Dress-Reform (Woolson)/Lecture 3
LECTURE III.
BY MERCY B. JACKSON, M.D.
Ladies,—We propose to speak to you this evening upon dress in its relations to health, its uses and abuses.
Having observed the great evils that result from the present modes of dress, and perceiving that a fundamental change is needed in this respect, if woman's vigor and usefulness are not to become seriously impaired, we have been induced to speak to you, well knowing our inability to treat the subject in a manner worthy of its importance. Relying upon your indulgence, we would ask attention to the few thoughts which we have thrown together during the brief intervals of a busy professional life, hoping they may not prove wholly uninteresting and useless.
We are living in an age of progress, when ideas are asserting their right to rule, and are taking the sceptre from brute force, which has so long held sway. Consequently, women are awaking to a consciousness of powers unused, and of fetters on mind and limb which have hitherto prevented them from doing their share of the world's work. They see that these obstructions must be removed, if they are to fill the places that were designed for them.
This awakening is not confined to our own country, but is extending to all the civilized world, and even shows itself in semi-civilized regions. Such being the present status, it is a favorable time to call the attention of those who are desiring something better for women than has yet been attained to the subject of dress-reform.
When new duties devolve upon us, it is wise to prepare ourselves for their performance. As the sphere of women enlarges, more and more is required of them; and they should therefore throw off all customs that tend to cramp them in any direction, and should endeavor to retain only such as liberate and enlarge their powers, and tend to invigorate both mind and body. In this way alone can they prepare themselves for greater usefulness.
In order to justify ourselves for endeavoring to change the present modes of dress, it is necessary to show that those now in vogue do not answer the reasonable requirements for which clothing was originally designed, and that, instead of being a useful servant wisely fulfilling the purposes of its existence, our dress has become a terrible tyrant, subjecting the human body to its inconvenient, unsightly, and even tormenting control, and bringing into subjection, also, the noble faculties of the mind. By the engrossment of these faculties with the invention of an almost endless variety of unhealthy styles, so much time is necessarily devoted to dress that little or none is left for the higher and better purposes of mental culture. Ever since our first parents clothed themselves with fig-leaves in the garden of Eden, dress has been growing more and more complicated, as the centuries have rolled on, until now it absorbs the attention of many to the exclusion of all nobler thoughts and pursuits.
Its earliest use was for a covering, that our nakedness might not appear; but the climate of a large portion of the globe makes it necessary, in order to protect the body from the inclemencies of the weather and preserve its temperature sufficiently high to prevent the congestions and inflammations that are so dangerous to health and even life.
Let us consider what are the legitimate requirements of clothing, since it appears absolutely indispensable over a large part of the globe. First of all, it should be of such material as will protect the body from the too heating rays of the sun in warm climates, and induce so high a temperature in colder regions that the body will not suffer from chill. In the second place, it should be of such material that its weight will not be an incumbrance, or cause fatigue during exercise. In the third place, it should be so fashioned that its weight will rest mostly upon the shoulders, and not bear too heavily upon the abdominal muscles, as, otherwise, it will lead to displacement and subsequent disease of the internal organs. In the fourth place, it should not press too closely upon any part of the body, lest it obstruct the circulation of the blood, and cause serious disturbances in the whole physical economy. When any thing impedes the current of the blood and prevents its proper aeration and purification, this fluid, instead of being fitted to supply the waste of our bodies, becomes an active agent in producing discase; and the effete matter retained in it is carried to every part of the body, poisoning the very sources of life. In the fifth place, it should be fashioned in such a manner as to furnish the least possible obstruction to locomotion, and indeed to all motion, so that we may be able to walk and work with nearly the same ease as if divested of all covering.
We shall see how poorly these requirements have been fulfilled in the dress worn by women.
