St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-25

beautiful -.
Mrs. Clara Colby, editor of the Wo-i
mans Tribune, of Washington, is a:
champion of dress reform in that city.
When she discussed the subject she
/ wore neat blue dress that was made
with a short waist. No corsets showed
harsh outline against the bust and
she walked with an easy grace that
gave ample evidence of the freedom
( of her muscles.
Il have the new designs which have
just been issued for the first time by
: the Chicago Society for the Promotion
OF Physical Culture and Dress Re-
form," she remarked, as she opened a
large sheet of pictures. "And they are
all patterns of the gowns which We're
exhibited in the woman's building at
the worlds fair. This new style of
dress is quite common in Chicago,
where there is a club of several hun
dred ladies belonging to the best So
ciety who have adopted it, and are
anxious to see it in general use among
them sex. The main thing we advocate
is to discard the corset, which is sim
ply an instrument of torture to de-
form the natural beauty of the human
figure, and which cannot but be injuri-
Gus to woman, and especially to a
mother, whose body should be left free
and well-developed. If we want
healthy race of people we must have
strong, healthy women, and in no way
can health be secured unless our dress
is free from the barbarities of prevail
ing fashions.
SHOULD HANG FROM SHOULDER.
In the second place, the clothing
should be light and hung from the
shoulder, thus relieving the waist of
all pressure. This is accomplished in
these designs by having the gown made
all in one piece. A union suit is worn
next to the body, this also being in
one piece. Over this comes a bifur-
Gated skirt, which is perfectly modest
and yet gives perfect freedom of mo-
ton. Then we have a light silken pet
ticoat, which hangs from the should
ers. Over this L wear a robe such as I
now have on in the house. but for the
street this dress is a pretty design, as it
is graceful and comfortable and would
be becoming to any woman. The skirt
should never drag in the dirt or in the
mud, so for rainy weather 1 wear what
Is called the Syrian costume, which
prevents the discomforts of a draggled
skirt Hopping about ones ankles.
prefer this suit to the knee skirts, for
L do not think the last are modern or
approved of by either men or women.
For out-of-door sports this dress is
the thing, and society ladies will read
lily adopt it in taking exercise, such as
bicycle riding and climbing in the
mountains.
In order to illustrate the difference
between the garments of a woman as
dictated by a foolish fashion and the
ones advocated by us I will show you
two pictures cut from the World a
year ago. One represents young
woman as she appears when bandaged
up in tight stays that rival the press
ure exerted by the Chinese on the feet
of their women, and the other is mere
ly an ideal design as the fancy of the
artist drew it in illustrating the head
lines of a society column
BOSTON RATIONAL DRESS.
THE rational dress advocated by the
Boston ladies is somewhat different
from the Chicago models and has a
jacket-like effect. The whole suit is
not in one piece, but it calls for the
discarding of corsets.
''The Boston Rational Dress society
has also adopted pretty costume for
outings which is an excellent combina-
ton Of comfort, grace and modesty,
for ii is a complete covering and yet
enables a woman to take exercise that
calls all of her muscles into healthful
play. ;slzs 5t.sa6
do 1Af hi
doubt that this reform is gaining
ground so rapidly that in few years
all women will have adopted it, and
then we will have what is the best in
life-health and beauty-for there is
no health without a natural and ra-
tional dress and no beauty without
health"
Miss LeavenS, who is a wearer of the
new gowns and a leader of the crusade,
teaches large class in physical cul-
ture. Miss Leavens was dressed in the
Empire style. Her robe, which was of
a delicate shade of blue flannel, was all
in one piece, and hung in soft folds
from the neck to the feet Under the
bust were bands of golden brocade
that crossed and made a unique and
classical effect with the straight lines.
II am sure that the new style of
dress is gaining rapidly" she re-
marked; "but find it hard to get wom-
en- to discard their corsets. 1t is i'm
possible to get man to confine him
self in tight clothing, and it is far
more injurious to q woman, for her
organs are far more delicate, and as
she is the mother of the coming gene
ration she should take particular care
to have her body free and healthy In
this Empire gown we find a union of
ease and health and beauty and econ
omy. AS 1t never goes out of fashion
it is cheap. and all critics agree that it
is artistic.
CORSETS DESTROY BEAUTY.
Herbert Spencer remarks: Beauty,
carried to an extreme, defeats it's own
end and nothing more aptly illus
trates that than the wearing of the
corset, which was at first designed by
the debaSed women Of ancient Greece
1t has been carried to such an extreme
that it has completely destroyed the
natural and therefore beautiful out
lines of a woman's form. Big sleeves
are out of place on a gown, because
D0 Smaller at the
shoulders than at the waist, while of
a man thd reverse is true.
For the house the Syrian costume
is excellent when woman has to do
her own work, and is compelled to run
up and down stairs much. And for
the street in summer the Empire dress
is the best. There is no reason that
one could not wear it on the street in
warm weather, and in winter it can be
covered by a long cloak, which is a
necessity anyway in cold weather.
believe that the next generation will
discard corsets, and thus a much
healthier race will people the world
Every day we are making converts,
and the only thing that keeps women
back is the fear of being different from
the rest. But / have heard a great
many mothers who said it was too
late for them to adopt a rational type
of dress beg me to persuade their
daughters to throw away their cor