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Show I AGITATION IN UTAH FOR DRESS REFORM. The superintendents and teachers H of parents' classes of the severe wards of Provo have started a crusad.- against the extremes In fashion which lead women and glrlB to dress In unbecoming un-becoming costumes. H At a meeting last Sunday the fol lowing resolutions were passed: "Since the leaders of our church have cautioned us against excess in dre68. and in view of the prevailing fashions which do not sufficiently cover the body, and therefore are Im modest, and not sanctioned by the thinking public at large, regardless nf creed, we unite our efforts to brini; about a reform in this direction; therefore, be It "Resolved. That these fads and fashions are not a creation of our own, nor a creation of necessity to fill a want for suitable clothes but are forced upon us by manufacturers who are seeking markets for the.r products by creating new and extreme ex-treme opposite fads and fashions, re-I re-I gardless of propriety or modesty. In j order that they may make financial gain; "Resolved. That this extravagance in dress takes attention away from school work and other useful studies of life, and has a tendency to make boys and girls wasteful instead of economical; immodest, frivolous and plaasureseeking Instead of modest, I studious and thoughtful of others. ! and develops an Inclination to disre gard the more serious things of life I ' "Resolved. That we discountenance improper and extravagant dress in I the home, upon the street, in the schoolroom, at the sports. In the ball J room and at public and private gath erings" There is no mow effective fore by which to discredit this extravagance ! and immodesty in dress than the or- j ganizations of the dominant church in Utah, and we congratulate the parents' classes of Provo on having inaugurated the crusade " The sensible women and girls of the entire country are In need of some powerful Influence to help them I battle against the absurd in fashion Of course, what fashion dictates, the great majority of women readily accept, ac-cept, and then there Is nothing for the minority to do hut yield to th flrkle. because a woman or girl ircssod out of fashion micht as well be exiled for she will be ostracised. Now that this subject Is up, the parents' elassep should not stop at denouncing the improprieties in dress; they should advocate a dress reform which will bring greater comfort com-fort and allow of freer action of even muscle of the body Francis R McCabe, a writer on styles, does not approve of much of the reform advocated by the reform ors. Ho would have women dress to meet the requirements of their work or the comfort of body, regardless of the old Idea of how a woman or girl should be clothed. His Mowb are somewhat In conflict with those of the crusader? He says: A movement or evolution that has continued steadily In the past is very likely to continue in the future until It can go no further. 60 that the disposition dis-position which women in Christian countries have been showing foi many years to wear less and even less clothing in public is very likely to continue until they get to the poin'. where they will wear none at all. or practically none, when It 16 for any reason desirable and the temperature is such that it can be done without discomfort "Notwithstanding somebody s protests pro-tests or notions that a thing is unwise un-wise or Immoral, people are very apt to do that thing If they find by experience experi-ence that it is agreeable or beneficial to them to do It, if the doing of It does not infringe upon the rights of others. For women to wear little clothing or no clothing certainly doe-not doe-not infringe upon the rights of oth ers." The power of the decree of fashion is thus set forth. "Th person who most need clothing cloth-ing reform are those who have to work for their living. Rut the factory fac-tory girl and the- shop-girl and the working girl in general will never adopt any article of dress on her own account that has not already been adopted In fashionable circles. All fashions start at the top and work down In our aspirins democracy a distinctive working costume is un thinkable, but the working woman is very clever in adopting quickly an costume which the rich may wear, for whatever occasion It was originally designed. For Instance, when certain summer girls took to wearing what is commonly known as the "mlddv blouse" for certain rougher forms of sport and tennis, the same costume suddenly bloomed our In great profusion profu-sion In all the factory districts of all our towns It was a comfortable, loose-fitting, and easily cleaned sub stltute for the shirt-waist, which is so apt to get out of order and require? such careful adjustment about the waist. Moreover. It eliminated the necessity for corsets. The craze for sports among modern English and American girls bids fair to evolve a number of sensible and comfortable costumes which will be adopted for street wear by the working girl." There should come out of this conflict con-flict a nice compromise The greatest great-est thing to be accomplished Is to free womankind from a blind adherence o fashion. |
