Evening star., 1897-06-05


! 1t is still In sufficient evidence TO war;
rant the claim that II is by no means dead.
The skirt, however. has the call, and no
matter whether It be long or short, full or
narrow. In company with the golf stock
ings 1t will constitute the up-to-date and
iashionable dress for lady cyclists during
the 'O7 season
Ever since women took to cycling the
question OF dress has been a troublesome
problem. and a couple OF years back most
OF the journals devoted to fashions were
| filled with designs of strange and wonder
ful garments. said to be particularly adapt
able to the purposes of cycling. Why some
OF these were ever thought Of 1t Is hard
to guess. Why some of them were worn
more than once is problem that can best
be explained by those who owned them.
1t was also predicted that bloomers would
be universally adopted, and that diamond
frame wheels were likely to become popu-
lar. But the fair sex soon settled the mat
ter for themselves. Boomers are still
worn, and so are divided skirts, and some
or the other designs which were adopted
| In the carly days, but the great majority
STICK to the short skirt. which has become
| so popular and which seems destined 10 re-
| main. The invasion OF the territory of the
skirt by cohorts of the bloomers was one
Of the features of the cycling record of
1888. 1 believe that the bloomer has come
| to stay, and that those conservative and
sensitive souls who fondly predict the ut
| ter route of the bloomers. souadrons next
year are the victims of a fatuous delusion.
vices. From a purely aesthetic standpoint
| the skirt is beyond question preferable and
| there is class of wheelwomen which has
| no reasonable excuse for wearing anything
| in the way Of bifurcations. This class Is
large one. and includes all of the wheel
women whose moderate enthusiasm is
fully satisfied with boulevard spins and
snort 1aunts. and never prompts them to
extend trip or prolong tour. With these
trifiers within the possibilities of cycling
the bioomer has no lot or part So far.
this class of wheelwomen is in the major
ity and the continual dominance of the
skirt is the natural consequence.
The neatest hat worn by the wheelwo-
| men is lightweight felt, OF a shade to
match the dress. The shape Of the hat is
on the sugarloaf Da.tern. 1t IS natty and
dressy. and it is not disturbed by a strong
wind as some hats and caps are.
The girl who would look neat on her hi
| cycle had better purchase what is called
face cloth for her suit. 1t is a little more
expensive than SergeS and fiannels, but il
is positively dustproof. Some of the ma
teTial looks almost like satin, and is very
effective in plaids. Brown. with a touch of
yellow ard red makes an exceedingly styl-
ish bicycle dress.
There are women who ride white hi
cycles though the streets are muddy. They
/ DO so on the same principle that they wear
white skirts though the walks be dusty.
Ihey do so because they like white. Let
those who feel thus take heart of grace
for there is a cycling material that with
stands dust though it is white. This is
serge. Not the coarse. rough variety, but
tfe smooth. thin serge. 1t is said to wash
well. too, in the hands of a skiIlful laun-
dress. The palmer the dress is made the
fetter. Three bands of braid around the
SKIRT and bodice makes a pretty trim
ming. and Tor the lapeiS there can be stiff
fe ming in any desired color white straw
sailor, bound with braid to match the
dress, makes a cool. pretty hat.
Cor SdPripn ha of,
guage indulged In by the men when clean
iEg their bicycles, it is not to be wondered
at that women seldom dream of taking
such job. AS a matter of fact the wor,,
Is not nearly so difficult or dirty as ii is
made out to be- Women who are chary
OF otner fingers than their own toying with
thelr bicycles and prefer rather TO rub
them down and oil them themselves need
not necessarily find the task uncleanly IL
Trey take the simple precaution to wear
gloves while applying eli. A bicycle to be
kept In good condition, should be cleaned
every time after use, otherwise dust and
grit are apt to sift into the bearings and
wear them down. The plated part must
never be neglected that they begin to rust.
nor must mud he allowed to cake on the
enamel for in removing II you will surely
leave few scratches. Beware of a super-
iuity of oil. A well-kept bicycle needs to
be oiled only at the end of every 100 miles
A talnt squeek viii generally tell you when
an oiling is necessary.
ANY woman VINO starts in to become a
cycliSt should carefully study lust what
amount of cycling will do her good and
should then study the vehicle out Of whic,,
she expects TO gct.this good. If she thor
oushiy understands the mechanism of her
bicycle she will get twice the amount of
pleasure from it. The first thing to be con-
sidered is the learning to ride Some wo-
men are puzzled as to whether it is best to
puy wheel and depend upon friends tn
teach them, or whether they should go to
a regular bicycle school for their fnstruc-
mons An experienced woman rider says on
this subject: Il should advise every ono 70
go TO a school and learn how TO ride be-
Iore purchasing wheel While learning to
ride they will learn something about wheels
ana what Kind Of wheel and equipment will
Suit them best. The number OF lessons Is
a great question with beginners / have
heard women say that they learned in two
o. three lessons. Some even say they rode
fisht on the hrst time they tried but L
nave never yet seen any woman ride a
wheel the first time she tried or even after
SIX or dozen lessons ride fairly WELL"
ner Of thirty years conclude. unthinlingly,
that they are too old 10 learn to r,de a hi
cycle. IhlS idea Is without any founda-
tioh In fact, of course woman who has
learned to properly ride wheel-that is.
VINO mas been taught to avoid some of the
defects referred to above-neyer looks bet
Ter than when spinning along flushed with
the eXhiiarat ton Of delightful exercise an
such times she generally looks ten years
younger than her real age. Many a man.
and woman. too. has been astonished On
coming close to slSirted rider to find her
elderly. or even old, when at a short dis
tance she appeared in her early twenties
Inc other evening a young man came out
OF residence on one Of the avenues.
bringing with him d tandem. He was fol-
lowed by well-preserved woman of some
thing over fifty. white haired, but bright of
&C emplexion and clear of eye He addressed
her as mother. and in a moment or two
they were whirling down the avenue. the
admired of all who noticed them. When
the two came back in an hour or so the
elderly woman dismounted with a sign of
pieasurable fatigue. The color in her
cheeks was as pink In tone as that of the
girl who came down the steps to meet her
and no one would have for a moment i'm.
agined them to be other than sisters in
stead OF mother and daughter, but for The
fact that the hair Of one was white while
the others was rich dark brown III more
women would go out and ride bicycles. AMI
try to act yourger. they would feel young
er, and look younger.
A clever idea that clever women have
lately adopted is having two skirts made
for the one jacket of their bicycle gowns.
One skirt is Shorf-bicycJo Jappth. ,hS 49,