Wichita eagle., 1888-11-23
DRESS IMPROVEMENT.
A Talk with Annie Jenness Miller, its Fair
Apostle.


/ Apostle.
Mrs. Annie Jenness Miller was called
upon at her room at the Carey last even
ing, after her talk at the Garfield opera
house. As the EAGEE representative en-
tered the room there arose and most
| pleasantly greeted him a woman above
the average in height, stately IN appear
ance, without one ounce of surperfuous
flesh nor a traceable bone; a throat Stop
/ ing IN beautiful curves to a perfect bust
and fauitless shoulders; the lines OF the
back, the waist, the limbs. models for
artists; well poised head,
crowned with a luxuriant growth
Of hair, strlkingly intelligent face, light
/ ed up with dark brown, sparkling eyes.
/ Such was this fair apostle of dress reform
/ and hustle ann hilator
| DO not call it dress reform, she said in
reply TO an inquiry as to her idea Of dress.
:'but simply dress improvement. There
has been constant improvement going on
/ for years: we can look back and see how
many Inconvenience OF dress we have laid
aside since the days of our grandmothers;
there are Inconvenience now, and these are
what think can be dispensed with. My
COST mes are to be made without bands or
lIgatures or heavy weights; and IN just as
many varieties as we can adopt. We do
not employ pettjcoats but wear divided
gown, but the garment IS not conspicuous
and not different in appearance from the
old petticoat. The advantage is that it
clothes the Leg has warmth and less
weight. 1t gives, too, woman the same
use OF her legs in case Of an accident as
man; yet no one would say it was mascu-
line in appearance. L don't wear
a corset; but the thing 10 be
detested in a corset are the steels, they
press out the abdomen and the breast.
make war against it because it is neither
artistic nor graceful uor healthful. The
hustle has gone out OF fashion in Paris.
and thus Fashion is with me- 1t is a de-
tormlty and in a few years the ladies viii
look back with surprise to thiuk they ever
wore such thing. l am conservative,
not radical in matter Of dress" she eonUin-
ued. as the scribe endeavored TO catch now
and then, word of her fluent spe Gu,
and never try to do away VITA
q thing until | can give some
thing better instead. Radicalism
is the trouble with such people as Or.
Mary Walker. They saw that something
WAS wrong but in their effort to remedy 1t
leaped from one extreme to the other.
This work of mine is something that men
favor; the fact is that the man favors any
progress that does not divorce the sex. My
teaching IS that the heighth of woman's
ambition should be TO be good wife aud
a good mother My own life has been a
pleasant one and have been accustomed
to meet noble, chivalric men, and thus /
can reach and appeal to women who have
seen the brighter side of life.
Ny talks have everywhere been eminent
~ successful and have been greeted with
enthusiastic audiences wherever | have
appeared. | return to St. Louis next week
at the urgent request Of my foamer audit
Ors; the same at Cincinnati. Il speak of
dress and illustrate by costumes, and
treat Of the physical and physiological life
of women. treat of what in fact Will
make US better wives and mothers. Nan
would rather marry woman whose or
gans have not been pressed all out of shape
by c0rsets and improper dresses aud who
could bear them healthy, vigorous chill
dren, and thus give the world a vigorous
race. Do you not think so2" and the gas
lamp spread a bright red tint over the
walls.
She showed the value of her physical
culture by her own magnificent physique,
and gave some OF the exercises by which
this beautiful development was accom-
plished. She was full of vitality, and al
though she had just returned from her
lecture, was in no wise fatigued This
was due, she remarked, to the
exercise OF her lungs and called upon the
reporter TO place the tips Of his fingers
upon her bust TO prove how perfect was
the muscular action. He pronounced it a
great and delightful success.
She has been engaged upon and viii I
soon issue from the press a story ''TwixU /
Love and Law a study in fact to carry
out her sociological view, the plot, of
which as we'll rs the finding of the ma (
terial of which she told in most graphic /
and interesting manner. Mrs. Miller left /
last evening over the Rock Island intend /
ing 10 go TO two college towns in Iowa /
from tnere to Quincy. st. Louis, Cincin- /
eati, Albany: and then home TO which she .
said she looked forward with much pleas
ure.