Part 2

99. The safety-pin in the waistband 103

100. The safety-pin grown larger and used for fastening on a hat 104

101. A muff-chain 105

102. A hawker, illustrating the primitive way of carrying a burden 107

103. A courier-bag supported by a baldric 107

104. An ornamental baldric of the early fifteenth century. (Royal MS. 15, D. 5, after Fairholt) 108

105. A lady's dress, showing the part which is called a yoke, and recalls a primitive method of carrying burdens 109

106. A loom comb found in the Glastonbury lake dwellings (after Boyd Dawkins) 118

107. A modern comb for the hair 118

108. Two studs of bronze, seen from above and from the side, later Bronze Age (after Worsaae) 119

109. The "flash" of five black ribbons on the collar of the Welsh Fusiliers. A survival from the days of the pigtail 134

110. The modern groom, showing the belt to which ladies clung when riding on a pillion 140

111. A footman in plush breeches and with powdered hair. His "pouter" coat dates from the reign of George III. By the courtesy of Messrs. F. T. Prewett and Co. 141

112. A sheriff's coachman with the full-skirted coat of the time of George II. By the courtesy of Messrs. Prewett and Co. 142

113. The wig-bag (a survival of the bag-wig) now seen on the back of the collar of the Lord Mayor's coachman 143

114. A modern page-boy's livery 145

115. The Dutch skeleton dress, fashionable for boys in 1826 145

116. The cockade known as the "large treble," representing a survival of the chaperon 152

117. A "treble cockade" covered with black cloth for mourning. The concentric circles would appear to represent the twisted liripipe of the chaperon 154

118. Treble cockade used by Chelsea pensioners 155

119. The Regent cockade 155

120. Royal cockade for state occasions 155

121. Ordinary Royal cockade 155

122.{Two stages in the evolution of the chaperon. Combined { hood and cape 156 { 123.{Enlargement of the peak of the hood to form the liripipe. { (After Calthrop, by kind permission of Messrs. A. and { C. Black) 156

124.{Further development of the chaperon. Cape and liripipe { made into a head-dress that can be altered at will 157 { 125.{A chaperon ready made up, in order to save trouble. { (After Calthrop, by kind permission of Messrs. A. and { C. Black) 157

126. Dress worn by the girls at Coombe Hill School, Westerham. It is a modification of the Dervish Djibah 172

127. Dress worn by the girls at the Croft School, Betley, when at work 173

128. St. Gregory the Great with his father Gordianus, who was a senator, on his right, and his mother Sylvia on his left. This shows the similarity between ecclesiastical and civil costume in early times. From an authentic picture (after Marriott) 188

129. A priest in the vestments now worn at the celebration of the Eucharist 194

130. The coat of arms of Thomas à Becket, showing an archbishop's pall 198

131. The head-dress of a nun showing the veil and breast-cloth derived from the wimple, the cap which represents the chin-cloth, together with the frontal and the hood 203

132. The head-dress of a lady of the time of Henry II. The wimple is shown covering the chin and head-bands (after Calthrop) 203

133. The chin-band and forehead strap after the wimple has been removed (after Calthrop) 203

134. Hanging sleeve of the fifteenth century 209

135. The hanging sleeve of a Chancellor of Oxford University 211

136. A college cap or trencher 214

137. Cranmer's hat, illustrating a stage in the evolution of a mortar-board (after Fairholt) 214

138. The hat of a bishop of the Stuart Period showing a stage at which the stiffening now seen in the mortar-board was becoming necessary (after Fairholt) 214

139. The wig of a modern judge 216

140. The vestige of the coif from the wig of a serjeant-at-law 217

141. A barrister's gown showing the vestigial hood and its streamer. The buttons and braid which once temporarily looped up the sleeves now fix it permanently 219

142. A Yeoman of the Guard of the present reign 224

143. The wig-bag or "flash" from a Court suit, showing the rosette held away and displaying the black silk bag. At the lower corners of the latter loops are seen, which are probably the remains of those through which a ribbon was passed, which went round the neck and fastened on the breast by a brooch 229

