Part 19

"And also that ffriends do not accustom themselves to go with bare breasts or bare necks."

Perhaps in a minor way superstitions also have tended to keep up fashions. At a wedding, for instance, it is always said that a bride should wear

Something old and something new, Something borrowed and something blue.

The enactments, however, which were directed against excess in dress do not seem to have always been so successful. The part which the law has played with regard to dress in our own country has been very considerable, and it may be of interest to consider briefly one or two of the so-called sumptuary laws.

In Edward III's reign the people were ordered to dress according to their station, and those who were not of high rank were forbidden to use expensive furs and ornaments. These orders were so neglected that Henry IV revised and strengthened them. Slashed sleeves at the time of Edward IV were prohibited to yeomen and any one below their rank. Legislation was also introduced to lessen the preposterous length to which the toes of shoes had grown, for it was enacted that not even the gentlemen should have them of a greater length than two inches.

The Recorder of Chester shows the following order made by Henry VIII: "To distinguish the head-dresses of married women from unmarried, no married woman to wear white or other coloured caps; and no woman to wear any hat, unless she rides or goes abroad into the country (except sick or aged persons), on pain of 3s. 4d."

Another law amounted to a tax on persons who dressed elegantly, for those who would not keep a horse and armour ready for the wars were fined heavily if they or their wives wore fine clothes or ornaments. It is probable, too, that Henry VIII's officers took care to collect the fines.

Mary brought in a law against the use of silk, and a little later on the great ruffs claimed attention, for in 1562 it was ordered that no more than a yard and a half of kersey should be used in making a ruff. James I repealed all the sumptuary laws, though we have seen that he and his successors occupied themselves somewhat with the dress of the clergy.

In Scotland, after the rising of 1745, an Act was passed forbidding the wearing of tartan as part of Highland dress, under the penalty of six months' imprisonment for the first offence and transportation beyond the seas for seven years for the second. No Highlander could receive the benefit of the Act of Indemnity without first taking the following oath: "I, A.B., do swear, and as I shall answer to God at the great day of judgement, I have not, nor shall have, in my possession any gun, sword, pistol, or arm whatsoever, and never use tartan, plaid, or any part of the Highland garb; and if I do so, may I be cursed in my undertakings, family, and property,--may I never see my wife and children, father, mother, or relations,--may I be killed in battle as a coward, and lie without Christian burial, in a strange land, far from the graves of my forefathers and kindred; may all this come across me if I break my oath." This severe and harsh Act caused great discontent, and was repealed in 1772.

As showing the hindrances caused to trade by some of the peculiar regulations, we find that in 1565 the Recorder of London describes an interview which he had with civic tailors, who were puzzled as to whether they should "line a slop hose, not cut in panes, with a lining of cotton stitched to the slop over and besydes the linen lining straight to the leg." The Recorder, on considering the words of the proclamation which had caused the trouble, gave it as his opinion that they could not; but the tailors, though they went away satisfied, came back to say that their customers had gone to other tailors outside the City, who made their clothes for them in the way that was first suggested. It was this contretemps which caused the Recorder to write to a higher legal authority.

Nowadays clothes and the law have little to do with one another, though occasionally ladies' dresses about which there is a dispute are seriously tried on in court, the legal luminaries meanwhile making a studied pretence of ignorance with regard to the garments. Though there are no statutes to curb modern fashions, yet we are reminded of the rules that have had to be made in certain theatres on account of the overwhelming size of the matinée hat.

Although the law does not seem to have been able to change the fashions to a very great extent, they have sometimes been killed suddenly. In the days of public executions, criminals sometimes elected to wear fashionable garments, and in consequence the demand for them ceased. Sometimes, again, those who were interested in the suppression of the fashion persuaded the doomed man or woman to wear a particular dress, and a judge has been known to compass the same end by ordering the hangman who officiated to deck himself in the objectionable garment.