The clothing of men, in all Christian countries, has for a long time subserved the legitimate uses for which it was designed. Each part is fitted to the body so as to keep the temperature equable. Its weight is borne on the shoulders; and while it is loose enough to give free circulation, it is yet not loose enough to lessen its protecting power. The dress hats of gentlemen form the most prominent exception to the adaptation of their clothing to proper uses; but those are now little worn, except in dress circles. The covering of men's feet is admirably adapted to their protection from cold and damp,—two great sources of disease. The soles of their boots are broad enough to allow the foot to expand, as Nature designed it should, when pressed upon by the weight of the body; and the toes are wide enough to allow them to rest upon the sole separately, producing the elastic rebound which enables one to walk without fatigue. That there are men foolish enough to cramp their feet in narrow boots, we are aware; but these are a very small minority, and are not the leading ones who are copied by the masses.
The nicely fitting pantaloons, that permit such freedom in the movement of the lower limbs ; the snug vests, that preserve a uniform temperature of the chest; and the little sack-coat that, while finishing the toilet, so little inconveniences the wearer; and the over-coat, so easily removed when the temperature of the place renders it unnecessary,—these are all beautifully adapted to their legitimate uses.
It is true that fashion at times renders each of these garments less useful and convenient, as when dandies appear with pantaloons so tight as scarcely to permit bending the knees, or with vests open nearly to the waist that they may display their faultless linen; but these freaks of fashion are of short duration, and the good sense of the masses does not adopt such extremes.
But how has it been with the clothing of women? Has that been more and more conformable to its proper uses? Would that we could say yes. Instead of this being the case, it would almost seem that the ingenuity of the sex had been exercised to find shapes that would most effectually subvert the designs of Nature. The feet have been covered with boots which are wholly inadequate to furnish protection from cold and damp, while they are so shaped as to compress the foot into the narrowest compass, and to crowd the toes upon each other within the narrow tip. This prevents the action of the muscles of the foot in walking, and throws the whole labor upon the muscles of the leg, thus disabling our women from healthful exercise to such a degree that not one in twenty can walk three miles without complete exhaustion.
The Chinese shock our moral sense when they deform the feet of their women by merciless compression in infancy; but we at the same time tolerate—nay, encourage—ours in wearing such covering as lays the foundation for consequences more fatal than theirs. The high heels which have been so fashionable, but which are now, happily, less used, are one of the most fruitful sources of disease. They not only cause contractions of the muscles of the leg, so great in some instances as to make a surgical separation of them necessary, but by raising the heel they bring the weight of the body upon the toes, and thus induce the corns and bunions that alone suffice to make locomotion very painful. Moreover, by inclining the body forward, they throw the uterus out of its normal position, and oblige the ligaments that are designed to steady it to remain constantly in action, in order to restore it to its proper place. These muscles kept continually on the stretch soon lose their contractile power; and then the uterus, thrown out of place by the unnatural pose of the body, remains in this abnormal position, and often becomes adherent to the adjacent parts. When this is the case, a most serious disease is entailed upon the sufferer.
The compression of the calf of the leg by tight ligatures, intended to keep the hose in place, is very injurious, for it often causes distended veins, and checks the natural flow of blood in all the vessels of the leg. We find cramps as the result of this in some cases, numbness in others, and coldness in a great many.
The closed drawers that are worn by most women at the present time are extremely unhealthy, inducing a train of evils which cannot be spoken of here, but which seriously deteriorate the health.
The corsets that encase the body in a prison barred with whalebone and steel are often so closely applied that the action of the muscles within is rendered almost null. This stricture about the waist, by which the liver is so pressed upon that its proper action is greatly obstructed, compresses at the same time the large bloodvessels of the trunk in such a manner as to seriously check the flow of the vital current within. In consequence of this, all the functions of the body are carried on with constantly diminishing force, until the health is completely destroyed and an invalid life makes it impossible longer to endure the pressure of the agent that has wrought such fearful changes in the formerly healthy body.
