The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-08-03
THE DRESS OF WOMEN
AGITATION; PAST AND PRESENT, ON
THE LINES OF REFORM.


1t is not at all improbable that Mr.. Glad
stone told one of the women dress reform
ers that he liked the old Grecian draperies
better than the existing conventional fem
mime costume, for that Is the judgment Of
most men OF aesthetic taste.
The expression of his opinion on this SUBJ
ject, however, Is of no practical Importance,
extraordinary and manifold as his abilities
may be. Fashion Is domain In which the
greatest of the leaders of men are power
less, and where even the principles of es-
thetics do not necessarily hold sway. 1t Is
field, too, in which the restless reforma-
tory spirit Of this period has expended it
self fruitlessly, though the effort has been
long and ceaseless.
More than 40 years ago Amelia Bloomer
began an agitation for the reform of the
| dress Of women on both aesthetic and sani-
| tary grounds. She did not content herself
with mere general suggestions, but adopted
and advocated a particular costume devised
and first worn by a daughter of Gerrit
Smith, one of the early abolitionists. Her
example was followed by Mrs Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone and others of
the womea's rights revolutionists But
the Bloomer costume, as IL came to be
called, did not receive feminine favor, and
soon even those who were self sacrificing
enough to make the experiment of wearing
| it in the face of public derision were glad
to discard the ugly garments and to render
renewed submission to the imperious die
tates of conventional fashion.
The costume did not satisfy the taste of
Mr. Gladstone for flowing Grecian draper
les, but was devised for the very purpose of
| getting rid OF them as obstructive of the
fr.... 81 Il A.
dress recommended at Chicago only lately
is constructed on the same general prin-
ciples. In each there Is q tunic reaching to
the knee or little below, and then come
trousers or leggings. Both bear some sort
of resemblance to the present feminine
bathing costume, except that they lose its
grace and beauty by concealing the contour
Of the lower legs with baggy coverings in
stead OF revealing 1t with close fitting
stockings The new reform dress was in
troduced into the women's convention ut
Chicago and excited much curiosity as
worn by two or three of its courageous ad-
vocates, but we have not heard that even
they have ventured to wear il habitually i'm
public, and If they did so probably they
would provoke no less derision than Mrs
Amelia Bloomer and her reformatory asso-
ciates excited generation ago.
Mrs. Russell, the woman who reported
the remark of Mr.. Gladstone, has devised
new costume on her own account IL is de-
scribed as gown which seemed to fall
entirely from the shoulders" looking as IL
'she had hung bedspread upon her back
and table spread upon her 'front.'" APP
parently it is modification of the Mother
hubbard DRESS which was in vogue several
years ago in various parts Of the Union, but
az town ordinances were passed forbidding
the wearing Of that garment on the ground
Of its impropriety and no such objection is
made to Mrs. Russells baglike gown we
infer that she has corrected the defect, if
defect it be, Of revealing the contour of the
feminine figure in its unapproached beauty.
AT any rate, 1t has no likeness whatever
TO the Grecian draperies, of which Mr..
Gladstone approves with SO much good
taste. 1t has not the cincture and does not
exhibit any Of the outlines of the figure, but
conceals them almost as thoroughly as does
the hideous dress worn by Turkish women
in public. Evidently it gets rid of the ne
cessity OF corsets But there is difference
Of opinion US to the injurious effect of
these, and some such support was worn by
women even in the classical period to which
Mr.. Gladstone turns with SO much delight.
The dress OF the women represented in the
Tanagra statuettes and in the gems exca-
waited as Mycenso Is not radically different
from the feminine costume OF today.
The history of fashions, as shown in the
superb French works which picture the
costumes of all ages, indicates that under
civilization the dress Of women of fashion
has followed the same general principle of
construction and has been continuously in
accordance with Mr.. Gladstone's taste for
flowing draperies, and ut variance with the
reform dress now recommended. The treat
mcnt of the draperies and their decoration
have varied greatly anil capriciously, but
draperies have always remained as the main
feature of the costume. Unhappily the
tendency has been away from the simplici-
ty OF the true art, and now, as Mrs Linton
has said in recent magazine article, the
flnriug epaulc.s are distinct and inexcus-
able deformity since they conceal the beau
tiful line at the shoulder. Otherwise the
present feminine costume is graceful,
though a few years ago it was of much
greater beauty.
The dress reform starts out counter to
the whole current of fashion in feminine
dress, because it is devised with sole refer
encc to utility and without prime regard to
beauty. 1t is intended for women emanci-
pated from the restraints of the past, and
working in the employments of civiliza-
ton as competitors of men. Unquestion-
ably for that purpose flowing draperies,
whether they be Grecian or Partisan, are
not desirable. Perhaps the reform dress,
with its short tunic. is more appropriate,
but IL is not so graceful, and it is not so
generally adapted for the best display Of
feminine beauty or theconcealment of fem
inine physical defects. Hence women will
have none Of it. They may be emanci-
pated from much else, but, thank heaven,
thcy are not emancipated from the desire
te make themselves pleasing to behold
New York Sun.