SOME THOUGHTS ON CHILDREN'S DRESS.
BY MRS. MERRIFIELD.
Can any good and sufficient reason be given, said a friend, as we were
contemplating the happy faces and lively gestures of a party of boys
and girls, who, one cold, frosty evening, were playing at the old game
called "I sent a letter to my love," why, when one of the party picks
up the ball which another has thrown down, the boys always stoop,
while the girls (with the exception of one little rosy girl, who is
active and supple as the boys) invariably drop on one knee? At first
we almost fancied this must be a new way of playing the game; but when
one of the seniors threw a handful of _bonbons_ among the children,
and in their eager scramble to pick up the tempting sweets we
observed the same respective actions, namely, that the boys stooped,
while the girls knelt on one knee, we began to meditate on the cause
of this diversity of action. A little more observation convinced us
that the girls, though equally lively, were less free in their
movement than the boys. We observed, also, that every now and then
some of the girls stopped and hitched their clothes, (which appeared
almost in danger of falling off,) with an awkward movement, first upon
one shoulder, and then on the other, while others jerked one shoulder
upwards, which caused the sleeve on that side to sink nearly to the
elbow. "Now," we exclaimed, "we can solve the problem: the different
actions are caused by the difference in the dress; let us see where
the difference lies." So we continued our observations, and soon found
that the boys were all dressed in high dresses up to the throat, while
the bands which encircled their waists were so loose as merely to keep
the dress in its place without confining it; in short, that their
dress did not offer the slightest restraint on their freedom of
movement. It was otherwise with the girls, excepting the little rosy
girl before mentioned: they were dressed in low dresses, and their
shoulders were so bare that we involuntarily thought of a caterpillar
casting its skin, and began to fear, from the uneasy movement of their
shoulders, that the same thing might happen to the children, when we
observed that this was rendered impossible by the tightness of the
clothes about the waist. The mystery was now cleared up; the tightness
of the dress at the waist, while it prevented the children from
"slipping shell," as it were, entirely destroyed their freedom of
movement. We could not help contrasting these poor girls--dressed in
the very pink of fashion, with their bare shoulders, compressed
waists, and delicate appearance--with the rosy face, quick and active
movement, and thick waist of the little girl before alluded to; and we
sighed as we thought that, induced by the culpable folly or ignorance
of parents,
"Pale decay
Would steal before the steps of time,
And snatch 'their' bloom away."
"Whence does it arise," continued my friend, "that the boys are clad
in warm dresses, suited to the season, their chests and arms protected
from the wintry air, and their feet incased in woollen stockings,
while the girls are suffered to shiver at Christmas in muslin dresses,
with bare necks and arms, and silk or thin cotton stockings? Are they
less susceptible of cold than boys? Is their circulation less languid,
that their clothes are so much thinner? Are their figures better,
their health stronger, for the compression of their tender bodies by
stays?" At this point our cogitations were stopped by a summons to
supper; and after supper, hats and shawls were produced, and we took
our leave. Our young companions, fatigued with their exertions, soon
fell asleep in the corners of the carriage, and we were left to our
own meditations. Our thoughts once more reverted to the subject of
children's dress, and gradually assumed the following form:--
The subject of dress, which is so important both to our health
and comfort, is usually treated as a matter of fashion, and is
regulated partly by individual fancy, partly by the dictates of
the _modiste_. Fashion, as it applies to the costume of men, is,
with the exception of the hat, controlled by convenience and common
sense; but with regard to the dress of women and children, neither
of these considerations has any weight. The most extravagant and
_bizarre_ arrangements of form and colors will meet with admirers and
imitators, provided they emanate from a fashionable source. The dress
of children, especially, appears to be exceedingly fantastic in its
character, and, with regard to that of girls, is ill adapted to secure
the enjoyment of health and the perfect development of the figure. We
venture to offer a few remarks on this highly interesting theme.
