The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1895-08-29
BILL ARP ON THE FASHIONS,
NOT IN FAVOR OF THE BALLOON
SLEEVES.

SLEEVES.
He Appreciates Il Good Eigurc-Op
postd to Mother Hubbnrtis and
fight LacinS.
don't believe that the most sensi-
bic woman in the world can be wholly
Indifferent to the tyranny Of fashion.
If they don't follow it near they do
afnr or. Woman seems to be built
that way and reckon she can't help
it. The men have been fussing about
it for ages, but it don't do any good.
Some say that the devil is at tho bot,
tom of it, and that fashion is woman's
bcsettng sin and is the devils trap
! that he sets to catch them, but don't
believe it. I've noticed my female
folks making these big sleeves and
know they have had no bad effect on
them. Thcy go to church all the same,
and to the missionary meeting, and
tho Sunday school and sing in tho
choir, and are just as kind and in
dustriOus at home as they ever were.
Now the big sleeves were really right
pretty and becoming until they swelled
them out OF all reason, and now they
are hOrrid. For about q year the style
OF woman's dress has been pretticr
than for many years before. 1T fit her
person and showed the grace Of her
form and increment, but this balloon
sleeve business is dcforming her some.
don't think it will last long. But
will compromise on most any fashion
cxcep: hoop skirts. | never was re-
concilcd to them and mover will be-
remember when they came into
fashion, and they were quite decent
and well behaved, but in course of
time they got bigger and more wider
and Sprcadier until {; man didcnt have
much showing on a sidewalk or tie
street cars, and a woman with Il full
grown litter on couldent get into a
church pew with any grace. She
couldent lean up against the counter
in Il store, but had to stand of foot
or SO to keep the tiltcr from riZing
from Il horizontal to Il perpendicular.
That was away back before the war
when George D. Prentice was running
The Louisville Journal, and he wrote
such a sarcastic poem about them that
the ladies got ashamed and reduced
their circumference. But they came
back again IL few years ago, though
not to such an cXtravagant extent.
was Il young man when they first come
and the rage was SO infectious and
universal that poor folks who couldent
buy them got the boys TO mako them
of white oak splits like they made the
cotton baskets. But they were right
cool in summer time, | reckon. They
looked very cool when there was
breeze.
This balloon sleeve is no new thing,
| though don't think they were ever
quite SO large us they arc now. The
prophet Ezekiel took Il dislike to them
| about 1000 years ago, for he says,
"Wo TO the women who Sow pillows
TO their armholcs." They were stuffed,
reckon. But Isaiah made q clear
sweep OF all kinds Of fashions that
prevailed among those Hebrew women.
He proclaimed u curse upon the
| tinlSling ornaments about their feet
and their caulS and rOund-tres like
the mOon," and the chains and Brace
| lets and muf1lhrs and bonnots and head
bands and tablets and earrings and
changeable suits Of appeared and big
ornaments and rings and nose jewels
and mantles and wimp)oS and curling
pins and glasses and hoods and wells.
Pretty hard on them, wasn't it
The poor creatures dident have much
left, not even dress to change in
when company camc--not Il ring nor Il
nosegay.
| RENE nber those rounu-tiros like
| the mOon," like the new moon when it
is about thrce days old. | wore one
when | was sweet sixteen. | was as
trim and pretty as Il girl and had to
act IL girl's part in Il play on the stage
on commencement night. | was to be
a fashionable young lady and Bin
Maltbic or Jim Alexander, I've for
got VIII ch'onc, was the dude. Some of
the girls made me a rOunu-tirc, which
was then called a hustle. All the
women wore them, but think mine
was Il trille larger than the average
1t held u half peck Of bran and made
my hindgcar stick out foot. AS
wriggled about with my long train
dress rude boy slipped up behind me
and dropped a. quid of tobacco on the
hustle, which caused much laughter.
That hustle was us big as a big mans
arm and tapcrcd down at both ends,
like the horns Of the moon. Some
women wore them nearly rs large and
the hump behind would have made q
comfortable scat for a small boy.
Sometimes the stutling leaked and
YOU could track the girl all around
town by the bran she dropped. a
town hog would keep fat on it. Some
times they came untiuu and dropped
off, which was very mortlfylng. One
day picked up one in the store where
| was clcrking. | hung it up in sight,
but never could find the owner. But
| IN course Ol IlInC DuSGlCS "cuG ouG
when the humps came back again they
were not made by that kind OF Il round
tires, but made Of stiif grass cloth
that vas crimpcd up and gave a more
graceful slope to the dressing. 1t was
u kind Of dorsal epaulette and was
sometimes made Of religious news
papers, such as The Christian at Work
or The Evangelist.
don't believe that the ladies lace
as much as they used to. | haven't
seen but one girl in Il long time who
excited my fears, and | am still con
ccrncd for fear she will break in two,
right at the coupling, or become I'M
coupled some of these days. A good
hcalthysizcd waist is absolutely ncces-
sary to a healthy wifo, and nobody but
an idiot would marry a woman with q
di"t-daubcr body. Nevertheless, like
to see women fixed up nicely with
corscts on. In fact with anything on
save Mother Hubbards.
Speaking about these Old lime
writer's who were so hard upon wOtncn
reminds me of Il philippe Of Nathaniel
Ward. the author Of the first code Of