144. The hood from the mantle of a Knight of the Garter, showing the survival of the chaperon and its liripipe 230

145. Relic of chain mail on the shoulder of an Imperial Yeoman 233

146. Chain mail illustrated by the brass of Sir Richard de Trumpington, A.D. 1289 234

147. A reversion in military equipment. One of Cromwell's Ironsides (1679), from a print. A Cavalryman sketched at Aldershot in 1901. Copied, by permission, from the _Daily Mail_ 237

148. The prickers on the shoulder-belt of a Hussar, which survive from the time of flint-lock muskets 239

149. The Oscan Pulicinella of 1731, without a long nose. The dress is very similar to that figured in 1630 (after Riccoboni) 256

150. The Calabrian Giangurgolo of 1731, with the long nose. The dress is very similar to that figured in 1630 (after Riccoboni) 257

151. An ancient bronze statuette with the face and features of Punch (after Ficorroni) 258

152. A fourteenth-century puppet-show (from the MS. of the "Roman d'Alexandre") 259

153. Punch, from the Punch and Judy Show, showing the ruff and other details of Elizabethan costume 263

154. Judy, from the Punch and Judy Show, with ruff, mob cap, and apron 263

155. The Beadle, from the Punch and Judy Show 264

156. The Doctor, from the Punch and Judy Show, with wig and white tie 264

157. A clown, showing a survival of an Elizabethan costume 270

158. The dress of a modern harlequin 284

159. A pantaloon, showing an Elizabethan costume of which Venetian breeches form part 285

160. The bands that survive on a lady's nightdress 289

161. A woman's nightcap, still worn in Wiltshire 289

162. A man's nightcap, from Oxfordshire 290

163. An English horse amulet in the form of a crescent. The flat places near the tips of the horns are evidence that the form is derived from two boars' tusks 294

164. An English horse amulet showing both the heart and the sun 296

165. The cowry-shell ornaments on the head of an officer's charger of the 10th Hussars. The pendant recalls that on mules in Palestine 298

166. Cowry shells on an Eastern mule, hanging like the pendant of the 10th Hussars 299

167. Cowry shells on the head-stall of a camel from Palestine 299

168. A Merveilleuse (after A. Robida) 345

169. A modern family, consisting of the average-sized mother, the taller daughter, and the puny boy (from a drawing by Miss Audrey Watson in "Physical Efficiency," by Dr. Cantlie, by kind permission of Messrs. Putnam's Sons) 357

I

THE THRALL OF DRESS

THE PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTION APPLIED TO CLOTHES

_The numbers in the text refer to a bibliography at the end of the book_

Unluckily, perhaps, we are born naked and helpless, but no sooner do we come into the world than we are provided with body-guards in the shape of clothes. In consequence, our social position is made manifest. Our vanity is flattered at the same time that our modesty is assured. On the other hand, however, our skin may be chafed, our hair worn away, and, should our equipment strictly follow the dictates of the Goddess Fashion, our bodies may even be deformed and our lives shortened. Moreover, there are other penalties to be paid; we are kept warm in summer as well as in winter, the purchase of our attire may entail the spending of much money, while the mere donning and doffing of our clothes gives rise to a prodigious waste of time.

Even tramps have at intervals to replace the rags which cover them, and while, for all practical purposes, every one else takes off his clothes when going to bed and puts them on again when getting up, many of those who are at work in the daytime "dress for dinner" in the evening. Moreover, Society may demand a further expenditure of time on the part of its members, and the rule may be laid down that the higher the standing of a civilized individual, the more often does he change his garments. In fact, more than one monarch, from the way in which he appears in different uniforms at various functions which follow one another in quick succession, has been likened to the now familiar "lightning change artist" of the music-hall stage.

It is thus quite clear that all of us are more or less under the thrall of dress. Those, therefore, who find the position irksome, will gain solace from the interesting investigations which can be made into the origin and development of costume. Others, again, whose clothes already find favour in their eyes, will enjoy looking at them from a different point of view.

As a matter of fact, our artificial coverings have become so much a part of our life that one may perhaps be allowed to apply the methods of the naturalist to their consideration, and deal with them as if they were part and parcel of the creature which wears them.

Darwin established beyond a doubt[1] that the plants and animals of to-day are the direct descendants of older and often very different forms, and it is the task and delight of the naturalist to trace their genealogies. Most useful suggestions may be obtained from the small vestiges that remain in the bodies of present-day creatures, of structures which in early times were important and useful organs.