In discussing the subject of children's dress, several points
present themselves for our consideration, namely, first, the
adaptation of the costume to the climate, the movements, and
healthful development of the figure; and secondly, the general
elegance of the habiliments, the harmony of the colors, and their
special adaptation to the age and individual characteristics of
children. The first are essential conditions; the latter, though too
frequently treated as the most important, may, in comparison with
the first, be deemed non-essentials. We shall remark on these
subjects in the before-mentioned order.
With regard to the adaptation of the dress of children to the climate,
this appears so evident that any observations upon it might be deemed
almost unnecessary; yet, in practice, how little is it understood! The
great object in view in regulating the warmth of the clothing, is to
guard the wearer from the vicissitudes of the climate, and to equalize
the circulation, which is accelerated by heat and retarded by cold.
Children are habitually full of activity, which quickens the
circulation and produces a determination to the skin; in other words,
causes some degree of perspiration, and if this, perspiration be
suddenly checked by the application of cold, illness in some shape or
other is induced. In order to lessen this risk, the clothing should
be light and warm; sufficiently warm to shield the child from the
effects of cold, but not to elevate greatly the temperature of the
body. The latter would only render the child more susceptible of cold.
Children are, by some over-careful but not judicious parents, so
burdened with clothes that one is surprised to find they can move
under the vast encumbrance.
There is much diversity of opinion among medical men as to the
propriety of wearing flannel next to the skin. The arguments appear to
be in favor of the practice, provided that the thickness of the
flannel be proportioned to the seasons of the year. In winter it
should be thick; in summer it can scarcely be too thin. Flannel is
preferable to linen or calico, because, although it may be saturated
with perspiration, it never strikes cold to the skin; whereas linen,
under similar circumstances, always does, and the sudden application
of cold to the skin, when warmed by exercise, checks the circulation,
and causes illness.
Parents are frequently guilty of much inconsistency in the clothing
of their children. The child, perhaps, has delicate lungs; it must,
therefore, have warm clothing; so garment after garment, made
fashionably, that is to say, very full and very short, is heaped one
upon the other over the chest and upper part of the body, until the
poor child can scarcely move under the heavy burden with which, with
mistaken kindness, it has been laden, while the lower limbs, in which
the circulation is most languid, and which require to be protected as
well as the chest, are frequently exposed to the air, and the foot is
covered with a shoe which is too thin to keep it dry. The consequence
of this arrangement is, that the child, oppressed by the weight of its
clothing, becomes overheated, and being cooled too hastily, catches
severe colds.
The habiliments of children cannot be too light in weight; and this is
perfectly consistent with a proper degree of warmth. Those parents are
greatly to blame who, influenced only by appearance, and the wish to
dress their children fashionably, add to the weight of their clothing
by introducing so much unnecessary fulness into the skirts.
The next point for consideration, and which is not inferior in
importance to the last, is the adaptation of the dress to the
movements and healthful development of the figure; and, strange to
say, this point is almost entirely overlooked by those who have the
management and control of children, although a few honest and sensible
medical men have raised their warning voices against the system now
pursued.
We hear every where of the march of intellect; we are perpetually told
that the schoolmaster is abroad; lessons and masters of all kinds are
endeavoring
"To teach the young idea how to shoot;"
while the little delicate frame which is to bear all this mental labor
is left to the ignorance of mothers and nurses, and the tender mercies
of the dressmaker, who seems to think that the human frame is as
easily moulded into an imitation of those libels on humanity
represented in books of fashionable costume as the materials with
which she works. Would that we had powers of persuasion to convince
our readers how greatly these figures, with their excessively-small
waists, hands and feet, deviate from the actual proportions of
well-formed women! Unfortunately, the pinched waist is too common in
real life for those unacquainted with the proportions of the figure
not to think it one of the essential elements of beauty. So far,
however, from being a beauty, a small waist is an actual blemish.
Never, until the economy of the human frame is studied by all classes,
and a knowledge of the principles on which its beauties depend is
disseminated among all ranks, can we hope that just ideas will be
entertained on this subject.
