THE STORY OF COSTUMES 



garment that appears to have come down with fewer 

 modifications than any other through the ages seems 

 to have been the woman's skirt. Not but what this 

 was modified and changed constantly, but the general 

 contour remained the same, from the garment worn 

 by Egyptian, Greek, and Roman women, through the 

 Middle Ages down to the present time. 



The striking contrast between the gaudily dressed 

 gallant during the centuries of display attire and his 

 surroundings, is shown in the reversal of these condi- 

 tions at present. The modern well-dressed gentleman 

 lives in a dwelling quite in keeping with his garments; 

 or rather, the luxuriousness of his surroundings far 

 exceeds that of his attire. In past centuries these condi- 

 tions were reversed. In the Middle Ages the gentle- 

 man dressed better than a modern prince and lived 

 in surroundings inferior to those of a modern work- 

 ingman. With smoking fireplaces and dripping lights, 

 dirt floors strewn with rushes, and without even nec- 

 essary articles for the toilet, how did the gaudy, silk- 

 and velvet-covered creatures manage to keep them- 

 selves and their finery clean? There can be but one 

 inference: they didn't. 



SOME REMARKABLE COSTUMES 



If an attempt were made to describe, even casually, 

 anything like a representative list of the extraordinary 

 costumes worn at various times during past centuries, 

 volumes would be required. In fact, there are many- 

 volumed works dealing with this subject in existence. 



