TEE IRRIGATION AGE. 



21 



and artistic arrangement of dress " 

 to occupy us in club discussion all 

 the season, and we had best let the 

 wealthy woman alone. Until late 

 years, we may as well say until to- 

 day, every thing in women's dress 

 has been decided by fashion. Now, 

 clubs will set the pace and fashion 

 (whoever she has been) will be 

 under club rule. The one great 

 question, street skirt, should be 

 rationally considered and decided. 

 The long skirt gathers up disease 

 germs, conveys them into the house 

 and distributes them on carpet and 

 upholstery. The wearer herself is 

 liable to dislodge the germs from 

 dress edge, while passing it over 

 her head in dressing, and to swal- 

 low them. Children at play on the 

 floor are sure to suffer results 

 sooner or later. Even if not yield- 

 ing to disease, the absorption of 

 germs renders the system less 

 resistant to illness generally. 



After some of the family have 

 been laid low from diphtheria, 

 scarlet fever or other germinal dis- 

 ease, mourning robes are adopted 

 and a wail goes forth against the 

 "Hand of Providence." Poor Prov- 

 idence! that he couldn't have en- 

 dowed women with sufficient intel- 

 ligence to enable them to dress in 

 cleanly manner. One woman, liv- 

 ing in a suburb of New York, hav- 

 ing searched in vaiu the location 

 in which she lives for any trace of 

 scarlet fever whereby her child 

 took the contagion, finally con- 

 cluded "I must have brought it 

 from New York on the bottom of 

 my dress;" and the period of her 

 visit there made it a very probable 

 conclusion, as no other cases had 

 occurred nor did subsequently oc- 



cur in the vicinity. 



Physical strength should be 

 utilized to better account than by 

 holding up cumbersome clothing. 

 And what about the grotesque pic- 

 ture presented by the average 

 woman when thus engaged? She 

 knows her neighbor is a "sight," 

 but she evidently fancies herself a 

 pleasing picture. Would she could 

 "see herself as others see her." 

 Generally she raises the skirt so 

 high in plares as to display lower 

 limbs, or draws the skirt so snugly 

 as to outline the body as plainly as 

 though she had on tights, or grasps 

 tightly the back midway below the 

 waist as though holding a loosened 

 garment from slipping off. The 

 grotesque, not the artistic prevails 

 and will as long as the trained 

 street skirt is permitted. 



In adjusting the short skirt, the 

 wearer should stand on an eleva- 

 tion while the dressmaker decides 

 the exact length, as the contour of 

 instep and ankle rules the decision. 

 The length should be from three to 

 five inches from the floor, and often 

 half an inch either way spoils the 

 artistic effect. Great care should 

 be taken that it hangs evenly. 

 Above all, have shoes, jacket and 

 hat up-to-date, and the shortened 

 skirt will permanently establish 

 itself for street wear. 



Clubs claim to bring together 

 the leading women of our country. 

 Let these leading women lead in 

 woman's real province, health and 

 attractiveness, and let them anni- 

 hilate the trailing street skirt that 

 certainly is an exceedingly power- 

 ful enemy to both. 



I ask all clubs who intend to dis- 

 cuss this very important topic, to 

 kindly send me communications 

 that I may publish them in this de- 

 partment. Our great work should 

 be to make known our good works 

 through CLUB LIFE, for the good 

 of others. 



