The herald., 1895-03-31

! Chicago Society for the Promotion of
Physical Culture and Dress Reform, she
! remarked as she opened a large sheet of
pictures. And they are all patterns of
the gowns which were exhibited in the
Woman's Building at the World S Fair
This new style of dress is quite common
! in Chicago, where there Is club of
several hundred ladies belonging to the
| best society who have adopted it and are
anxious to see it in general use among
their sex. The main thing we advocate is
to discard the use of the corset which is
! simply an instrument of torture to de-
form the natural beauty of the human
| figure and which cannot but be injurious
| to a woman and especially mother.
| whose body should be left free and we'll
developed. If we want u healthy race of
| people we must have strong, healthy
women, and in no way can health he
| secured unless our dress is free from the
| barbarities of prevailing fashions
In the second place, the clothing
| should be light and hung from the shoul-
der, thus relieving the waist of all pres
| sure. This is accomplished in these de-
! signs by having the gown made all in one
i piece. union suit is worn next TO the
body, this also being in one piece. Over
, this comes bfurcated skirt. which is
| perfectly modest and yet gives perfect
! freedom of motion. Then we have a light
! silken petticoat, which hangs from the
as | now have on in the house. but for
! the street this dress is Il pretty design, as
| it is graceful and comfortable, and would
be becoming to any woman. The skirt
should never drag i'll the dirt or the mud,
so for rainy weather | wear what IS
called the Syrian costume, which rae
vents the discomforts OF draggled siiIt
| Hopping about ones ankles. ] prefer "a
suit to the knee skirts. for | do not til n.
the last are modest or approved of by
either men or women. For out of q u0r
sports this dress is the thing and soc rty
ladies will readily adopt it in taking
ercise, such as bicycle riding and clint
ing in the mountains.
I'm order to illustrate the difference be
! tween the garments OF a woman as dra.
tated by foolish fashion and the ones
advocated by Us, | will show you two bic
lures cut from the World year ago One
iepresents young woman rs she li,-
pears when bandaged up in tight stays
that rival the pressure excrtcd by le
Chinese on the feet of their women. i0i
the other is merely an ideal design s
the fancy OF the artist drew it in illust s.
ing the headlines of Il society column
The rational dress advocated by the
Boston ladies is somewhat different from
| the Chicago models and has jacket-like
effect. The whole suit is not in one piece,
| but it calls for the discarding of corsets.
The Boston Rational Dress Society
hdo aioo uuopteu pfeJty costume Tor
outings which is an excellent combination
OF comfort, grace and modesty, for il is q
complete covering and yet enables Il wo-
man to take exercise that calls all of her
muscles into healthful play
~ do not think that there is any doubt
that this reform is gaining ground so
rapidly. that in a few years all women will
have adopted it, and then we will have
what is best in life--health and beauty
for there is no health without natural
and rational dress and no beauty without
health
Miss Ieavens, who is wearer OF the
new gowns and a leader of the crusade,
teaches large class in physical culture.
Miss Leavens was dressed in Empire style,