The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-11-02
OF INTEREST TO
Women , and , Offers

trailing yards of useless material over
the sidewalks, while her neck and
shoulders are bare. 1t is worse than
absurd when she drags that useless
material over the ground and it is very
ungraceful when she has to pick up
her skirts in her hands and carry them
to keep them from picking up dirt.
Those long skirts should be cut off.
There is no excuse for them.
"Corsets, too, are immodest az well
as unhealthy, and no one should be
allowed to wear such things Tight
shoes are also very bad for the health,
because ,ney interfere with circula-
ton.
"The hat of the American woman is
the greatest monstrosity of all. No
Chinese woman would be seen wearing
such an awful object on her head FIRE.
quently | find it to be a huge structure
with a dead bird or some animal stuff
ed and stuck up on the top of it. Sure
ly there is nothing more ludicrous or
more barbarous than this. Chinese
women would think it uncivilized.
Just look at the combination of
long train to trail on the floors and
catch dirt or disease germs with a low
neck cut down so that the wearer is
in imminent danger of chill Then
the corset, laced till the wearer is al
most cut in two and can hardly bend
her body enough to touch her knees,
is horrible.
"The Chinese woman in ner trousers
is comfortable and modest The baggy
garments come clear down to her an
kles. Just compare her with the Am
erican girl as the two cross the street
on a windy, rainy day. The American
cannot but be immodest unless she
wishes to ruin her skirt, while the 9TH
err remains completely clothed at all
times, no matter how the wind may
blow or the rain may pour. Incl
dentally the Chinese woman is dry and
warm, while the American CIR. s ankles
are made wet by her skirts blowing
against them, and she runs a great
risk of taking a chill.
American men are almost as fool
ish, because they will wear heavy
clothing all day, and then discard it,
and dress in lightweight evening
clothes with the froiit all cut away so
as to give pneumonia a fine chance
to do it's deadly work. With this they
wear low shoes that leave the ankles
bare and unprotected against ne cold
and to crown all they put on that most
idiotic style of headgear, the silk hat
What earthly use is a hat that stands
a foot up from the head, that is hard
and uncomfortable, and blows away
from the wearer in the least breeze,
and is of such delicate material that a
rainstorm ruins it at once?
I'VE Chinese may be behind the
times in some things, but l don't think
we can learn much about proper dress
from the Americans. We have more
comfort than you do, and our clothes
are much more sensible and modest,
cooler in Summer and warmer in the
Winter time
American homes hardly please me-
Many of them are very comfortable.
but the American woman is too fond
of filling her home with lot of use
less furniture and fittings. These
things offend the eye and they are al
ways in the way, and in danger Of be-
ing pulled down or upset.
Simplicity is necessary to beauty,
and it is not possible to have a really
comfortable and beautiful home, if ev-
cry available inch of space is cluttered
up with things that are of no possible
use.
The American woman is very clev-
err in business, and very often she
completes successfully with the men in
the same line Of business, but l don t
think it will make her any more wom-
anly. l notice that young men sit COM
fOrtably in your street cars while
young woman stand out on the plat
forms.
"A womans place is the home and
not on the public platform, or in the
pulpit, or in the court room, or the
surgery. The rest of the world has
the mistaken idea that we lock up our
wives in China and that they are treat
ed very unkindly. That is not true.
We keep our wives and our daughters
away from the world because we are
so fond of them that we want to pro-
tect them against any unpleasantnesp
of any kind The Chinese woman is
happier than the American woman.
She has a little world of her own, and
her pleasures are simple and womanly
Our Chinese woman nave full lib
erty. There is never an instance of a
husband beating his wife. But / could
not for one moment imagine my wife
or daughter in a divided skirt riding
across saddle through one of your
parks for a morning canter on horse
back.
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