CONCERNING MEN'S DRESS
BY A WOMAN.
APROFESSOR in Berlin recently had the curiosity to weigh first the wearing apparel of his assistant ana then the wearing apparel of the assistant's wife. He found that the man's boots alone weighed as much as the woman's entire clothing, and that in every detail the woman's garments were greatly lighter than her husband's. - It is remarkable" that while in the last twenty years woman has steadily decreased the amount that she wears, there has been little fundamental change in male attire. Of course it must be remembered that man is delicate. As an infant he is more frail, and as an adult he is un- protected by that extra plumpness which so conveniently graces the female bbdy. Man needs protection. But it may possibily be that he catches cold because he wears too much clothing, and clothing of the wrong kind..
Very much alike for morning, afternoon or evening wear save in sumptuary appeal, the simply-cut and rejuvenating tube in its thousand varieties which the modern woman wears is a hygienic as well as a becoming garment. It protects the trunk and leaves the limbs free ; it allows air to circulate freely over the entire surface of the skin. It is a moral costume. It obliterates rather than emphasises the once-mysterious " female form '.' which now fortunately we take for granted. This applies to underwear as well as to outer garments. In the past there were scandalous and preposterous female undergarments which could not be.looked at, so unsightly they were, let alone mentioned. And what a purgatory .of tape-tying, button-fixing, starching and wringing they created for the busier sex. To-day comely square- shaped garments lie unashamed in any .shop-window. Either all of silk - or of the finer cotton threads, they are divertingly coloured, delicately made, washed . in five minutes, without fastenings, and few in number—one or, at most two slight articles suffice. Universally exposed silk stockings have turned women's legs into things of beauty for everyone-instead of objects of curiosity for the unprincipled. And if the fashion be a little trying for the plump, the bow-legged and the ungracefully ageing, at least its imposition on all womankind encourages them - to take pains to keep themselves as slim, as fit and as supple as may be. This is excellent. • • But man cannot afford abruptly to expose himself to the elements as Woman does.• He needs protection' against more than weather. It is very, true that his interests are " all hooked and buttoned together, and held up by Clothes." The truth is that man's dress to-day, conceals a multitude of weaknesses. Many athletes, even look anything but their-best in working kit ; they are often somewhat " lean, adust, wiry, the muscle itself seems osseous ; some are even quite pallid, hunger-bitten and dead-looking . . . others not without apoplectic tendency." Ordinary men in bathing costume look quite pathetically unimportant and unimpressive. They look much less fit than the women.
A reform in dress has undoubtedly improved the physique of woman enormously, so that it really does seem that changes would be beneficial to men. Their clothes are thick, heaVy, constricting, and induce excessive perspiration, and exclude sunlight and air. Their long • trousers collect mud and dust just as women's draggling skirts used to do. Their collars throttle the neck with • its important blood vessels and nerves. Their hats are hard and tight, inducing baldness. Their kidney- exposing waistcoats are ugly. . Their braces and their thick underwear are as shameful and comic as women's corsets and clumsy undergarments used to be. All these things the younger and more rational of men realize ; hence the attempts at change we have witnessed during the past four years. Undergraduates introduced the fuller-cut trouser, the high-necked jumper, the v-necked svreater;- the slouch felt-hat. Workmen in Leningrad all wear Oxford trousers, as our English navvies do, and our sailors, because they are comfortable. Belted shorts. worn over loose vivid shirts, open-necked and made in one with abbreviated under-shorts, would be better for the summer; and, indeed, might do much to improve the male leg, for if it became customary to expose legs, then vanity would impel men to cultivate pleasing forms. Jumpers have already done good work in proving- that a man may take his coat off and still look respectable: The intro-' duction of the fuller-cut and more resplendent American style of shirt is also doing good ; a shirt should be as visible as a woman's shirt-blouse. Men's underwear should either be the loose sleeveless B. V. D.'s, or slip-on vest and shorts of fine cotton. Then there are exposed in the more expensive hosiers' in Paris, light-weight suits called " Pyjamas." These - are not intended for -night- wear, but as a -sort of equivalent to the female tea-gown. It would be nice to see people wearing these easy, light-' weight suits of soft woollen cloth about the house, in . green, bright navy, rust-red or wine, with full and comely shirts, open-collared, and, light-weight flexible shoes of vivid leather. Men would, I am sure, enjoy wearing such a costume as much - as they privately enjoy' wearing Magnificent and bright dressing-gowns, in Which (judging' by the rather transitory impressions gathered in corridors) they look their. best.' - Arid is 'there any reason :why, with lighter and gayer suits, trim belts to their trousers, attractive and easy shirts, men should not adopt those short fur coats which the films teach us are worn by Canadian lumbermen ? These are roomy, and warm where warmth is needed, leaving the legs free.' I - do: indeed think men would look very nice in nutria, rnattin-, squirrel or 'coney short-coats, and- they might wear' with- them soft round fur caps, or student-berets. There is nothing more ridiculous about a fur-cap than there is about a bowler arid it. is much more comfortable. '
Kniekerboekers and plus-fours cannot really be com- mended ; they, like the vanished female bloomer with its ugly line just above the calf, are really hideous and a little absurd, though it is to them we owe the admirably bright hose with gay tabs which golfers usc. • The skin- tight breeches worn by Life Guar. ds are a much more attractive garment than plus-fours, and so are the game- keepers' velveteens. As to evening dress, though it is too much to hdpe that the lovely brocades, satins and velvets of the 18th century will come back easily or- soon, • this is already tending to vary in colour a little, as many of the younger generation are wearing navy instead of black, following the courageous example of Mr. Arnold Bennett, who has worn a purple suit for many years. Here again the shirt and collar could well be improved.
In order that reform may come—and for the sake of hygiene and general fitness some reform! is highly desirable —two things must happen. The Tailors' and Cutters' Association, or whatever the ruling body be called, might very well try to launch new modes. It is unfair that the autumn dress parades now proceeding in Mayfair should all be for women. And humanitarian members of the ordinary public might well attempt to set a good example to their fellow-men. It would be best if eminent persons would take up new colours, new collars and shirts, new coats and hats, easier garments. For example, a great stir and some advance would probably follow the appear- ance in the House of Commons of a young Conservative Member in a raspberry marocain Russian blouse, tight- fitting military breeches of duller red face-cloth, and black suede Hessian boots. One of our younger drama- tists might valuably attend a first night in a three quarter length fur-coat and round fur-cap over bottle-green even- ing clothes, with cafe au Tait cambric pleated shirt and folded cravat. Clerks of good intent should set out for the office in cerise neckerchiefs like those our costers still wear so becomingly ; it would not be wise for a clerk to attempt more at first. And above all, most important of all, wives and sisters should encourage and assist muffled and constricted man to cast off his dull and depressing clothing, and emulate her in good sense and comeliness. Dress has a deep psychological as well as a physical import; and men would lift up their hearts with a new courage, self-importance and joy were they better • suited. They and their clothing might very well be less gloomy, ponderous and timid.
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