If there is one thing in which the schoolmaster or the reformer
is more wanted than in another, it is in our dress. From our birth
to our death we are the slaves of fashion, of prejudice, and of
circumstances. The tender, unresisting infant, the delicate girl, the
mature woman, alike suffer from these evil influences; some fall
victims to them, others suffer during life. Let us consider the dress
of an infant. Here, however, it must be acknowledged that of late
years much improvement has taken place in some respects, although much
still remains to be done. Caps, with their trimming of three or four
rows of lace, and large cockades which rivalled in size the dear
little round face of the child, are discontinued almost entirely
within doors, though the poor child is still almost overwhelmed with
cap, hat, and feathers, in its daily airings, the additional weight
which its poor neck has to sustain never once entering into the
calculation of its mother and nurse. Fine feathers, it is said, make
fine birds. This may be true with respect to the feathered creation,
but it is not so with regard to children. They suffer from the
misplaced finery, and from the undue heat of the head. And yet the
head has, generally speaking, been better treated by us than the rest
of the body. When we look back upon the history of costume, it really
seems as if men--or women, shall we say?--had exercised their
ingenuity in torturing the human frame, and destroying its health and
vigor.
The American Indian compresses the tender skull of the infant, and
binds its little body on to a flat board; the Chinese squeezes the
feet of the females; the Italian peasants, following the custom of the
Orientals, still roll the infant in swathing bands; the little legs of
the child, that when left to its own disposal are in perpetual motion,
now curled up to the body, then thrust out their extreme length, to
the evident enjoyment of their owner, are extended in a straight line,
laid side by side, and bandaged together, so that the infant reminds
one in shape of a mummy. In this highly cultivated country we are
guilty towards our infants of practices quite as senseless, as cruel,
and as contrary to nature. The movements of the lower limbs, so
essential to the healthy growth of the child, are limited and
restrained, if not altogether prevented, by the great weight that we
hang upon them. The long petticoats, in which every infant in this
country has been for centuries doomed to pass many months of its
existence, are as absurd as they are prejudicial to the child. The
evil has of late years rather increased than diminished, for the
clothes are not only made much longer, but much fuller, so that the
poor victim has an additional weight to bear. Many instances can be
mentioned in which the long clothes have been made a yard and a
quarter long. The absurdity of this custom becomes apparent, if we
only imagine a mother or nurse of short statue carrying an infant in
petticoats of this length; and we believe that long clothes are always
made totally irrespective of the height of mother or nurse. Imagine
one or the other treading on the robe, and throwing herself and the
child down! Imagine, also, the probable consequences of such an
accident! And when one ventures to express doubts as to the propriety
of dressing an infant in long clothes, instead of arguments in their
favor, one is met by the absurd remark, "A baby looks so grand in long
clothes!" We have for some years endeavored, as far as our influence
extended, to put an end to this practice, and in some cases we have
so far succeeded as to induce the mother to short-coat the child
before it was three months old, and even previous to this period to
make the under garments of a length suited to the size of the child,
while the frock or robe, as it is called, retained the fashionable
length. The latter, being of fine texture, did not add considerably to
the weight of the clothes. Children who have the free use of their
limbs not only walk earlier than others, but are stronger on their
feet.
Another evil practice, which some years since prevailed universally,
was that of rolling a bandage, three inches in width, and two or three
yards in length, round the body of the child. The pain that such a
bandage, from its unyielding nature, would occasion, not to speak of
its ill effects on the health, may be readily imagined. This bandage
was, in fact, a kind of breaking in for the tight lacing, the penalty
which most females in this country have had, at some period or other,
to undergo.
