Lady Denman's View on Modern Dress

Horowhenua Chronicle, 22 November 1913, Page 3

Lady Denman's View on Modern Dress

All over the world there is an outcry against the present fashions. The majority oi the complainants say that they are immodest; many ministers have gone further, and have said thai they are indecent; some authorities have even declared them outrageous and have had the wearers of split skirts und transparent blouses sent to gaol. The question of interest to us is : Are the dresses the women of Australia and New Zealand are wearing to-day either startling or shocking;' To obtain authoritative views on this question, the editor of Everylady's Journal recently sent a representative to interview a number of notable people, and a summary of their ideas is that it is only in theii extremes that the modern fashions are objectionable, and that of our women the number who adopt these extremes is very small indeed. ( Lady Denwan, wife of the Gov. ernor-General of the Commonwealth, said, in answer to the question, "I certainly tlnnlv that the fashions of to-day are very sane, and much in advance of their predecessors. W omen of good taste and refined feeling will invariably utilise the best in an> fashion and leave the other qualities for those who live for notoriety. The hobble skirt is extremely ugly, but the spTit skirt, if kept within certain bounds, certainly has its uses." Di\ Can-, "Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, has been rather shocked by the scantiness of the modern draperies, and lie said to the interviewer that 'any woman who, by the scantiness or transparency of her dress, seeks to attract 'attention or provoke temptation, is guilty of?? grave sin of scandal." . . Among those who give opinions on the question of dress in the current issue of Everylady s J ol }}'" nal are Mr Fred. Niblo, tlie wellknown American actor; Miss Madge Titheradge; the Ilev. T . C. Spurr; Dr J. Barrett; Dr. Clarke, Archbishop of Melbourne; and Miss Yida Goldstein. Another interesting feature oi this number, and one that is of the practical order, is an article on stencilling. This is one of a series of uriiclos which th© joinnal has been publishing on Home Industries that Pay. Tins particular article is of special value because it is illustrated with a number of stencil patterns, designed by Australian arfists who have used Australian subjects.