Evening star., 1923-08-19
Girls and III cir Affairs.

Few others OF tnOSe DEdNc
girls of seventy years ago
step again into this world of
everyday affairs and witness the
ease with which the girls of today
ADOPT certain fads and customs which
In their day il took tremendous cour-
age to believe in and still more cour-
age to live up to. doubtless they
would feel a deep sense Of gratifica-
ton that the prosecutions and shame
ful humHations to which they were
subjected had not been suffered i'll
vain. And yet it is safe to say that
not a single one OF our girls who
dons pair OF trousers today does
So with any sense of thanEfulness
toward pr Mary and her sisters in
the movement Tor dress reform for
their enterprise in behalf Of feminine
comfor;.
\ sad day il would be indeed for
these militant women when they
learned thai I'll" modern girls had
accomplished with on" iell sw"op
locals in feminine Independence of
thought and dress for which they
preached and labored through pc
riod Of fifty years.
The tendency of the girl OF tn,
present era to wear what she pltaSes
Is but one of many symbols of the
spirit of progressive iGdC p"nd"nce III
thought ami action watch i charac-
tcriStic of this generation. II Is L
natural and whrleSom" evolution.
for the world is moVtac +pacc and
the girlho, d Of today. which viii u"
the wonlaHhond Of ;onnri "w. capnnt
bark hs"k to the ola dove rnd GUS
toms but nlu -" to the new.
T. !: =
TN the da.-s Of D.. Nary's Gtrlh"od
l ous must he possessed Of 2 daunt-
less courage to defy conventions and
wear anything save what fashion and
a straigh;-laccd respectability dictat-
ed. Even SO short 4 time as ten
years ago. a girl who hiked in
"knicherS' was a-curioSity. and Il rid
In; habit with hreeches instead "t
skirt could hC worn only by stars
of the motion picture screen. sun
Gay afternoon promenades along the
fashionable thorOuChfarcS and in the
uarks. With 'he girl dressed in her
hest bib and tucker were popular.
Horseback riding was inGuiGed in by
comparativ"iy few girls. and the real
honeSt-to- goodness hiker WAS almost
uuhedri az.
Girls VI this generation h2Ne the
war to thank. to some extent. for the
birth of an independence Of indtvid-
thought nf. When our men. were
called To the trenches "f Frame
and BclGium their jobs in the fac
tories and fields in the home land
had to he filled and il was our girtS
who filled them.
The ia arrers were doubtful. aud the
factory foremen were skentical. but
the men had to be replaced. so they
took \ chance. The girls did not
feel that they were taking chances.
l., Il Il "a
men had done thHy r"u.d do. pro
vided they were given the same ad-
vartaees. skirts. -: course. wer"
clumsy and rum h"rsom". ONeralls
were the order o: -" d"y. and With
no question of convention or pro-
pTiety ~. s.f?iS ~t"','ad INFO them
and carrit on K'fa'i "kuiciier
ard leggtns proved ev'u more COM
Portable and praCtiral than overalls.
50 they were quickly adopted hy the
feminine laborcrs.
WITH the war over and time for
w pleasure again or the calendar.
with the boys coming back eager for
long stretches OF quiet and solitude.
what more natural than the girls
should don tho old knick"rs for
hikes. camping trips and long aut"
rides as well as for horseback riding
and other sports which w"rc hcrom-
Ing more ponular? Tho rc"ult is that
one may look about on IN" streets
most any day and Sre groups of
Happy and comfortable girls cavort-
ing around in knickers, offending
neither the eye nor the propriety of
society.
Dr. Walkers plea was for the adop
tion of trousers by girls and women
as the conventional mode of dress.
and. possessing the courage Of her
convictions. she wore, them until the
time of her death, early in 1919. The
short aired. trousered girl of today
has no desire whatever to dress as
man. for she loves too we'll the pretty.
dainty ribbons and lares without
which no fcminin" apparel is com
pIctc. hut when the o"Ca sion Ills
for pants sh" w"IrS them. with aS
much grace aud dignity as Sh" wears
her dainty evening frocH or her after
noon tea gown.
Had Dr. Mary formed Il hiking club
IN the days nf her youth. sh" aud
her friends might nerhaps more easily
have enjoyed tho freedom OF unskirt-
I'd legs to their hearts content and
voided tho criticism. ridirule and
even Jail terms which they suffered
because of their radical departures
from the convention of dress.