The evil just spoken of is not always so great as here depicted: it is proportioned to the amount of compression, and the strength of the frame subjected to it. The less the compression, the less the evil; and the more vigorous the body, the better able it is to resist the influence, and to carry on its work in spite of the obstacles that oppose it.
Such consequences as we have mentioned, one might think would be sufficiently alarming to banish from intelligent society the healthdestroying corset. But no! The Juggernaut of fashion demands the sacrifice, and its victims must fall down and be crushed by its senseless power.
Next come the skirts, which hang upon the weakened muscles of the abdomen. These garments are often many in number, and at the present time are generally weighted with heavy trimmings reaching to the knee or hips. All this burdensome material is fastened tightly about the waist to prevent dragging; while the skirt is either so long as to obstruct the movement of the feet in walking, or, still worse, it trails upon the dirty sidewalks, gathering up the refuse of the streets, and disgusting those whose sense of neatness makes them shudder to think of the condition of a nice dress after a public promenade.
These long dresses, heavily trimmed, not only entail the evils mentioned, but by their weight drag down the contents of the abdomen, and produce the many diseases peculiar to women, which are the opprobrium medicale of the present day. Then comes the over-skirt, which is looped up on the back and sustained there by "bishops" of greater or less weight and density. The mass thus formed heats the spine, prevents the wearer from resting comfortably on chair or seat, and fatigues the back by an unnatural position, as well as by the weight thus heaped upon it. Could any thing more unsightly be invented? Or could one imagine that any lady, who naturally desires to look well and to be prepossessing in her appearance, would willingly array herself in such a costume?
The present short walking-dresses are less objectionable than most that have been worn for a long time; but, in order to have them conform to the proper standard, the over-skirt should be dispensed with, and the length curtailed so that they would just touch the instep, and be of the same length all round. Some simple trimming might be used without impairing their usefulness. The waist, too, should be so loose as to allow the full expansion of the chest with every inspiration.
We had hoped that this short walking-dress, so comfortable and so generally liked, might retain its place in the wardrobe of women; but to our regret and mortification we see it gradually abandoned by almost all, and a demi-train substituted, which outrages all sense of neatness by trailing along the dirty sidewalks. Or, if the wcarer would lift it from the ground, she is obliged to swoop it up most ungracefully, or to clutch it still more awkwardly with both hands, thus throwing out the elbows, and reminding one, by the figure she makes, of a turkey displaying his plumage.
The evils arising from tight dressing are too numerous to be mentioned here, but they are alone sufficient to destroy the health of the most robust person; and even when the pressure thus occasioned is only so little that it is regarded as almost nothing by ladies generally, it is sufficient to lower the standard of health to a considerable degree.
No dress should be so small as to require the least possible effort to fasten it. It should be closed by merely bringing the edges together, without contraction of the chest; and, when closed, the chest should be as free to expand as if nothing covered it. With such garments, the necessity of support from the shoulders will be apparent.
When any injurious garment is first worn, Nature remonstrates, and pain or inconvenience is felt; but if we neglect these monitions, and continue its use, the warning grows less and less loud, until, as it were, discouraged by our wilful neglect of her cautions, Nature ceases to remonstrate. But, though the sufferings first felt are now unnoticed, the penalty is sure to be inflicted, and we pay dearly for our disobedience in impaired health, weakened digestion, poor circulation, diseased liver, restless nights, and the whole host of sufferings that follow in the train of outraged Nature.
I have already made it apparent, I trust, to any one at all acquainted with physiology, that the present style of woman's attire is subversive of the uses which dress should serve, and that a radical change must be made before it can be adapted to health and comfort.
It is desirable that the dress of women should be pleasing to the eye as well as convenient for the uses for which it is designed. The element of beauty is everywhere visible in the creation of God; and the love of it is deeply implanted in our natures, so that "a thing of beauty is a joy for ever." We should not therefore despise the charms that dress can give, nor neglect the adorning of our persons; but we should also remember that health and comfort are not to be sacrificed to beauty, nor our families deprived of the necessaries of life that we may shine in beautiful garments.
