Fashion

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Aren't you glad that we live in a time when we're not supposed to wear corsets? I found this ad in "Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Volume VIII, No 25: May 21, 1887" and learnt from some fashion plates from 1891 that this is how they dressed at that time.
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I who potter around in pants and sweaters XXXL (and I'm a rather small person) almost lose my breath when I look at these pictures. I'm sure their servants were tidier dressed than I am. No wonder they had to carry smelling salts in their reticules.
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In another magzine The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII: No. 356, October 23, 1886. I read an article called " DRESS: IN SEASON AND IN REASON.by A LADY DRESSMAKER".
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The bodice was of the plain, and it had a plastron, or waistcoat front, of the plaid. The buttons (as are many in use this year) are of smoked pearl, and are very small for the fronts of gowns and larger for the jacket-bodices. Bretelles of velvet are used as trimmings to the bodices of these rough woollens, and the collars and cuffs are almost invariably of the same material, which seems likely to retain its popularity through the winter. The velvet collars are both useful and becoming, and, in addition, they save white trimmings at the neck. We rather rejoice in our emancipation from that bondage, and I hear many people say they will never resume it again, now they have once found that they can look well without the once inevitable white collar or frill. The tendency in every woman's mind who is possessed of ordinary good sense is to simplify everything connected with clothes, and I feel sure we shall all be healthier and happier when we have banished many things from our wardrobes which we now think absolutely needful.

Dr. Jaeger's sanitary woollen clothing," about which I have so often written in praise, has raised up some rival manufactures amongst our English makers, who have long been famous for their merino or lambswool stuffs. Pure woollen under-garments in England have always been thought to wear and to wash badly, and much of this has probably been owing to the fact that the washing was very bad and that no one before Dr. Jaeger ever tried washing woollens scientifically, so as to take out the grease and perspiration, and not to harden the material at the same time. By Jaeger's method this is done with lump ammonia and soap. The soap is cut into small pieces and boiled into a lather with water, and the lump ammonia is then added. This lather is used at about 100° Fahrenheit, and the clothes must not be rubbed, but allowed to soak for about an hour in the water, and must then be drawn backwards and forwards repeatedly in the bath till clean. Three waters are to be used, the two after the first lather being of the same heat, and of pure clean water. This leaves the clothes delightfully soft and supple, and their wearing qualities suggest nothing further as an improvement.

From a recently-published book I gather the following ideas, and as they coincide with what I am always impressing on my readers with reference to tight dresses and stays, I quote them gladly, as showing that there are other sensible women in the world, a class which I hope will every day increase:—"If you lace tightly, nothing can save you from acquiring high shoulders, abnormally large hips, varicose veins in your legs, and a red nose. Surely such penalties, to say nothing of heart disease, spinal curvature, and worse, are sufficiently dreadful to deter either maids or matrons from unduly compressing their waists? No adult woman's waist ought to measure less in circumference than twenty-four inches at the smallest, and even this is permissible to slender figures only. The rule of beauty is that the waist should be twice the size of the throat. Therefore, if the throat measure twelve and a half inches, round the waist should measure twenty-five. The celebrated statue know as the 'Venus de Medici,' the acknowledged type of beauty and grace, has a waist of twenty-seven inches, the height of the figure being only five feet two inches." (Here I had to find a measure tape to see if I can compare myself to 'Venus de Medici. My throat is 30 cm [8.1 inches] and my waist 62 cm [24.4 inches] - and I'm only slightly taller than she was).
And, while on this subject, I must mention that some new stays, made of elastic material, have recently been advertised, which I should imagine were comfortable. Dr. Jaeger also has an elastic knitted bodice on his list, which is in reality a description of stays, and would afford sufficient support to a slight figure.


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The pattern for this month will, I hope, be a surprise, as well as a great comfort, to those of my readers who select it, and who wish to attain to the greatest amount of comfort and hygienic advantages in their underclothing. The pattern in question is a combination nightgown, or lady's "pyjama," and is a novelty which will be found of much value and comfort. It consists of five pieces—front, back, lower back, and two sleeve pieces. The method of putting together is carefully indicated by marks in the pattern, and no difficulty will be experienced in the making-up. The amount of material required will be from 4½ to 5 yards, and calico, flannel, or swansdown, or the new cotton flannel, may, any of them, be used to make it. For the winter season it will be found to supply a great increase in warmth, and, to the invalid, a great comfort, as it fits closely, will not form creases, nor "ruck up," as the ordinary nightgown always does, to the discomfort of the wearer.
Each of the patterns may be had of "The Lady Dressmaker," care of Mr. H. G. Davis, 73, Ludgate-hill, E.C., price 1s. each. It is requested that the addresses be clearly given, and that postal notes, crossed so as to be eligible only to go through a bank, may be sent, as so many losses have occurred through the sending of postage stamps. The patterns already issued can always be obtained, as "The Lady Dressmaker" shows constantly in her articles how they can be made use of.
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I'd love to have that pattern!
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BY THE LAKE SIDE WITH THE BOATS