There is no end of the inconsistencies of children's dress. If, in
early infancy, they are buried in long petticoats, no sooner can they
walk than the petticoats are so shortened that they scarcely cover the
child's back when it stoops. The human race has a wonderful power of
accommodating itself to a variety of temperatures and climates; but
perhaps it is seldom exposed to greater vicissitudes than in the
change from long clothes to the extremely short and full ones that are
now fashionable. The very full skirt is not so warm in proportion to
its length as one of more moderate fulness; because, instead of
clinging round the figure, it stands off from it, and admits the air
under it. The former is also heavier than the latter, inasmuch as it
contains more material; and the weight of the clothing is a great
disadvantage to a child. A sensible medical writer, Dr. John F. South,
in an excellent little work entitled "Domestic Surgery," makes some
very judicious observations relative to children's dress. Of the
fashion of dressing boys with the tunic reaching to the throat, and
trousers, which are both so loose as to offer no impediment to
freedom of motion, he approves; but he condemns, in the strongest
terms, "the unnatural"--Mr. South remarks he had almost said
"atrocious--system to which, in youth, if not in childhood, girls are
subjected for the improvement of their figure and gait."
It is fortunate for the present generation that it is the fashion
for the dresses of even little girls to be made as high as the
throat; the old fashion of cutting the frock low round the neck,
which still exists in what is called "full dress," is objectionable
on more than one account. In the first place, it is objected to on the
consideration of health; because the upper part of the chest is not
protected from the influence of currents of air, and by this means, as
Mr. South observes, the foundation is laid for irritable lungs. In the
next place, the dress is generally suffered to fall off the shoulders,
and is, in fact, only retained in its place by the tight band about
the waist. To avoid the uneasiness occasioned by the pressure of the
latter, the child slips its clothes off one shoulder, generally the
right, which it raises more than the other; the consequence of this
is, that the raised shoulder becomes permanently higher than the
other, and the spine is drawn towards the same side. It is said that
there is scarcely one English woman in fifty who has not one shoulder
higher or thicker than the other; and there appears but little doubt
that much of this deformity is to be ascribed to the above-mentioned
cause. In confirmation of this opinion, it may be mentioned that the
practice of wearing dresses low in the neck is almost peculiar to
English girls; French girls, nearly from infancy, wear high dresses,
and it is certain that deformity is not so frequent among French women
as it is among English.
The discipline of tight lacing is frequently begun so early in life,
that the poor victim has little or no recollection of the pain and
suffering occasioned by the pressure of the stiff and uncomfortable
stays before the frame has become accustomed to them. Those of our
readers who were fortunate enough to escape this infliction in early
life, and who adopted stiff stays at a more mature age, can bear
testimony to the suffering occasioned by them during the first few
weeks of their use. "O," said a girl who put on stiff stays, for the
first time, at the age of fourteen or fifteen, "I wish bedtime was
come, that I might take off these stiff and uncomfortable stays, they
pain me so much." "Hush, hush!" exclaimed a starch old maiden aunt,
shocked at what she thought the indelicacy of the expression which
pain had wrung from the poor girl; "you must bear it for a time; you
will soon get used to it." Used to it! Yes, indeed, as the cook said
the eels did to skinning, and with, as regards the poor girls, almost
as disastrous consequences.
There are three points of view in which tight lacing is prejudicial.
It weakens the muscles of the shoulders and chest, which rust, as it
were, for want of use; it injures, by pressure, the important organs
contained in the chest and trunk; and, lastly, instead of improving
the figure, it positively and absolutely deforms it. A waist
disproportionately small, compared with the stature and proportions of
the individual, is a greater deformity than one which is too large;
the latter is simply clumsy; it does not injure the health of the
person, while the former is not only prejudicial to health, but to
beauty. Were our fair readers but once convinced of this fact, there
would be an end of tight lacing; and the good results arising from the
abolition of this practice would be evident in the improved health of
the next generation.
What a host of evils follow in the steps of tight lacing! Indigestion,
hysteria, spinal distortion, consumption, liver complaints, disease of
the heart, cancer, early death!--these are a few of them, and enough
to make both mothers and daughters tremble. It is an aggravation of
the evil that is brought upon us frequently by the agency of a
mother--of her upon whose affection and experience a child naturally
relies in all things, and whose lamentable ignorance of what
constitutes beauty of form, as well as her subjection to the thraldom
of fashion, is the prolific source of so much future misery to her
unsuspecting daughter.