The wearing of nightgowns in the street by ladies was stopped owing to a woman being executed in her bedgown. The use of yellow starch had its death-blow when the hangman appeared in orange collar and cuffs. Black satin dresses went out of fashion because Mrs. Manning was hung when wearing one. Now, however, as there are no public executions, there is not this opportunity of getting rid of obnoxious styles, and society ought to look about for another means to repress them.

XXXVIII

DRESS REFORM

CLOTHES TO BE AVOIDED--NEED FOR WARMER GARMENTS--"RATIONAL" DRESS FOR WOMEN

It is evident from what we have said about the effect of clothes upon the body, that there is ample opportunity for improvement in our costume as regards its shape and the methods in which it is worn. We have already said also, when speaking of colour, that, in the case of men at any rate, it might often be more picturesque and brighter. There are several societies whose aim it is to bring about improvements. The Rational Dress League has general objects in view, and it also keeps in mind the special one of introducing bifurcated garments for women. There is also the Healthy and Artistic Dress Union which seems to have general objects.

Education is needed in order that knowledge of the evil results of wrongly shaped shoes and tight stays may be known, and what is more, such training as will enable that strength of mind to be acquired which will prevent the coming generation from being swayed by foolish fashions. The origin of these it is difficult to trace, but the pioneers of them, whether self-centred costumiers or willing victims, ought to be punished in some way. There are points to be borne in mind in connection with garments which have not yet been considered, and they cause otherwise unoffending clothes to do harm. There is no doubt but that the weight of one's dress should be suspended from the shoulders, though the great majority of women hang much of their clothes from their waists. A good deal of the weight could easily be taken off this part of the body by the fastening of skirts and under garments to bodices, or by the use of shoulder-straps and the introduction of tunics.

Dr. Cantlie[60] has very graphically shown the common features of a modern family, and he has given a picture (see Figure 169) of a group consisting of the average-sized mother, the taller and larger-framed daughter, and the insufficiently clad boy of poor physique. This author says that the sailor suit worn at the age of two and a half or three years is a recent innovation, and the rather puny young boy of to-day came in with the change. Dr. Cantlie has estimated that, except in very hot weather, children should have a pound of clothing for every stone they weigh, for the one great secret of rendering children healthy is to keep them warm. As a matter of fact, a girl that weighs three stone really wears clothes that weigh three pounds; but one of the small boys of the same weight, in a sailor suit, wears clothes that only weigh about half as much as his sister's.

Dr. Cantlie also objects to short jackets which do not cover the loins, and says that the public school that will introduce the Norfolk jacket in the place of the Eton will thrive at the expense of its neighbours.

High collars worn by youths keep the head at the wrong angle, and also perpetuate the deformity of the jaw which is caused by breathing through the mouth. They also prevent the shoulders from being squared in the attempt to get rid of round shoulders. Dr. Cantlie urges a return to the brace worn by our fathers, and still occasionally seen, in which the straps are not united. It is impossible for any one wearing joined braces to stand erect with the shoulders squared, for they press on the neck and cause the wearer to poke his head forward. Dr. Cantlie, however, hopes that the difficulties in the way of obtaining separate braces will not lead to the adoption of the elastic belt, for the only place where this could be worn without bad effects is below the haunch bones, and in ordinary dress this would bring it below the waistcoat. It will be found also that the use of belts by labourers brings evils in its train which were not mentioned by Mr. Heather Bigg, when speaking of the advantages of girding up the loins. (See page 329.)

No account of dress and its developments would be complete without a reference to Mrs. Bloomer and the garments which now bear her name, and are emblematical of rational costume. That women have no absolute claim to petticoats as their own special dress has been made quite clear, and it is equally evident that in many places they wear trousers as a matter of course. Still, in this country there seems to be a rooted objection on the part of the majority to doffing skirts, though this seems, however, to be growing less day by day, in spite of the many reasons which cause the fair sex to cling to petticoats. As we have found before, garments which fall to the ground give dignity, and women sacrifice their dignity with difficulty. Yet, as need hardly be pointed out, men do not wear dressing-gowns when they are jumping, nor fur-trimmed mantles when they go to business. Dresses with trains could be kept for ceremonial occasions, or when there is nothing much to be done, or again, we might add, when there is little dust to be raised.

