St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-12
FAIR WOMAN'S DRESS
Is There Any Call for Reform
on the LoW-Necked
Varieties?
Some Of the Ministers OF st.
Paul Have Been Asked
the Question.
A Part of Them Think That
the Decollete Style is
Improper,
While Others Say 1t Is Simply
the Fashion, and FASH
( ion Rules.

81
Pauline is an icicle. if not hot for
reform. 1t occurred to her the other
night at an undress parade that it is
high time some movement was set
afoOt to make beef shows, dressed beef
shows; and, either keep the family
skeletons at home in the closets where
they belong, or, if they must gotO Mrs.
Jones' ball and Miss Browns reception,
to have clothes provided that shall con-
ceal them from public view. She got
to wondering whether good beef and
a well-regulated skeleton would consent
to be placed on exhibition without so
much as a piece of fly netting
she made up her mind she could start
out and ask somebody about it. DR..
Dana was at dinner. Apparently, he
didn't care cent what women wear, if
the particular woman who came be-
tween him and his dinner would only
get out of the way. He said he did not
think-in fact, he knew no innocent
minded woman would appear before
men, wearing such garments as are some
times seen. Reform in woman's dress
Or undreSs, he considered very nee
essary and as impossible as necessary.
'Such movement must originate with
leaders of society, and as long as
fashion makes scarcity of clothes the
| standard of excellence in woman'S
| dress, women are found to 60 as nearly
naked as possible, with utter indiffer-
ence to the demOraliZing influences
! such style of cOstuming has upon
| society,""
REV. F. o. HOLMAN.
| F. O. Holman, of the First Methodist
| church, seems to be of the opinion that
there is something of the mule about
| wOman's disposition. ''Reform in the
form directed at the slaughter of birds
for women's hats" he said. "The
more you say against it, the worse it
| grows. In the matter of dress, women
are obstinate. They are bound to please
themselves.
sit is generally believed that they
dress to please men, rather"
81 don't think that is the case, though.
They wear what they like, and men try
to like it because they do. Respectable
men condemn without reservation a
woman's form as the decollete
does, and if the women who
wear it could know what is in the
minds of men, it seems to me they
would taboo it. Fortunately for society
at large, this improperly is common
only to the two extremeS-the highest
and the lowest. The great middle class
is both above and below it. The fash
| ion is original, Of course, with the demi-
monde, and that is unhesitatingly imi-
tated by our ariStOcracy."
Establishes connection between the
two in point of mOrals?"
well, something like that, GER
tainly."
'You think, then, that no Innocent
minded woman will adopt such style
! of dress"
-''There is the innocence of angels y
ksaid Mr.. Holman with the gallant
Eevasiveness of a p0lltician.
Il REV. S. G.. SMITH.
Rev. S. G. Smith wasn't speaking a
!. word. He said he had nothing to say,
because he did not think there is any
need of reform in wOman'S dress in st.
tiOnally moral town, only it is cOnServa-
tive. People avoid extremes; more
over, he does not believe morals to be
matter of neutral colors and poke
bonnetS, nor of high-necked or low
necked dresses. ITO the pure, all
things are pure" He thinks the semi
nude in society occupies much the same
relation to morals that the nude in
| art does; an evil-minded person
gets his own picture from both, While a
higher-toned soul finds only satisfaction
for the love of the beautiful. Love OF
the beautiful, DR.. Smith cOnsi ders one
of the most ennObling principles in hui
man nature; whatever stimulates it, has
an elevating tendency. Yet he told
Pauline he would never speak to heI
{ again if she put him down as approving
decOIlete dress. OF course, she will moi
do it, then. But here are two and two
If they make four, it is no fault of hers
DIR. NOIAAN SEAvER.
To the query, has the lOW-cut cOrsage
demoralizing effect on society. Rev
Norman Seaver had just one reply tc
make-Queen Victoria ordains the
glishman, and he looked hurt when
Pauline skeptically asked if Victoria
sanction made immortality moral. He
would not allow any question of morals
involved i'll dress, or undresS. 1t is
merely matter of custom. Low-cut
corsages, to him, are cOndemnable from
a hygienic standpoint only. From al
others, the style is but one of the many
harmless features of AnglO-mania.
| REV. E. &. MITCHE1.1,.
Rev. E. G.. Mitchell, pastor Sweden
borgian church, declared women are
like sheep-they follow wherever they
are led. If fashion decreed they should
90 naked, that is the way they would
go. Women dress to please men and tC
diSpleaSe one another-to excite admira
ton and envy. If one woman accom-.
plishes this in shoulder straps and a
WaiStband two inches wide, No. 2. tC
eclipse No. 1, cuts the waiStband down
to half an inch and does away with the
shoulder straps.
"a Dung woman not long ago said tC
my wife," said he, 81 must have Ren's
attention, and the only way to win i,
is to take off my clothes in public as
other women do! She proceeded to work
OH her theory and"
Ibid she get what she wanted?"
Eyes; she got-married. This woman
of course, was deliberately immoral in
her dress. But do not think that all
women who affect the same style are so.
Though You cannot put your hand in
| pitch without some of it sticking to
) you. A woman may not plan tC
pander TO mems vicious taste
still if she does it. animated by
no other motive than to be
7 like somebody else, she is bound t6
forfeit more or less sweet purity OF
thought and character. In the matter
of fashionable attire, there is surely
room for great reform, and am inclined
to think the best help in bringing il
= about would be for society to boycott