Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1912-03-14
WERE APRONS ONCE
Fashion Made Them So Long That
Men Couldn't Manage.
FrCm tFie New \ orH Sun

/ Mrs. 'laia isEse revealed inc 'hE5-
teiy..oG trousers lust night at the Hoo
| fai Aston The usal;,l garment came
| rom mo ha,,i5,; of ne Sic. ii appears
liilnn by King Snefrt. Of the fourth dy-
l,lasiN. WHO tlou,ished about 1900 II. c.
Mrs Ie1.ye il am :,rt critic who has
made Il syacial study Of costume. She
talked at the Astor last night before
tho Art Workers. club on the "Origin.
History ana Development OF Costume
William NJ. CHASE. the artist lent her
some of his most gorgeous costumes
that shn might illustrate her talk by
dressing live girls M in them and Civ
Ing living pictares. Mr. Chase also
posed the young women, who We're
pretty plofe ssional models.
Mis-. Ruse devoted several minutes
OF he,. talk to trousers, and the women,
who formed a large majority of the
audience. listened with interest. They
had a right to. II it hadn't been for
wo,nea's aprons, FIRST worn in Egypt
there wouldn't have been any trousers.
Pants are but aprons of Il larger
growth. Men have always been more
sensible about their dress than wom-
a.. said Mrs Ruge. AT times they
have become foolish and Worn things
10 show off their handsome figures, or
lot vanity run away with them, but
in the main they have been saner than
women, so far as clothes go.
''rrousors, the distinctive feature o,
mems dress were worn in Egypt fol-
the fins, time. Both women and men
had been wearing aprons. Aprons We're
the very first attempt to ornament and
decorate the person. Before they app
pearcd men and women Wore skins and
furs-pIain. severe and simple The
aprons were a fancifu frill. The woin-
en- of Egypt got to wearing them long
and imperious fashion required the
men to do the same 1t was difficuls
for the men to move freely, though.
wearing these long aprons A genius
appeared. He cut holes in the apron,
stuck his legs through and behold he
mad the rudimentary trousers. Little
by little something was added behind
or n front until today we have the pc. =
feet pattern"
Until the present time. Mrs. Ruge
said, tine caprice and whim of women
threw common sense to the winds, and
the result was the most outlandlsh
dress conceivable.
I'VE have progressed said Mrs
Ruge. I'VE have found that IL is fool
ish to submit to the slavery of fash
ion. Today whatever is beaut!ful is
fashionable. Formerly it was what
ever is Fashionable is beautiful. con-
slider, though, that the periods i'm which
The most beautiful costumes We're
worn both by men and women We're IN
The time of the Greeks and during the
Renaissance"
Hats have always indicated ideas,
said the costume expert. The felt hat,
broad brimned. free and easy, has al
Ways stood for liberal ideas, freedom,
hatred OF tyranny and manliness.
The first felt hats We're worn by
Wallenstein'ss soldiers during the thir-
~ years war;" she said. The Hol-
handlers Wore them To show they had
thrown off the rule OF Spain. The Pur-
itans wore them, and so did the Quak-
crs. making a fashion of soft hats,
which indicated their formality and
stermncss. Today the rough rider hats
and the cowboys sweeping hats stand
for the same thing love of liberty
Mrs. Ruge illustrated her talk with
stereopticon views and living pictures
Tho girls of the Art Workers club
showed themselves dressed as Greek
niaidens, Roman matrons, Egyptian
princeSsea, Spanish gypSlcS. ladies OF
the time of Philip H. of Spain, ladies
of the court of Louis XIV. ladies OF
the first and second empires. and in
costumes of every period which had \
distinctive costume. They appeared IN
~ great frame of black and gold, which