Bacteriology has shown us that the long skirt disseminates germs as it trails along the ground; in fact, it stirs them up for other people to breathe, and the culprit herself carries off as her fair share a large quantity which settles on her dress. In this way the germs of disease are carried home to the dwelling-house.

In these days also, when women even jump on and off motor omnibuses before they are at a stand-still, it is evident that long frocks are objectionable and dangerous.

When lady gardeners were first employed at Kew Gardens, it was found that their skirts got in the way, and were liable to damage the plants. The Director ordered that the girls should wear a suitable costume, and they adopted divided garments, though it must be said that they covered them to some extent with an apron. In riding-dress of course ladies wear trousers under their habits when they use a side saddle, although it has been considered right of recent years for them to ride astride, and from time to time we hear that it is being done. In the time of Stephen and of Edward III women rode astride, and the ladies in Mexico and other parts of America regularly do so at the present time.

Chaucer described "The Wife of Bath" as wearing "on her feet a paire of spurries sharpe." From this we may judge that she also adopted a cross saddle, and as a matter of fact in the Elesmere MSS. we find a picture of her, showing that she rode astride, and was dressed in a curious garment like a divided bag. On the Continent, ladies who go shooting very often dress like their husbands, and a year or two ago the American newspapers were full of accounts of a lady who imitated the riding costume of a hunting man to the smallest detail. Apropos of this, _The Field_[61] told an amusing story of an English lady who in a measure unintentionally forestalled our American cousins, for after she had had the best part of her habit carried away by some aggressive brambles, she was seen scudding after her horse in a pair of real top boots.

Divided garments only appear unfeminine because we are unaccustomed to see them on ladies, and it is no secret that they are worn to a very great extent under skirts. Doubtless there may be some to whom the very idea of such a thing is abhorrent, and possibly there are still wardrobes like those of a good lady mentioned by Miss Alice Morse Earle[62] in her book on the "Costume of Colonial Times." She was the wife of a respectable and well-to-do Dutch settler in the New Netherlands, and her name was Vrouentje Ides Stoffelsen, and she left behind her in 1641, "a gold hoop ring, a silver medal and chain, and a silver undergirdle to hang keys on; a damask furred jacket, two black camlet jackets, two doublets, one iron gray, the other black; a blue, a steel-gray lined petticoat, and a black coarse camlet-lined petticoat; two black skirts, a new bodice, two white waistcoats, one of Harlem stuff; a little black vest with two sleeves, a pair of damask sleeves, a reddish mourning gown, not linen; four pair pattens, one of Spanish leather; a purple apron and four blue aprons, nineteen cambric caps and four linen ones; a fur cap trimmed with beaver; nine linen handkerchiefs trimmed with lace, two pair of old stockings, and three shifts. One disposed to be critical might note the somewhat scanty proportion of underclothing in this wardrobe, and as Ides's husband swore 'by his manly troth' that the list of her possessions was a true and complete one, we are forced to believe that it was indeed all the underclothing she possessed."

It seems, however, as we have said before, that the actual ugliness of many of the so-called bloomer costumes which were in vogue a few years ago, did much to keep back progress in the direction of their adoption. It seems as if women were frightened, as it were, to go the whole hog, and instead of wearing neat knickerbockers they had them exceedingly baggy and inelegant, or adopted a kind of hybrid costume, half bloomers and half skirt.

