Year: 1866




i, diet, exercise aud baths sink into insight.
ic0ncc. My pale-taced countrywomen arc
dying FOR lack of room, freedom; thoy are
being stined.


Dress Rolormers proclaim short skirts as
the remedy. This is we'll Tho short skirt
is an Improvement movement upward,
but OF no consequence compared with the
readtustment OF tho dress about the middle
OF the body. That part contains tho vital
organs. Is u man strongH it is because the
middle OF the body is strong. Is woman
vigorous il is because the middle of her
body is developed and active.


Tho changes needed in womans dress are
the following aud believe their Importance
liz in the order named


/. The dress about the waist ia to be very
loose, without whalebonos or other stifen-
ing, and the skirts carried with suspenders
over the shoulders.


2. The arms and legs are to be so warmly
dressed as to maintain healthy circulation.


3. The skirts to fall 20 tho knee.


have said that the Importance Of these
several changes is in the order named. The
lungs, heart, liver and stomach which TO.
gether make up the fountain of life, must
have room, or tho vital force must halt.
With the corset and tightlacing, these or.
gans are reduced one-third in size aud two.
thirds in motion.


Health and equilibrium of circulation are
interchangeable terms. Whosoever, what
ever living thing, either animal or vegetable,
has defective circulation has defective
health. Flannels, cotton padding, thick
shawls, cloaks and furs piled upon the chest,
while the legs are covered with q single
thickness of cotton cloth surrounded by q
balloon in the shape of a hoop, steam the
chest and freeze the legs, The legs and
arms, separated so far from the center of the
body, surrounded by tho cold air, need, to
say the least, as much clothing as the body,
and ought to have one or, in cold weather
in this climate, two thioknesses of knit
wooden. Women complain to me Of head.
ache, tell me their blood is all in their head
and chest, while their feet are as cold as
ice. With the fashionable dress how can ii
be otherwisel Let them cover the limbs
with one or two thicknesses of warm flannel
and the feet with warm dress, and the
head and chest will be immediately relieved.


The short skirts, although in importance
to health the least vital of these three
changes, is nevertheless very important.
The skirt should fall little below the knee.
The pants should bo the large Turkish pants,
which, made long enough to fail to the
ankle, and fastened at the bottom by being
drawn close about the ankle with slight
elastic cord, should be drawn up to the
place usually occupied by tho garter, and
pulled down to the middle, or little below
the middle Of the calf of tho leg. When
going out into the cold air the exposed part
Of tho leg should be covered with patent
leather auklet, and during the cold season
of the year that part of the leg should be
covered with two thiclnesses of wooden.
While all this particular arrangement is, in
point Of convenience and protection, less
satisfactory than straight pants, such as
gentlemen wear, | nevertheless advise it, be-
cUuse it is very easy to introduce the short
dress with those pants, and very difficult to
introduce what is known as tho Bloom9r
costume. For example: In my school al
Lexington. Mass, had more than a hun.
dre fashionable young ladies last winter
all of whom wore constantly during the
school year the short dress, the gymnastic
costume. while all the Fashionable ladies of
the village outside of the institution adopt
ed the same dress. Indeed, it ia almost
rare to see in Lexington lady with long
dress. Anattempt to introduce the Boomer
costume, | am sure, would have proved a
failure, not in our own house, perhaps, but in
its influence outside. All through our part
OF the country, when we go out TO ride, we
see ladies in the short dress. Indeed, some
of the clergymen, who observed that our
young ladies changed for the long dress on
going to church. came to me to say that
they hoped | would allow them TO come in
their short dresses, for they liked very
much to see them. A single lady appear
ing in the streets of Boston in the regular
BloOmer costume attracted q crowd of boys
while twenty of our young ladies can go
into Boston without remark or notice. The
fact is, we men and boys are very jealous
of our breeches, but the gynnastic costume
docs not involve that garment, and so we
lords of creation give our consent 10 its
adoption by our sisters.