The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-11-19
W0NAN'S PROGRESS.
A New EVangel of Dress Greatly
Needed.
BY EMILY s. BoUToS.

this IS partly owing TO the appearance Of woman
which seems to vitiate her claim 70 equality? u
did not need to read any further to bring
wildly before my minds eye the picture Of the
ordinary woman wObbiiug-that is ths only
word which will express it-through life, try
ing to believe that she is fulfilling the duties
imposed upon her in the best possible manner.
IL IS only within a few years that any consider
able number have aroused themselves 10 a con-
seiousness that, as a sex, We were to blame for
the many hindTances laid on our progress for
ward. Custom, which is ruled by fashion, has
so strong a hold upon US that We suffer the
greatest Inconvenience, and do not grow strong
either physically or mentally, the only lesson
learned being that Of endurance.
The WIsest among Us are demanding equality
/ with men in wOman's chances 20 LIE herself
upon higher plane Of life. Yet what a trav-
esty this demand must sometimes appear to
the masculine mind in the face Of the absurd
tiles IN dress by which we hamper ourselves
once saw little fellow, not more than five
years old, run from his pursuing mother with
such celerity that, with her best Efforts she
could not Overtaks him. Reaching q fence no
went over it like a cat and then, from his van
| tage ground upon the other side, the young
| rascal stopped To parley with her about his
How did you dare to stop there?" / asked
him later. curious 70 know what we're the work
ings of his little brain. Weren't you afraid
Of being caught?"
'Frald,' he exclaimed, cOntemptuousIy.
Mamma couldn't climb that fence, cause she's
| woman, and wOmaus can't climb"
There IL was He felt intuitiyeIy the mas
cuilne superiority Of condition even at that
early age. The little rebel could defy her, be-
cause he was able to get over the ground faster
/ tiian she possibly could, and he thought that
out OF reach Of physical harm, he might make
terms which would not otherwise be possible.
FOR the time he felt sense OF mastery. IL vas
/ only acting out ia miniature what has been
history since history began.
! am we'll aware that there IS nothing new in
I what / am saying. but 10 cannot be said too
/ often; II 80, women will come to a realizing
\ sense that conformity 10 fashion, at the ex-
/ pen5e OF comfort, which again prevents freedom
Tor performance Ofduties, is sin. The great
\ army Of woman readers Of THE NATIONAL
I TRIBUNE have a work to do in this direction
hey are handicapped ia their homes in their
social life, and in tho business enterprises
/ which, alas, many Of them have been obi ged
| 10 undertake., because their loved ones gave
themselves to their country.
One cannot help feeling Of humiliation in
/ looking back over the fashions that have como
and gone within the last three or four decades
look like peTipatctic barTes but absurd as they
We're, every mothers daughter Of US donued
the things because we must conform 20 the
fashion. ltistrue that all did not wear the."tlt-
ers." but there were enough who did % make
ludierOus scenes in the attempt 10 90 through
dOOTways and enter street ears very eOmmon
/ do not deny the fact that the reduced skeIe-
tons had their good points. If they had not,
they certainly would not have held their own
IN the face Of all Of the ridieule and contumely
haapcd upon them 80 long, that large manufac-
tories sprang up all over the country and men
grew rich out Of the proceeds
Then recall the days Of trailing dresses upon
city streets. when, in spite Of our own intuitiye
convictions that We were fools and that we
lilref our folly, we yet persisted in wipIng up
the sidewalks as We walked. And who OF US
cannot remember an especial time when some
masculine planted his foot upon the super
fuOus length Of a cherished gown, and as we
lucklessly stroye TO move forward ripped il
from the waist with noise that sounded to
our horrihed ears like the rush aud roar Of an
incoming sea or, what was worse, rent the
cloth itself asunder beyond the most deft Of
needlewOman's skill 10 repair2 How many CT
us are there who do not recall with shame
faced regret suudTy and divers expletives Ut
tered, perhaps, in the privacy Of our own
apartments a. we rubbed and brushed and
gasolined in the vain endeavOrs to clean OF
cleaning progress, and restore the pristine
freshness Of our skirts? 1t was Of no avail
but still we trailed on.
We trailed not only upon the street and in
our parlOrs, but in our kitchens, while going
through the days multtudinOus processes Of /
work; up and down the stairway, and in my
lgdy'5 chamber, making beds sweeping. dust /
ing, swish, swish behind US everywhere?
Looking back at it to-day, il seems the hight
aud breadth Of absurdity. Yet nOW-and here I
lies the cause OF this plaiut-we are in deadly [
danger OF complete return Of this abOmina-
tiOn. Dresses for street wear, it is decreed, I
must be made with a short train 1t is no lon |
ger en regie to appear with the pleasant, easy 4
walking length Of skirt, but they must be q few |
inches at least upon the ground.
If sensible women do not rise up and crush [
out this movement by an absolute refusal % /
yield TO such a demand Of fashion then we NAV /
as we'll conclude that the process Of evolution /
for woman into higher conditions ms not /
reached the stage that we had fOndly imagined |
! should not blame men for kicking over the 4
traces into which the persistent effort Of years I
has harncssed them with their faces toward i
woman suffrage aud marching backward upon
their pathway. We are not ready for self /
government.
cannot believe, however that this viii come 4
TO pass. Since the days in which such women 4
rs Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her c0adiutors /
were driven from the dress reform they had
inaugurated for their home work by the storm
OF Tidculo and deuuuCiatiOn that came upon |
them, there is a wide gap TO the now. Women,
as a class, dare more than they did then, both
IN thought and action. / remember reading
Mrs Stanton's own account OF the reluctance
with which she gave up the ugly but convenient
B.OOmer costume that she only wore while
doing household duties, because her neighbors
made life burden to her, and the caVilers were
by no means ali among the men.
Dress reform has made a long step forward
since that day. The question Of comfort and
convenience has become q vital one among all
classes Of women. To rich aud Door: 10 those |
in society aud those out Of it; in business aud
in home life there has come a feeling that to
reach higher development in any direction
the tramme5 that limit us must be thrown
down. Against this, however, beats the old
time subseTyIenCy TO now fashions aud fancies
We are not yet emancipated sufficiently TO bid
entire defiance TO French rule in dress, and
when the dictum goes forth, there are too MANY
ready TO rush back again into bondage And |
that is why look with horror upon the an
nouncement OF the incoming trailing street
dresses.
Is there no escape from this monstrositv?
When will the blessed day dawn in which
women will be able to move along the streets
with the ease and celerity of men2 They did
better IN many respects in the days of our
grandmOthers than now.
There Is need Of q new eVangel In wOmau's
dress to redeem Us entirely from thralIdom.
Where is she in hiding who shall bring forth