Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-03-09
TROUSERS WE'RE APRONS ONCE.
Fashion Made Them So Long That
Men Couldn't Manage.

Fashion Made Them So Long That
Mon Couldn't Manage.
From the New York un.
Mrs. Clara Ruge revealed the mys-l
terry of trousers last night at the Hoo
tel Aston. The useful garment came
from the banks of the Nile, 1t appears.
and may have been worn for he first
time by King Snefru. OF the fourth dy-
nasty, who fiourished about 5000 B. CT
Mrs. Ruge is an art critic who has
made a special study of costume. Shei
talked at the Astor last night before
The Art Workers club OH the "Origin.t
History and Development of Costume"
William M. Chase. the artist, lent her
some of his most gorgeous costumes'
that she might Illustrate her talk by
dressing live girls up in them and Civ
ing living pictures. Mr.. Chase also
posed the young women. who were
pretty professional models.
, Mrs. Ruge devoted several minutes !,
iof her talk to trousers, and the women.
audience. listened with interest. Theyi
had a right to. IL 1T hadn't been for
,women's aprons, first worn in Egypt,
there wouldn't nave been any trousers.
Pants are but aprons of a larger
growth. Men have always been more
sensible about their dress than wom-
en-" said Mrs. Ruge. AT times they
nave become foolish and worn things
to show off their handsome figures, or
let vanity run away with them. but
in the main they have been saner than
women. SO far as clothes go.
TROUSERS, the distinctive feature OF
mems dress. were Worn in Egypt for
the first time. Both women and meni
had been wearing aprons. Aprons werei
the very first attempt to ornament and
decorate the person. Before they ap-i
peared men and women wore skins and
furs-plain, severe and simple. The
aprons were n fancifui frill. The wOm-
en- of Egypt got to wearing them long.
and imperious fashion required the|
men to do the same. 1t was difftcultI
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
had the rudimentary trousers. Littlet
by little something was added behind;
or in front until today we have the per-
feet pattern
Until the present time. Mrs. Ruget
said. the caprice and whim OF women
threw common sense to the winds. andi
ihe result was the most Outlandishi
dress conceivable.
w have progressed" said Mrs.
,Ruge. w have found that it is fool
jish to submit to the slavery of fash
jon. Today whatever is beautiful Isl
fashionable. Formerly it was what
lever is fashionable is beautiful. l con-
,SiOCI, IIOuSU tIi6tt tiIN' ~ WI
the most beautiful costumes We're
worn both by men and women were in
1.-THE time OF the Greeks and during the
Renaissance"
Hats have always indicated ideas.
said the costume expert. The felt hat,
broad brimmed, free and easy, has al
ways stood for liberal ideas. freedom,
hatred OF tyranny and m~anliness.
The first felt hats were worn byl
W%allenstein's soldiers during the thir-l
~ years war;" she said. The Hol-s
landers wore them to- show they had
thrown off the rule OF Spain. The Pur-
itans wore them, and SO did the Quak-:
ers, making "a e. shion OF soft hats.
which indicated their fornality and
sternness. Today the rough rider hats
for the same thing-1ove of liberty"
Mrs. Ruge illustrated her talk with
s~tereopticon views and living pictures.
The girls of the Art Workers club.
showed themselves dressed AS Greek
maidens, Roman matrOns, Egyptian
the time of Philip ii. OF Spain. ladies
Of the court of Louis XIV. ladies OF.
the first n second empires, and in
costumes OF every period which had u
distinctive costume. They appeared in
r. great frame OF black and gold, which
had a background OF green velvet.
How would you like to walk along
Broadway in that?" whispered one OF
the women in the audience when a girl
Of Pericles' time appeared in the Frame.
Not much said her girl friend. I'D
lose that I'm the first department store
crush l got into"
Mrs. Ruge exhibited costumes to
show the effect the age Of t~roubadours.
the Crusades. the Renaissance, the in
vention Of gunpowder and printing and
the discovery of America had on cos
tunes. She regretted that she hadn't
been able to procure II man who would,
pose in the skin-tight trousers. each
leg of a different design, that the Ital-
ians wore in the fifteenth century.
1T would have been so pretty" she
said. The crjnoline. invented and pop
ularized by the Empress Eugene, was
shown on the screen and i'm living pic
lures.
THAT was bad enough" said Mrs.
Ruge, but the narrow own OF 1870
were worse. 1t was pitiful to watch
n lady trying to cross a ditch with that
garb on"
Next came the hustle of 1880.
Would you believe that your moth
ers thought them handsome" said
Mrs. Ruge. People who didn't wear
them We're called cranks."
The Wife's Method.