The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-11-03
STYLES THAT REMAIN.
Mans Dress Of Today Includes Num-
Der Of Accepted Peculiarities.

The tail of a coat may be long or
short one. but the tale of tailoring Is
necessarily a long one, much too long 10
be chrOnicled here. From the opening
episode in the Garden of Eden down TO
the latest magiSterial fiat concerning
the length of skirts. the law has reached
out a regulatory finger toward the hab-
ihmentS of the ceutizenry. Custom has
laid a vet more heavy hand on the fash
ions of dress, so that the history of tai
loring Is story of slow changes made
from generation TO generation against
the dead weight of folks tendency TO do
things as they always have been done,
marked here and there by the statutory
tombstOneS of some bygone extravaganza
or exaggcration in clothes.
From the 18th to 18th centuries many
matters of dress We're the subject of man
dates and laws. Costly display and the
wearing of apparel unbeftting ones sta
ton were particularly forbidden. The
size of ruffs, the length of the shoe toes.
those being the days of curling pointed
toes. and particularly the cOstlineSs of
clothes We're regulated by sumptuary
laws
Edward III in England ordered the
people TO dress according to their sta
ton i'm life and forbade the wearing of
expensive furs and ornaments by any
but those of high rank. Henry ". re-
yIsed and strengthened the laws. by
him yeomen and all those beneath the
rank Of yeomeu. were forbidden to wear
slashed sleeves. Shoe toes, even a gen
tleman's. were limited to two inches.
Henry VIII ordered: That to distin-
gUish the head dresses of married women
from unmarried, no married woman was
10 wear white or other colored caps; and
no woman to wear any hat. unless she
rides or goes abroad into the country
Except sick and aged persons) on pain
OF *. Id" Queen Mary brought a law
against the use of silk and in 1862 1t
was ordered that no more than yard
and Il half of kcrSey should be used in
making q ruff.
Not all the laws were restrictive in
purpose Queen Elizabeth. in order TO
increase the consumption of wool. de-
creed that "one cap of wool, knitted
thick and dressed in England should
be worn by all over six years of age,
except such persons as had 20 marks
year in land and their heirs and such
- have borne Office of worship These
caps were called statute caps and
were of style still worn by boys of one
of the great charity schools in England.
More interesting than to disinter the
old laws which curtailed the fancy of
the tailoring craft is to trace the sur
viyals of former styles in our present day
garb. The conservative traditions of
, mems dress have embalmed great num-
! Der of these.
The useless and supposedly ornamen-
tai extra buttons on a mans dress coat
are relics of horseback riding days, when
il was customary to button up the skirts
of the coat to prevent sitting upon them
or getting the Innings soiled from the
horse. The slit up the back of the coat
originally served the same purpose. The
buttons on the sleeves are inherited from
the days when really dashing blade had
frequent necessity for turning zip the
sleeves of his coat to give his sword arm
play. Then the buttons served real
need. Finally the turned up sleeve and
It's lining became cuff that could no
longer be turned dowTSand the buttons
became merely traditional.
The nick in the collar of the coat is
reminder of days when the back of the
collar actually stood up around the back
and sides of the neck to the height Of
the neckarchief while the Iapels laS fat
The nick was then a deep slash without
which the collar could not have stood up
or the lapel lain down. The padding on
the shoulder was primarily designed TO
keep a sword belt from Slipping off
whiie the braid down the trousers re-
2maus from the days when trousers We're
built So tight that the foot could not be
got through them and they had to be but
oned down the outside of the leg with n
line of closely set buttons.
The l!ttle bow ut the back of 4 hat
lining is survival of the days when
hat was made from a circular piece of
| leather perforated with circle of holes
and drawn up TO fit the head.
"Spats. the faVorite boot decoration
of the boulevardier, were once ''spatter-
dashes," a name for the CATERS of the
period.-Gas Logic.
That no women shoui,. be permitted 10
attend her funeral was the unusual re-