The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-10-18

If short d esses arr wo n, there must
be reform in the interests of womanli-
ness and grace. If long gowns obtain,
D reform must be instituted in favor Of
Wealth and cleanliness When skirts en-
pand, statesmen shout for n reform that
will secure sufficient standing room for
the nation. When they cling, the cry is
still reform for the sake of modesty. By
no ingenuity can fashion contrive Il
platform that reform is not anxious to
knock from beneath her.
A year or two ago popular reform took
the shape of business woman's dress"
although why business women should be
any reader than anybody else to ticket
themselves by wearing special style is
not apparent. If woman has herself
and others to support, she has quite lilni-
tations enough created by her circum-
stances not to submit to an artificial re-
striction in so personal u matter as that
of her wardrobe. The women most
publicly in favor of Il reformed attire for
working women were ladies who them
selves had little to do except theorize in
their drawing rooms. 1t did not seem to
occur to them that their sisters less for
tunately situated might object to adopt
ing class uniform which would accent
the difference between them and the
lilies of the field
One of the oldest among the late
freaks of reform is the trousers conven-
ton at Chicago, as if the gathering togeth
er of few coquettish eXperimenter5 in
costume could have any appreciable in
fuence over women at large in making
them sacrir ,e their own fancies and re-
quirements i'll the way of dress. Trou-
sers are convenient, but at their best
they give u woman the look of SOU
brette: at their worst--that is, when she
is middle aged and stout-they rob her of
her mature dignity and render her a
laughing stock. The grace and stateli-
ness bestowed by flowing garments is
universally recognized--witness the
robes of Office and church vestures worn
by men. Although the latter adopt
trousers as their ordinary dress, they can
the better bear the severity of the attire
that strength rather than beauty is tAeir
natural adornment
The skirt lends dignity to woman's
shorter stature and softer outlines that
she can i'll afford to lose, and she will
probably continue to wear it, despite the
reformers, as long as she retains the
aesthetic instincts and reserve which are
characteristic of the majority Of her sex.
The advocates of still another scheme
of reform earnestly recommended the
costume of their invention on the ground
that it completely concealed the form"
without seeming to realize that their
movement was retrograde instead of
progressive Why not at once declare
in favor of the dress Of tho women of the
harem, who never appear i'll public I'M
less they are completely yelled from
head TO foot?
In land where women are admitted
to have not only SOUL but intellect, and
are therefore respected, there can be nc
possible reason for mufiling the figure
out of all semblance to womanhood, and
reformers who are guilty by implica-
ton of such disrespect will never have a
large following Garments are worn fo1
warmth and covering, and what beauty
they possess is mainly borrowed from
the body which they cover and which
is the reason of their being. Conceal by
drapery all indication of its shape anG
movement, and there remains merely {
clumsy mass of cloth, devoid of mean
ing or individuality.
The absurdities and distortions of dress
are greatly to be condemned as sins
against the principles of hygiene, there
fore against those of beauty, but it is no
necessary to wear startling or hideou
garments in order to be clothed health
= fully. A woman of sense and artist,
= perception can dress conveniently an(
becomingly without departing SO IA
) from the reigning mode as to make her
self conspicuous, and women will n,
doubt keep on exercising their own tast
l in the matter despite all the convention
, that can be called by young and prett,
enthusiasts - Isabella Proctor, IN Ne,
1 York Advertiser.
GUARANTEED CURE.-We authoriZ