Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1910-12-29
fashion Was Prevalent at Least
1000 B. c.
m the Time of PtoIemy and Cleopatra
Egyptian Women Hoped Along
Nile In Garb Worn by
Smart Set.

Chicago. someone remarked
that the "hobble skirt" Is fin de steele
up to date, the very apogee OF mod
srn feminine sartorial folly?
Well, 1t is not-merely redtvivius OF
q fashion prevalent at least 1000 years
B. G. This startling information Will
come as somewhat Of shock to the
clothing designers of the day VINO
prided themselves that they had Gre
ated something, originated something,
or at least been responsible for the
renaissance Of style not more than
three or four hundred years old.
Over 1900 years ago the dusky mai
dens Of the now defunct city Of Thebes
hoped along merrily in their hobDle
skirtg
Somewhat later in the time of Ptol-
envy and Cleopatra the favored OF
Pharaoh's daughters, that is, the better
classes of Egyptian women, tr1pped
along the banks of the Shiny, sluggish
Nile, and a few of them probably fell
In.
The ancient hierog1yphics upon the
obeltsks, sarcophagi and pyramids OF
the earth's once most powerful race
show conclusively that women who
have now been mummies for fully a
score of centuries wore the much ridi-
culed and secretly admired hobbies"
Evidences Of this vagary Of dress
among the ancient Egyptians may be
seen in the picture writings on the
granite and basalt tablets and upon
the highly colored mummy cases that
are preserved in the Field Columbian
museum.
The hobbies" seem to have been
confined (as we'll as confining) princi-
pally to the upper strata Of the society
of the day, yet examples Of a partial
"hobble effect" are to be seen in the
shroniclings of the middle classes.
Dje-Mut-Esankh, lady Of high rank
In Thebes, 1000 B. c., whose mummy
case, If not whose mummy, forms a
portion of the Egyptian archaeological
exhibit in the museum, wore the tiles
that bind" at the earliest known date.
She was the daughter Of family of
noble priests and served in temples,
herself as musician to the great god,
Ammon. Dje-Mut-Esankh, translated,
means Musician of Ammon."
Her hobble made her famous and
feared 1t was a wonderfu asp of
gold, studded with rubies and other
gems, and was attached to her gown
at the proper place by means Of clasps
Princesses are said to have been en-
Vious of her
Naja-Rames, of the XXVIIth dynas-
ty, about the seventh century B. c.,
went her predecessor one better, and
wore EN- Just above her knees, judging
from the pictures Of the lady that are
extant today. But Egyptian art and
artists were somewhat uncertain, how
ever, and 1t Is possible that the bronze
hued man who carved her picture for
the sdifcation of posterity may have
made mistake.
"Nata,' TO be familiar, is believed to
have been the wife of powerful noble
or an actress, otherwise she would not
have dared ignore public opinion and
envy with the sang froid that is ap-
parent in her pictures.
With her striking apparel and gar
lands Of blue and rose-hued lotus flow
ers she was the sensation of her day.
The discovery that the Egyptians wore
the hobbies" is corroborated By
Psychologists.
yes, 1t is true that the style was In
vogue many years before Christ" said
w Chesney Chenery, an authority on
archaeology, living at Hull house. 1T
only bears out the trite old saying.
there is nothing new, ETC., etc."
They certainly did wear tight skirts