are in
pursuit OF style.
Fashion never did dictate anything SIM
ply decent and sensible in the way OF
woman's dress. | doubt if she ever will
If you would take a mans ordinary WATER
overcoat put cushions and steel hoops into
it, plat the bottom all around. and eXtenC
it TIL it sweeps the ground. then take SOME
yards of the same material and festoOn it in
a sort of double-back action way upon the
skirt. and make the waist and sleeves a.
tight as they can be crowded into withou
bursting, you will have an exact idea of the
beauty and comfort of the much
WANTED TAILOR DRESS.
The only satisfaction to me in the whole
affair is that men invented this dress, no
women. Whoever started it simply took
wOmeD'S dress as it was already made
up of light soft material-silk. cashmer,
and calico-and reproduced it in the ma
terial of which mems coats and trouser
were made. There never was a create
mistake; there never was greater absurd
ity. The folds, the Fittings and tn,
flouncings and the furhelows wer,
endurable in thin materials. They
even added grace to bean
pole or a clOtheS-horse figure. But to cop
them IN wooden is that every time woman
walks out she goes with the pleasing con
sciouSness that she is carrying the covering
OF half dozen sheep upon her back
hatter myself that is stupidity only
man dressmaker could be guilty Of In
deed. I'm not sure but the whole mode Of
women's dress is all wrong anyhow. Thi
present cOmpla ming howl is more in the ma
ture of an appeal for light and help thai
anything else. Worth Sal long ago tina
the best as we'll as the m St beautiful dres
for women was that of the Turkish ladies
1t allowed the muscles full, easy play.
was so gracefully flowing as to be poetic
at the same time it covers the form as com
pIetely and modestly as the female dres
among Western nations. If you will re
member how it looks in oriental scene
upon the stage, you will recall that it is a
, beautiful as dream.
Worth declares further that he has beer
, trying for years to induce ladies to adop
this dress, but has met with no success
Why. he cannot tell nor can you nor any
body. There is not a single point of view
in which it is not superior to that of Euro
pean and American women. but the utmos
efforts of the most famous authority OF
} ladies' attire in the world fail to populariz
it. Is it the fault of men or of women.
am inclined to think it is the fault of men
When the subject is talked Or hefora tho,,