Let us see what the tendency now is with regard to a rational dress for women. Mrs. Bloomer had a skirt just below the knees, and trousers gathered in at the ankles. The modern bloomers come only to the knee, but really, as Dr. Bernard O'Connor says when writing in the Gazette published by the Rational Dress League,[63] "they are made too full." Dr. O'Connor recommends for active exercise, such as cycling, something like a sailor's jacket and sailor's trousers, but the latter should end and be gathered in at the knees. In addition there should be long tight stockings, and Dr. O'Connor adds that tights throughout would be preferable to the ordinary bloomers.

It would seem, however, that this dress for general use might be improved as regards both form and elegance, and that a long coat or tunic, reaching nearly to the knees, with fairly tight knickerbockers, is the rational dress that is most to be commended for women.

CONCLUSION

By way of ending, we would again point out that the account which we have given of survivals in dress and their history, shows that they in their development are governed by the same laws as those which act on the bodies and organs of living creatures, and we hope that what we have gathered together may be taken as a small contribution to "the proper study of mankind," which we have been told times out of number is nothing more nor less than "man."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The small numbers given in the text correspond with those printed here.

NO. PAGE 1. "The Origin of Species," by Charles Darwin. (First edition published 1859) 2

2. "Development in Dress," by George H. Darwin. _Macmillan's Magazine_, September, 1872, page 410 3

3. "_Pithecanthropus erectus_, eine Menschenaehnliche Uebergangsform aus Java," by Eug. Dubois, Batavia, 1894 7

4. "Journal during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle," by Charles Darwin. Minerva Library, 1889, page 154 11

5. "The Industrial Arts of Denmark," by J. J. A. Worsaae. 1882, page 48 18

6. See Number 2, page 412 30

7. Notice of Lecture given by Mr. Allan Poe Newcombe, in the Sandwich Islands. Quoted from the _Honolulu Commercial Advertiser_ in _The English Mechanic_, No. 1934 49

8. See Number 6 58

9. "The Human Beast of Burden," by Otis T. Mason. Smithsonian Report of the United States National Museum, 1887, page 246 110

10. "Anthropology," by Edward B. Tylor. 1892, page 236 111

11. "The British Lake Dwellings near Glastonbury." 1896, page 13 117

12.} "The Gem Cutter's Craft," by Leopold Claremont. 1906, 123 13.} pages 75 and 87 124

14.} "Some Suggestions as to the Origin of the Penannular 15.} Brooch," by Edward Lovett. _The Reliquary_, Vol. X, 1904, page 15 125

16. "Races of Man," by Oscar Peschel. English Translation, 1889, page 174 136

17. "The Cyclopædia of the British Costumes, from the Metropolitan Repository of Fashions." 1826, page 196 145

18. A letter in _The Morning Post_ of November 12th, 1897, from Messrs. André & Co. 153

19. "English Costume," painted and described by Dion Clayton Calthrop. 1906, page 130 156

20. Article on "Cockades" in _The Sketch_ for March 9th, 1898 158

21. See Number 19 159

22. "Costume from Monumental Brasses," by Herbert Druitt. 1906 165

23. "Rational Dress _v._ Industrialism," _The Rational Dress Gazette_, No. 88, by Dr. Alice Vickery, page 356 165

24. "Shoe-throwing at Weddings," by James E. Crombie, _Folk Lore_, Vol. VI (1895), page 258 176

25. "Ecclesiastical Vestments, their Development and History," by R. A. S. Macalister. 1896, page 140 185

26. "Vestiarium Christianium: the Origin and Gradual Development of the Dress of the Holy Ministry in the Church," by the Rev. Wharton D. Marriott. 1861, page 48 188

27. See Number 25, page 21 189

28. A letter in _The Guardian_, by G. C. Coulton, August, 1907 194

29. Paedag. Lib. iii., page 300 205

30. See Number 22, page 122 210

31. "College Caps and Doctors' Hats," by Professor E. C. Clark. _Archæological Journal_, Vol. LXI. 1894, page 36 213

32. See Number 22, page 224 216

33. "The Sacring of the English Kings," by J. Wickham Legg. _Archæological Journal_, Vol. XLI. 1894, page 35 221

