The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-06
Copyright. 1898.

hideous dress reform undergarment Is go
the. out of fashion. and this has brought
all these denominations to the fore, or the
shopkeeper, approaching that reaction
has set In. has concluded that he had bet
ter get rid of all this old stuff or what,
nobody exactly knows, but II is certain
that some of the most hideous things are
displayed. and Undoubtedly some deiuded
women will buy them. What do mean
bv hideous things? Plarngs rufiied with
denominations in the shape of Hamburg
/ edgings and overfrilled bits of clothing
that would ruin the figure of Venus, really
the usual sort of trash that appears every
wear about this time and yet which Is al
ways a surprise. Ii is funny how man
lovely man, faithful man, athletic man
has talked and preached and had pictures
printed in the newspapers of what woman
should wear. AS if he knew! One group
that I saw which bore the signature OF
well-known artist represented as neces-
sary for a woman nine of the most dla-
bolical garments that the eye of the PRINT
ers devil ever rested upon Now, am
not a reformer, but have had considcrar
Die experience, and ia tolerably long ana
varied life l have never met woman
who wore nine pieces OF underwear at one
time. Starting with the fact that ones
petticoat has a firm foundation, as hrm as
Plymouth rock and much better shaped,
me average woman in good health neSu
only wear, first, a somewhat long SILK uu-
deryest, stockings, of course, stays anu,
if she is inclined to be chilly, ana mas
tendency toward rheumatism, wen cut
ana not cumbersome flannel petteoat, "l1h
the one or two pieces OF halhsooh tnat
are displayed in the shop WINDOWS put
which are seldom talked about The petu-
coat NAV be- of silk, or may be of mo-
reen. but il is never white for street wear
with voilr heavy cloth skirt you need
suff moreen petticoat. that it may be prop
erly held out, but there Is no use puIuel-
ing oneself with a lot Of unnecessary IN
derwear to obAge the stupid shopkeepers.
A woman walks well and easily when she
has not got on a, lot Of starchy uhcel7
wear ana the line of beauty SHOWS ~
n,t,ch better advantage than when she Is
! oyerruffied and has strings ana pelts eue7
| ting her. because she has no stays on
and is altogether Hurried ana nat iooN
ing. ooiau,, tho
I female edition Of it, does come IN lor an
awful lot of discussion. The Inc OF W.
mans figure is talked about with inc
unction OF Dumas while any or every
where one is liable 90 face a picture o.
Venus. and It is quite possible 70 stullD.e
over her in plaster 90 the sidewalk. / an.
| ~, wearing. such draperies as Venus wore
| Whv. YOU would have to put heavy ioH
weights in them which would make them
| hang against your knees, and you MOuiu
| sif on them and be wretehed ana Woulu
ind yourself wishing that venus hau
! staid in the sea and been comfortapie'
! h,
| sunDosed TO cultivate the mind, or the
| soul or the brain, or whatever is Inc
| thinking part of people, are cohIhuaIly
bothering about a woman's Iriils anu
| frivols
| She must be rather nice woman, ana
! I don't know what induced her to write
| TO me. but she asked evidently in an SIN
| ceritv: do you think skirts will be wiz
| ed this year?'' or if / thought a small
| hoopskIrt would obtain. Personally
| have always dreaded the hoopskirt |
| never wore one, and / don't belleVe l
! would ever learn to control one. 1eel
| sure that / could never sit on 1t correct
| lv: that it would fare where 1t oughtnt
! 10 and give me a generally ridiculous APP
| pearance. Then, too, as / have very
| feminine weakness for high heels, l should
! probably put my foot in 1t, and the n.y.
! ing woman" would describe me as l came
! down stairs l know a man whose faVo-
| rite story rs IGliABS INV a AASS - oNe
| caught in his mothers hoopskirt. 1t Is a
| story that strikes awe to the feminine
| heart, though the feminine brain refuses
/ to accept IL, and the feminine mind thinks
| that the man is telling yarn.
Fashion writers-that is, people who
write histories of fashion, learned people
are prone to say, in describing hoopskirts,
that they are digniied in effect. Perhaps
they are, but to produce a dlgnified effect
| in one a woman Of about feet would be
required No, l may tell the pleasant lit
| tie woman who wrote that i do not think
! wires or hoopskrts will be worn. Women
have been looking too well lately to care to
make any great change in their appear
ance. The cloth skirt fitting the figure
evenly and easily and the handsomely
trimmed bodice make not only smart get
up, but one that is useful.
The reason l like the tailor made frock
| is that 1 believe 1t to be an incentive TO
cleanliness. any girl who wears one likes
| to have her skin look as white as possible,
| her hair as tidy and, knowing that her
boots show as she walks, she does not per-
| nit an unoccupied uttonhole, nor is she
! satisfied with a broken lace tied into a
I knot. She Is particular about her gloves,
| and If she wears any white linen 1t Is
| Immaculate Fashions may come and fash
ions may go, but the wise woman will re-
| tain a smart looking cloth gown for street
wear because there are hundred good
reasons for it and not single one against
it, By the bye, the letter writing lady
| also asked something else. She wanted TO
know, do you think a decollete bodice inn
moral?" That depends. believe that with
| a low bodice the neck should be white and
well shaped, and that the frock should be
cut 80 that the neck and shoulders show
modestly.
A woman may write sanslSrit and
| speak Greek; she may be at the head of
a society for the elevation OF women In
Africa, and she may know the finest line
OF difference between furniture made in
the time Of Louis Quinze and that achiev-
ed In the century before, but II she hasn't
sense enough 10 know just how much OF
| her neck and shoulders she should display
| she is as ignorant as the youngest baby
In the house. A woman's arms, round,
white, firm and well formed are delights,
and a woman's throat well shaped and
white, Is a marble column supporting the
head above It, which Is presumed to hold
a sufficient amount Of brains to hint TO
the world at large that the owner knows
enough TO show that world only what a
modest woman would wish IL to see. Mod
esty IL a great virtue. but II is a complex
enc. There are many absolutely modest