Education is the order of the day; but surely that education must be
very superficial and incomplete, of which the study of the economy of
the human form, its various beauties, and the wonderful skill with
which it was created, form no part. A girl spends several years in
learning French, Italian, and German, which may be useful to her
should she meet with French, Italians, or Germans, or should she visit
the continent; she spends three, four, five, and sometimes six hours a
day, in practising on the piano, frequently without having any real
talent for this accomplishment, while she is kept in utter ignorance
of that which is of vital consequence not only to herself, but to her
future offspring, namely, a knowledge of what constitutes true beauty,
and contributes to the preservation of health, and, we may also add,
of good humor and happiness; for it is one of the evils attending ill
health, that it frequently induces a fretful and irritable state of
mind. Instead of the really useful knowledge of the economy of the
frame, and the means of preserving health, girls are taught the
constrained attitudes and the artificial deportment of the dancing
master. The remark of Sir Joshua Reynolds on this subject has been
often quoted. He said, "All the motions of children are full of grace;
affectation and distortion come in with the dancing master." To
dancing itself there is not the slightest objection; it is at once an
agreeable and healthy occupation, and it affords a pleasing and
innocent recreation. The pleasure which most children take in it, in
spite of the "exercises" which they are compelled to practise, proves,
we think, its utility.
The treatment of the feet is on a par with that of the rest of the
body. The toes are thrust close together into a shoe, the shape of the
sole of which does not resemble that of the foot. It is generally
narrower than the foot, which, therefore, hangs over the sides. The
soles of children's shoes are, moreover, made alike on both sides,
whereas the inside should be nearly straight, and the width of the
sole should correspond exactly with that of the foot. Boots, which
have been so fashionable of late years, are very convenient, and have
a neat appearance, but they are considered to weaken the ankle,
because the artificial support which they give to that part prevents
the full exercise of the muscles, which waste from want of use. Shoes
should be cut short in the quarter, because the pressure necessary to
keep such shoes as are now worn on the feet will, in this case, be on
the instep instead of the toes, which will, by this arrangement, have
more room.
We shall conclude our observations on children's dress, considered in
a sanitary point of view, in the words of Mr. South. "If, then, you
wish your children, girls especially, to have the best chance of
health, and a good constitution, let them wear flannel next their
skin, and woollen stockings in winter; have your girls' chests covered
to the collar bones, and their shoulders _in_, not _out_ of their
dresses, if you would have them straight; and do not confine their
chests and compress their digestive organs by bone stays, or interfere
with the free movement of their chests by tight belts, or any other
contrivance, if you desire their lungs should do their duty, upon
which so mainly depends the preservation of health."--_Sharpe's London
Magazine._
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
NOTE.--The Fig. 58, referred to on the top of page 59, is not found
in the plate; but the same style of dressing the hair may be seen in
Fig. 57.
Transcriber's Notes and Amendments:
Inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation retained:
Ardene/Arderne
Makrinitza/Markinitza
Parmegianino/Parmegiano
outdoor/out-door
'Head Dress' on the title page was left un-hyphenated, as printed.
Amendments to the text as originally printed:
List of Illustrations and Chapter VII (caption for plate XII.)
'89, 90. From "Le Moniteur de la Mode,"' to
'90, 91. From "Le Moniteur de la Mode,"'
Chapter II.
'The lady in the evening dress (Fig 49)' to
'The lady in the evening dress (Fig. 49)'
Chapter VI.
'The materials of the drapery in the latter is' to
'The materials of the drapery in the latter are'
Chapter VII.
'ribbon, artificial flowers. feathers,' to
'ribbon, artificial flowers, feathers,'
'the environs of Athens, (Fig. 49.)' to
'the environs of Athens, (Fig. 47.)'