34. "History of the King's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard," by Colonel Sir Reginald Hennell. 1904, plate facing page 32 225

{"Uniforms of our Fighting Forces, Regimental Survivals 35.{ and Peculiarities," by R. Caton Woodville. _Cassell's 36.{ Magazine_, 1906, page 524; and "Peculiarities of British { Army Dress," by Walter Wood. _Pall Mall Magazine_, Vol. { XI. 1897, page 527 238

37. "Yester Year," by A. Robida, English translation, page 83 253

38. A Lecture given by Mr. George Heppel before the Hammersmith Literary and Scientific Society 253

39. "Naples in 1888," by Eustace Neville Rolffe 254

40. "Notes by a Naturalist on H.M.S. Challenger," by Professor Moseley 272

41. See Number 40, page 423 273

42. "Costume in England," by F. W. Fairholt. Revised Edition, 1885, Vol. II, page 303 278

43. "The Whole Stock of a Coquette," by Helen C. Gordon. _English Illustrated Magazine_, February, 1901, page 451 279

44. "Costume: Fanciful, Historical, and Theatrical," by Mrs. Aria. 1906, page 199 281

45. "Curiosities of Literature," by Disraeli. Vol. I, page 186 283

46. See Number 19, page 20 287

47. See Number 42, page 240 289

48. "Suggested Moorish Origin of certain Amulets in use in Great Britain," by Dr. Plowright. _The Reliquary,_ Vol. XII, 1906, page 106 293

49. "Horse Brasses," by Lina Eckenstein. _The Reliquary,_ Vol. XII, 1906, page 251 293

50. "Animal Artisans," by C. J. Cornish. 1906, page 251 300

51. Article by Mr. Yoxall in _The Journal of Gipsy Lore_, new series, Vol. I, part I, 1907 306

52. Article by Mr. J. Chevasse. _Evening News_, April 5th, 1907 316

53. Article in _The Daily Mail_, September 4th, 1907 317

54. "Essays on Museums and other subjects connected with Natural History," by Sir William Flower. 1898, page 350 324

55. See Number 37, page 91 325

56. "The History of the Corset," by Geraldine Vane and F. Glen Walker. _Lady's Realm_ Summer Number, 1901 326

57. "Spinal Curvatures," by Heather Bigg. 1905 326

58. See Number 54, page 347 335

59. Article in _The Morning Leader_ of April 17th, 1906 339

60. "Physical Efficiency," by James Cantlie. 1906 355

61. Leaderette in _The Field_, August 29th, 1902, page 452 359

62. "Costume of Colonial Times," by Alice Morse Earle, page 28 359

63. "Why Won't They Alter It?" by Bernard O'Connor, _Rational Dress Gazette_, No. 87, page 352 361

INDEX

NOTE.--_The numbers in heavy type refer to the pages on which figures will be found._

Abbesses, costume of, 198

Abergavenny, the Marquis of, wears badges, 91

Academical dress, 208 -- hoods, 210

Achievements, styles of, 87

Acrobat, dress of, 286 -- tights of, 286 -- trunk hose of, 286

Admiral, uniform of, worn by coxswains at Eton on the Fourth of June, 171

Africa, the West Coast of, little clothing worn on, 8

Aggries, 113

Agilbert, Bishop of Paris, ring of, 114

Aiglets, 100

Aiguillettes, 101, =101= -- Mr. Caton Woodville on, 240 -- of aides-de-camp, 240 -- -- footmen, 141, =141=, 240 -- -- Household Cavalry, 240 -- -- a Knight of the Bath, 231 -- -- -- Knight of St. Michael and St. George, 231

Ailette, 84

Albe, 198, 199 -- of James II, 221 -- originally a secular garment, 189 -- replaced by surplice, 185

Alhambra, 293

Almshouses, costumes of, 170

Almuce, 198, 199 -- forerunner of the tippet, 212