Let us remember that the most beautiful costume embraces the idea of use, and of adaptation to the ends that should be sought in all clothing; namely, the sustaining a proper temperature of the body, the lightness necessary to allow easy exercise, and the weight mostly resting on the shoulders. The dress should not fit too closely, lest it may disturb circulation; nor be made so voluminous as greatly to hinder motion, or to make it fatiguing.
There is another point, concerning the dresses of infants, upon which I desire to speak; and I wish I could speak loud enough for every mother in the world to hear. But, as I cannot do this, I will ask you all to aid in extending the word, until, with united power, we may be able to induce all mothers who care more for the health and comfort of their offspring than they do for the behests of fashion to adopt a better dress for their children than is at present worn. Such a dress, being often seen, may in time become fashionable, and then those whose only guide in preparing the wardrobe of the coming child is the reigning style will be led into better modes, so that more convenient and comfortable garments will be made.
The special evil of which I speak is the long skirts, dresses, and cloaks, which are now the fashion for babies. I feel the deepest commiseration for a delicate child that has hung upon its tender body a flannel skirt a yard long, and over that a cotton skirt equally long, and over that a dress to cover both, often weighted with heavy embroidery, and, if the child is carried out, a double cloak longer than all, so that the skirts reach nearly to the floor as the infant is borne on the nurse's arm. The longer the clothes, the more aristocratic the baby, would seem to be the idea of the mother! Think of all this weight attached around the waist of the child, and hanging over the little feet, pressing down the toes, and even forcing the feet out of their natural position! How much of deformity and suffering this fashion produces, none can tell; but that it is a great discomfort to the baby, every thinking mother must perceive.
High necks and long sleeves are now fashionable for babies; but how soon they may be laid aside for low necks and short sleeves cannot be foreseen. That will depend on the enlightenment of women. To expose the delicate chest and arms of a young child in our cold, changeable climate, is often to bring on pneumonia, and greatly to lessen the chances of life. And, should life be spared, there will be sleepless nights and anxious days for the mother, as well as great suffering for the child.
All modes of dress that injure the human body, or make the wearer uncomfortable, are strictly within the province of the doctor; and he should never lose an opportunity to benefit his patients by teaching them the evils to be avoided by a sensible reform in dress. The protest of one physician may do much; but what an incalculable amount of good could be done if the whole profession, as with one voice, would unite in decrying all the forms of dress which torture mankind and bring on the innumerable diseases that shorten life and render it miserable! I speak to you as mothers and sisters who desire to know the best ways to make life healthy and happy for yourselves and for those you love.
There is another evil demanding our earnest consideration, and it is one of the growing evils of the day. I mean the immense labor bestowed on all the garments, and extending to every article that is worn, so that those whose circumstances demand economy must give a large portion of their time to the making and embellishing of their wardrobes. By exhausting strength in too long-continued labor, they deprive themselves of sleep, "tired Nature's sweet restorer," and have no time for intellectual pursuits. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment? And shall we neglect the soul and intellect God has given us, that we may adorn the perishing body?
Our only hope for the redemption of woman from the thraldom of dress lies in the belief that her hitherto limited sphere of activities has bcen so insufficient for her intellectual occupations that she has been forced to expend her thoughts in decorating her person, instead of in enlarging her mind. Had she been led to use her executive powers in organizing benevolent enterprises and carrying them out, or in moulding the characters of her children by sharing their higher pursuits, she would not only have impressed herself forcibly upon the institutions of the country, but her mind and heart would have been filled with more ennobling and satisfying enjoyments, and thus the persevering efforts now made to frivolous ends would have been turned into channels of usefulness.
