Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1892-09-14
Fashions Fifty Years Ago.

IL am just tired to death of all
this croaking about how much
worse things are nowadays than
they used to be, especially in the
way of dress and habits of women"
said middle-aged lady, as she laid
down "a magazine, after reading a
most pessimistic article on the de-
cadence Of femininity, and the ruin
Gus habits of the mothers and
daughters of the present. 81 think
such talk is the veriest moonshine,
and seems to me to be prompted
either by desire on the part of those
who indulge in it for notoriety, or
to help along the business of the
doctors.
"In the course of this article
occurs the following: If women
dressed as healthfully as they did
fifty years ago, they would not be
sick, or at least very few of them.
Now, as u matter of fact, | can
remember how they used to dress
fifty years ago, and in certain re-
spects we are very far ahead of
them. | recall distinctly scores of
times when we tied our corset laces
to the bed-posts, threw our entire
weight upon them, and then tied
them as tight as our strength would
permit. And we slept in them,
too, making a special effort each
day to see if they could be drawn
just little bit tighter. We never
enjoyed our suppers when we went
out to entertainments, for we were
laced so tight we could scarcely eat
bite. We always carried an extra
dress with us, and changed at sup
per time. Of course, the last dress
was intended to be, if possible,
rather more swell than the first,
and was sure to be quite as tight,
if not a little tighter. Then came
the tugging and pulling on the
corset laces again, and the girls
would help each other if they were
good-natured, for wasp-waist was
quite the mark of gentility. 1t
was not a remarkable thing for the
young woman to faint in the ball
room and have to be carried out.
If the corset laces were cut, as was
sometimes necessary, it was merci-
full thing that the poor victim was
uncon scious, as the to rture that
attended the loosening of them was
beyond expression. Sometimes the
health of the victim gave out alto
gether; then the corsets must be
taken off. Little by little the laces
were let out, and then it was almost
impossible for the patient to sit
upright. Indeed, there were several
eminent physicians of that date,
who declared that the old malady
which went under the name of
'bed-ridden,' was largely caused by
the destruction of the vitality of
the muscles in the trunk of the
the body, which, having no strength
to support, left the person like a
mere log of wood.
"The woman of fifty years ago
wore petticoats of wool fabrics
quilted in figures or patterns.
These were sometimes so heavily
weighted that they had to be stitch
ed in sections, as the needle would
not go through them to admit the
running stitch ordinarily used. In
addition to this, ropes half to three
fourths Of an inch in diameter
were sometimes sewed into the hens
of these skirts, and it was no un-
usual thing to wear skirts with
cords half an inch through, as
many as thirty or forty cords being
put into single skirt. Not salts
fed with this, there were ruffled
petticoats, which were worn both
over and under the corded skirt. l