For instance, if the skin be lifted from the head of a "slow worm" we find a third eye, which tells us that once its ancestors, like the giant Cyclops, were able to look out from the middle of their faces.

Again, to take a case which applies to ourselves, and has a melancholy interest for us, one might mention the vermiform appendix. This is a remnant of a great sac which once was useful when our ancestors were vegetarians; now it is worse than useless, for it is very liable to become irritated and give rise to what is known as appendicitis.

So long as a quarter of a century ago Sir George Darwin pointed out[2] that the great theory of evolution established by his father could be applied with much advantage to the study of dress, and it will be seen as we proceed that not the least fascinating part of the subject are vestiges similar to those which we have just described, and which have often survived solely for ornamental reasons.

Many of these are so familiar, that in running the eye in the ordinary way over a man's usual costume, attention would not be drawn to them. There is the band round the outside of his hat and the little bow inside; the nick in the collar of his coat and the more or less useless buttons on his sleeves and back; while we must not forget the curious ornamentation on the toes of his boots, nor the crest on his signet ring.

When, however, an indication is given of the times and peoples to which these trivialities can be made to carry us back, interest is aroused to a remarkable degree. It can also be well maintained, for other clothes present similar quaint survivals for investigation, while the evolution of many individual garments is worth following, and special costumes have been handed down to the present day, practically unchanged.

Fortunately, the student of dress is in a much better position than the naturalist proper. The evidence available when the history of an organism in past ages is being unravelled, is very scanty in many cases. Sometimes the fossil remains recovered from the earth are very perfect and follow one another in unbroken succession, but they usually consist merely of the hard parts of the creatures. The individual development of an organism is also a help, but when the changes which have taken untold ages to perfect, are repeated, as in the case of the chicken in the egg, within the space of a few short weeks, it is not surprising that much is left out and obscured.

Man has existed in a civilized condition for a comparatively short time, and there remain all kinds of records and illustrations, not to mention actual clothes themselves, which can be consulted or examined. Moreover, primitive men in almost every stage of culture are, or were till quite lately, to be found somewhere in the world, and much can be gleaned from them as to the origin and uses of costume.

There is a point that may be borne in mind when seeking for curiosities of clothing, and it is that the more special or ceremonial the occasion, the more ancient or more primitive the costume which is worn. In this connection also it may be mentioned that the dress of the master of one generation may survive as that of the servant in another.

II

THE ORIGIN OF DRESS

Both he and his people were black as sloes For the region they lived in was torrid, And their principal clothes were a ring through the nose And a patch of red paint on the forehead. THOMAS HOOD THE YOUNGER.

In seeking the origin of dress we necessarily assume that once upon a time our primitive ancestors did not wear any clothes at all. Even nowadays, in our own country, at sports, in the ball-room, and on the stage, the garments worn, or some of them, may be reduced to the minimum that the rules of Society appear to demand. There are, moreover, two reasons why very early man did not trouble to dress: first of all, he was covered with hair like the majority of mammals; and, secondly, it is more than probable that his home was within the tropics. (See Plate I., Frontispiece.) The two ideas are quite compatible, for all the great apes--chimpanzee, orang-utan, and gorilla--which are the nearest relatives of man, have been found in the warmer regions of the world, and are well supplied with hair.

It has long been thought that the cradle of mankind is to be looked for in the south of Asia, and it is a striking fact that of recent years the bones of the earliest known creature that can with certainty be called a man (_Pithecanthropus erectus_) were discovered in Java.[3] At the same time it appears that _Pithecanthropus_, although it walked erect, approximated more closely to the apes than does any more recent human being, and in making a restoration of the type in question, one would feel bound to endow it with a coat of hair. This has since been lost, and, according to Darwin, owing to æsthetic reasons, the members of one sex having chosen as mates those of the other who were the least hairy.

Man also has found his way into most parts of the globe, but he has not always acted with regard to dress in the same way in similar climates. The problem, therefore, which we have set ourselves to solve, proves to be less simple than it appeared at the outset, for great use may be made of clothes in one cold country and not in another, while they may be unknown in certain parts of the tropics, and adopted elsewhere within their radius.