It is, however, better that the feminine intellect should have been actively employed in inventing new forms of dress and embellishment, than that it should have lain dormant, and been reduced to almost complete inanition for want of any activity. By this exercise of its powers, it has been in a measure strengthened and prepared for the important labors which will soon be required of it.
The day is not far distant when woman is to take part in all which concerns humanity; and the added responsibility that such freedom must bring should stimulate her to be worthy of the blessings to be conferred, which, when they comc, will place her where her influence will be as extensive as her abilities and contributions to the general good deserve.
If she is to fulfil the high trusts that shall be given her, she must emancipate herself from the engrossments of fashion, must be clothed in garments that will contribute to her comfort, and must cast aside those that destroy her health, cripple her energies, and take all her time and mcans for their manufacture. She must seek first the liberal education that has so long been considered necessary for her brothers, in order that they may be prepared for the varied duties that are required of them. When the leading women of the age, and those blessed with wealth and high position, come to see that a cultivated mind in a healthy body is more to be desired, and better calculated to lead to honor and estcem, than the most costly or elaborate clothing, women will turn their attention to these higher objects, and will then make it easy for others less favored to follow in the same pathway. A great responsibility is resting upon women who are blessed with the wealth and station that carry so much influence with them. They could easily change the fashions of dress so as to remove the objections to present modes, and by so doing they would contribute greatly to the health and happiness of the wearers.
The lavish expenditure in dress, so common at the present time, is a matter of serious concern to those who reflect much upon its tendencies. Society, by denying to women the propriety of earning money, or of entering into any business that will make them self-supporting, fixes the badge of poverty upon all who attempt to provide in this manner for their own or their families' wants. Thus the burden of mortified pride is added to the exhausting labor of self-support, which is also rendered heavier for women than for men by the inferior wages the former receive, and by the necessarily higher cost of their wardrobe when they procure it made for themselves, as men procure theirs. In consequence of this expense, women seek to eke out their small incomes by sewing their own clothes; and, when engaged in business, this must be done after the regular task of the day is finished. Such wearying occupation often keeps them at work till the small hours of the night, and thus deprives them of the rest which is needful to refresh their tired bodies, and to render them fit for the labor of the coming day. We need not wonder that many women break down under these accumulated burdens, especially when we consider that they have to do all this in clothing not fitted to preserve health, but rather calculated to fetter their powers, and to make work and motion a painful effort. Headaches and indigestions must result from the constant application of eyes, mind, and muscles to this most sedentary of all employments; and the persons so occupied become depressed in spirits, unacquainted with the activities of the world, and little fitted to bear their part in those conversations and amusements which should make the family the centre of intellectual and affectional enjoyments, and which alone can retain husbands and brothers in the pure and tranquillizing atmosphere of a happy and cultivated home.
We are a republican nation, at least in form, and have no distinct classes where the lines are so tightly drawn that citizens cannot pass from one to the other. In accord with the genius of our institutions, all desire to attain to the highest places; and consequently an elevating impulse is given, which is calculated to foster enterprise and thrift, and to ennoble the people by the stimulus of a possibility of reaching places of honor and profit, even from the lowest points. This is one of the greatest blessings that a republican government confers upon its people. We should therefore, as good citizens and as Christian women, do all we can to foster this self-respect in those less favored than ourselves, and should never think that their depression will elevate us.
I know it will be said that the wealthy have a perfect right to indulge in all the luxuries that they may choose, and that they help the poorer classes by distributing moncy amongst them, when they hire them to make their elaborate garments. But let us look carefully at this matter, and see if it will bear the test of close examination. Is it a benefit to the poor sempstress to give her more sewing, when at the same time we oblige her, by our example, to spend all she gets for it in adorning her own dresses, that she may appear respectably in the presence of the elegantly clothed ladies who patronize her? Has any one a right to destroy the beautiful body God has given, or even to injure its wonderful mechanism and to throw it out of balance, so that it can perform its intended work only with great pain and suffering? Has any one a right to tempt others to do wrong, or by example to lead them on to destroy their vigor and usefulness by unhealthful modes of dress, or by the overwork needed to embellish them? Did not the great Apostle Paul teach us our duty in these respects, when he said, "If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth"? Have not all of us duties to society and to our fellow-beings that should never be lost sight of? And have we not still higher duties to our Maker, which require us to preserve the health of our bodies, that we may be able to perform the work He intended for us? And, finally, have we not a duty to our country, to check, as far as we can, the growing evils of extravagance that are now undermining the very foundations of our social life, and threatening to demoralize it?
