Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-17
ON DRESS REFORM.
Mrs. Jenness Miller Delivers a Very
Characteristic Lecture
ToA CROWD OF ATTENTIVE LADIES.
Some Features of the Present Mode of
Dressing Condemned
AS NOT CONDUCIVE TO GOOD HEALTH

The fair dress-reformer, Mrs. Jenness
Miller, was looking unusually well yester-
day afternoon as she stepped upon the plat
form in Old City Hall, and if large
audience composed of the best Pittsburg
ladies with fair sprinkling of gentlemen
would act as tonic, it must have added to
her feelings. She stated that she came to
Pittsburg the second time to answer in per-
son the queries that had lbesieged her by
letters since her lecture in the city some
weeks ago, as to whether or not feshy
womanIwould look we'll in the reform dress?
Could thin woman adopt the system with
impunity? How could they keep warm with
the new system? Was the divided skirt put
on over the head or the feet, etc?
She held the poor stout woman up to
ridicule in great many ways. She said
she never saw one that didn't desire her
waists so snug that it made the use of glove
powder necessity to get into them. She
never saw one that didn't delight in volum-
inous draperies and wanted them punched
over the hips. Never saw one that didn't
affect large checks and brocades. She
further remarked that 1t was a woman's
own fault if she was stout or thin. For
the past five years she had kept her own
weight neither five pounds too much nor
five pounds too scant, simply by proper at
tention to eating, bathing and physical ex-
ercise. She doesn't believe in excessive
walking, riding, or fasting to reduce flesh,
but studying ones individual system and
indulging in just the proper amount of
everything, especially in eating which
should be such that proper assimilation of
the food will result.
WILL THEY LOOK WELL?
Continuing her ridicule of the stout
women, she said she certainly didn't look
well in her present mode of dress, bound up
as she was in corsets and draperies, and
making every ounce of superfuous flesh
conspicuous She thought they would risk
nothing by the change, for they couldn't
look much worse, and in her opinion by
discarding the corset and allowing the flesh
to distribute naturally, instead of compress
ing it at the waist, thus making half
circle of the trunk, their appearance would
be much improved. She would advise soft
clinglng materials from which gowns should
be made, and insisted that the draperies
should not be over and around the most
prominent parts OF the person, but else
where to average up.
The woman who was thin should endeavor
to have plump covering for the lack of
flesh by observing the bath, diet and exer-
cise as recommended her equally unfor-
tunate sister, the fat woman, but until she
attained the rounded covering of flesh let |
her resort to artificial plumpness by folds of |
goods and full draperies from top to toe.
The pipestem arms should be SO rounded |
out by shirred and pufed sleeves that it |
would require the use of opera glasses to |
find the poor little bone that was dlgnifed !
by the name of arm. Above all things, let
the thin woman keep her neck and arms
covered; never display them at evening
parties, as so many are guilty of doing.
OPPOSED TO THE CORSET.
The corset was the cause of the death of half
the women in the land. The corset steel was
the unfortunate part against which the
arrows were sent, and despite its well-kpown
hardness it was perfectly riddled. Mrs.
Miller then informed the ladies that she
knew they were interested in her remarks,
and perhaps some of them believed what she
said, but paid them dubious compliment
when she remarked she knew her gown
was the magnet that drew them all to the
lecture.
After displaying and explaining the hand
some plush of mode shade, trimmed with
border of deep green and silver leaves, and
made in the plainest possible princess style,
she disappeared and returned in very
pretty blue cloth tailor-made street suit,
with natty little hat to match. This suit
was composed of kilt skirt with polonaise
tut short and extending in long coat tail
% the bottom of her skirt. The simulated
7est and collar were of white.
Two school dresses were next worn; a
Jimple cashmere of corn color, designed with
he full shirred skirt, the shirring of which
vas directly over the hips, to increase the
ize of the anatomy at that point. The other
me in pink surah silk was shirred to the
waist above the belt line and had the oppo.
lite effect.
A1ovely carriage dress in black velvet
nd white embossed velvet, was next shown.
The only new gown displayed was the recep-
ion dress, made of emb ossed gold velvet
nd lavender silk, with trimmings of point
ace.
Mrs. Miller, like all true reformers, hav-
ng devoted great deal of time and atten-
ion to dress and physical development.
onsiders her system of both the best extant.
)elsarte would turn over in his grave could
e hear the superior points of the Jenness
liller system, and the dress magazine is a
aragon of knowledge. If the rules con-
aimed in it are followed nothing else would
e necessary to guarantee long life and
eauty. Some four years of successful
ecturing has made Mrs. Miller charmingly
gotistic.