Very often when it is sought to explain a matter, it is found that this can be done in two or three different ways, and it is quite possible that all of them may be correct. This fact may with advantage be borne in mind when seeking for the reasons which lead to the adoption of dress, for the first time, by any particular race.

Perhaps it will help us if we pause for a moment to consider why clothes are worn at the present day. There is no doubt but that in the case of many garments their ornamental character, real or supposed, is the first consideration. Others are chosen chiefly for protection and warmth, while, as already indicated, the rest suffice to satisfy the claims of modesty. Although the three reasons are now intimately combined, it is practically certain that any one of them is sufficient to have led to the adoption of clothes in the first place, and as if these were not enough there may be other contributing, if not actual causes.

We may now consider these matters in detail. It would seem from the study of modern peoples, who are still in a very simple state of civilization, as well as from one of the earliest drawings scratched by the cave-men who were contemporary with the mammoth in France, that ornaments are the most primitive part of dress. (See Figure 1 and Plate II.)

Generally speaking, the more simple the race, the greater is its love of ornament. The cave-man's sketch shows a woman who is devoid of clothing, but who wears bracelets, while it is said that in the original a necklace can be traced, though owing to an injury to the fragment of bone on which the drawing was made, the head of the figure has been lost.

On the West Coast of Africa, where clothes are not a necessity owing to the heat, bracelets are worn in such numbers by the native belles as to cover a large part of the forearm, while anklets rise in succession nearly to the knee. (See Plate II.) Again, in New Guinea the women of some tribes who do not indulge in a single scrap of clothing, still wear ornaments on their heads and round their necks.

There is, however, something to be advanced on behalf of savages that cannot be said for white people who bedizen themselves with jewellery, or bedeck themselves with the feathers of rare and beautiful birds. Uncivilized people have no pockets nor safes in which to keep their valuables, and it comes about that these take a form which permits them to be worn on the person, so that many of the objects which take the place of ornaments--such as teeth, shells, and beads--serve as the currencies of their owners. Even now there are individuals of whom it is said that they "put all their money on their backs," but, unfortunately for them, it depreciates sadly in value, and cannot be turned to account at a moment's notice. Furthermore, one naked warrior is very much like another, and chiefs, in order that they may easily be identified, have come to wear certain ornaments just as at the other extreme with regard to covering, knights in full armour carried crests on their helmets and other devices on their surcoats and shields.

Clothes proper are of later origin, and, as we have already mentioned, would only be adopted for protective purposes after man had lost the greater part of his hairy covering.

It is probable that this had happened before the earliest settlers arrived in this country, although the cave-men made their drawings of themselves in the nude, and it is contended that the marks on their bodies are similar to those in the drawings of animals and are not mere attempts at shading, but indicate the presence of hair.

In the first place, man was a hunter pure and simple, and his clothes were made from the hairy skins of his quarry. At the present time the Eskimos are clothed in this way, and there is little doubt but that they are the descendants of the cave-men, who made the striking drawings to which we have already alluded. Their implements, stature, and so forth, all point this way, and the fact that their clothes are merely adopted as a protection against the weather, is shown by the fact that they remove them altogether when in their huts.

We have already said that it does not always follow that even when the climate is cold, complete dress is brought into use. When H.M.S. _Beagle_ visited South America, some of the Tierra del Fuegians wore only an otter skin or some small scrap about as large as a pocket-handkerchief. It was laced across the breast by strings, and was shifted from side to side according to the direction of the wind. Others, both men and women, wore nothing. One of the latter, who was suckling a recently born child, came alongside the vessel in a canoe, and stayed there, out of pure curiosity, while the sleet fell and thawed on her naked bosom and on the bare body of her baby.[4]

Some races can make very passable clothes by hammering the fibres from the bark of trees into a kind of cloth, while when men took to husbandry and cultivated plants that produce fibres, they learned also to spin and weave materials from which to make their garments. The use of furs has always survived to a greater or less extent, but it is interesting to note that motoring has caused a return to primitive dress as regards external garments, for in order to withstand the air which is met when the car is in rapid movement, fur clothes and leather suits have been introduced, the latter of course being not quite so old in type as the former. It must not be forgotten at this point that climate is not the only enemy that man has had to face, and that armour was a development of dress, intended to preserve him from the onslaughts of his own species.