There is still another class of women who are seriously injured by the elaborate style of clothing now worn by all classes, and this is the middle class, who live in handsome, well-furnished residences, and make a fine appearance at church and on the street, and who yet cannot afford to hire their dressmaking done. Not recognizing the truth that all useful labor is honorable, and desiring to appear more wealthy than they really are, they are led by false pride to conceal the fact that they are their own dressmakers. The burden of making these over-trimmed dresses falls heavily upon them, and, by keeping them in the house plying the needle, it deprives them of that daily out-of-door exercise which is so necessary to vigorous health. Thus all the time left from the cares of home is spent in the excessive ornamentation demanded by the tyranny of fashion, and none is found for reading or intellectual pursuits of any sort.
Nor are these the only evils arising from the extravagant modes of dress, and the extravagant style of living which accompanies them; for the husband or father who loves his family is unwilling to deny them the money necessary to purchase these elegancies, and he often goes beyond his means that his family may appear as well as his neighbor's. This leads him to incur obligations which he cannot meet, and financial embarrassment and ruin stare him in the face. If he is in a place of trust, he is tempted to borrow, as he leniently calls it, from the funds that have been placed in his hands, thinking that he can soon return the sum, and that no one will be the wiser or be injured by what he does. But at last, after many shifts, he can no longer conceal the deficit; and then he is ruined in purse and character, thrust out of his place, and sometimes brought to self-destruction by the desperation that follows his exposure!
Is not society accountable in a great measure for these and similar breaches of trust in private citizens and public servants? And who but women control the customs of society, and make them either prudent, wise, and moral, or extravagant, foolish, and immoral? I appeal to the moral sense of the ladies present, and I ask them if they are willing, by their example and influence, longer to countenance a mode of dress which is so little fitted to answer the reasonable demands that should be made upon it, and so destructive of health and of morals?
If we have convinced you that the serious charges brought against the dress of the present day are well founded, you will surely be unwilling longer to participate in its follies, not to say in its crimes against the peace and welfare of society.
What, then, shall be done to inaugurate a true reform in this important direction?
To answer this may require wiser heads than ours; but the first step is taken when women are convinced that there is need of reform. After that, clear heads and tender consciences will address themselves to the task, and will soon find ways to accomplish it. Combination and organization are required to assist in the work, and numerical strength is needed to overcome long-established customs. What would be martyrdom for a few to attempt would be easy for masses to accomplish. If five hundred earnest, intelligent women should band themselves together, and agree to discard as soon as possible all garments that prove injurious to health, and should then set their inventive faculties to work to produce a simple and beautiful style of apparel that might be free from the objections brought against our present modes,—a style which should have the great mcrit of pleasing the artistic sense, and becoming the wearer, and in which age, condition of life, and personal peculiarities would be so considered as to make each dress appropriate to its owner, and expressive of her character, instead of being a mere duplicate of some other garment, without regard to personal fitness,—could this be done, the needed work of dress-reform would be half accomplished. Let us not attempt to imitate the fashions of the Old World, which are unsuited to our republican nation, and not in accord with our institutions. We are a young and vigorous people, and should no more attempt to copy the dress and style of living of the European nations than we do their laws and institutions. Let us be the inventors of our own fashions, and let them conform to the character of our institutions in their simplicity and adaptation to our peculiar wants, and then they will become the exponent of our own nationality.