The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-27
ABOUT DRESS WAISTS.
MRS. MARTHA JENNINGS DOES
NOT FAVOR THEM.
She Admonished the Utah Delegates
to the Denver Biennial Not to
Wear Such Common Apparel.

Denver Post: Mrs. Martha Burgess
Jennings, president of the Utah Fedora
ton of Womens clubs discarded shirt
waists this morning, and during the re-
naming days of the convention she will
| appear in some other kind of costume.
While on its face this might be con-
sidered an Insignificant item by the
public at large. there is a story con-
nected with Mrs. Jennings action that
her friends call real good joke. If Mrs.
Jennings were a man and did not belong
to the woman's club, it would be said
that the drinks were on her, but in this
case she is fortunate
The Utah president was one of the chief
advocates of a substitute for the un-
dresSy shirt waist. as some of the CLUB
women term the garment. and for long
time previous to the convention she urged
the delegates from her state TO do away
with it entirely during their stay in Dem
YER
and prim looking as any women at the
convention, and am in favor of every
delegate from Utah leaving her shirt
else The Denver Woman s club. l hear,
is going TO discard them altogether. l
know none of you have any desire to
appear crude looking. Now, do you?"
This is what Mrs Jennings said to the
delegates before they left Utah AT first
her plan met with decided opposition, but
after Z while one by one the women be-
gan to think kindly of it. and finally the
anti-shirt waist sentiment prevailed to
such an extent that II was agreed that
all of them should do without the gar
ment except for travelling purposes until
they returned home. 1t is true that the
Denver women. thanks to Mrs. Sarah S.
Platt, forsook the shirt waist several days
before the convention begun, though the
fact that there was an edict TO this effect
only leaked out today --s---t--- r.
Yes, Mrs. Plat, ii is alleged. actually
made war on the shirt waist. Indeed.
she was the originator of the arguments
against it, that are credited to Mrs Jen-
hoy n I.r1 1fr1crc
Utah.
No regulation costume was adopted. it
seems, by the Denver Women's club, for
the convention, but the opinion was gen.
eral after Mrs. Platt suggested the idea,
that the horrid, ugly-fitting shirt waist
as. this and especially. too. when Mrs.
Calvin S. Brice, Mrs. Melmuth, Mrs. Hen
rotin and other representatives OF eastern
wealth and culture. had announced to
their most intimate friends that they
would wear no shirt waists in Denver.
All except a Few of the local club
girls. as they choose to call themselves.
have obeyed the ultimatum to the let
te:. The eastern people that favor shirt
waists in season for all occasions ex-
cept full dress receptions did not bring
their waists along - cause they had heard
that it was cold in Denver; that is. that
the weather was cold
All these things and divers others ac-
count for the absence Of the shirt waists
among the visitors and the Denver club
women. OF course there are a few of
many. There are tight-fitting waists of
madras and percale and some made of the
same material as the skirt bicycle suits,
organdies mulls and in the evening full
Dress but no shirt waistS-to speak OF.
There was but a single one of the Utah
delegation and this was worn by Mrs
Martha Burgess Jennings, the woman
who said that shirt waists were an abom-
ination at federation conventions, and
should not be used by any woman who
wished to appear dreSsy.
Before leaving Mrs Jennings put all
her waists away but two. which were
to be worn travelling. She packed her
costly dresses in a big trunk and an
other outfit or two in another big trunk
and started for Denver.
She arrived here Tuesday afternoon. but
heT c---S--.s failed to put in an appearance.
Mrs Jennings was a whit out of humor.
but she gave an exDreSsmal her checks
and went to her room and waited patient
not in yet. No one at the depot could
tell her anything about them. They might
have been lost in the shuttle and then
again they might be here in a day or
two:' no one could tell Mrs. Jennings
was driven nigh to distraction by the
horrid blunder of the railroad company.
For weeks she had been keeping a half
dozen dreSsmakerS at work preparing her
wardrobe and now when she needed il
most it was somewhere else. 1t was en-
appear at the convention in her travelling
costume shirt waist and ALL when her
sisters we're dressed otherwise.
To make a long story short. Mrs. Jen-
ninEs trunks did not reach Denver until
this morning.
This accounts for the item that the Utah
president has discarded shirt waists tenn
porarily.