Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, JUNE 1 1920. AMERICA IN DENIMS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2135, 1 June 1920, Page 2

Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, JUNE 1 1920. AMERICA IN DENIMS.

DONNING the denim, or the wearing- of overalls, to combat the high cost of clothing-, is’ now in full swing all over the American continent, all (he populace having adopted the cheaper class of wearing apparel with an eagerness that has driven the proliteering clothiers almost to a stale of frenzy'(states (he San Francisco correspondent of the Christchurch Press). From an almost insignificant commencement (he wearing of overalls spread all over the continent with amazing rapidity, for, once pedestrians “condescended” to doh the lowly workman's industrial attire, everybody appeared anxious to be in (he run, and daily the discomfiture of the irate tailors was added to, and the newspapers exercised an overpowering delight in adding to the misery of tlie disconsolate clothiers, whose appeals for censoring the news had fallen on the deaf ears of the publishers who eagerly sought all details of the movement of donning of the denim. City commissioners functioned in denim; judges applied the law in the same uniform, hankers, doctors, lawyers, and merchants wore their overalls with an assurance which could only have been acquired after long practice before the mirror! In Birmingham, Alabama, the women had quietly “organised” at home. Towards noon on the first day many appeared in dresses of calico and gingham, and the variety of colours gave the downtown section the appearance of a carnival. From all parts of the nation came reports of new “overall” clubs formed. Bisbees, Arizona, had two strong clubs functioning, Chicago had a big club, and iii New York City thousands (locked to the banner of “General Overall.” The De Witt Clinton High School students and Columbia University, ffninbering more than 5,000, all swore to wear.denim, whilst another dozen or more strong organisations of a scholastic character joined the movement wholeheartedly.