THE FASHION OF MODESTY.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2538, 23 February 1877, Page 3

THE FASHION OF MODESTY.

Modesty is in itself an abstract senti- ! mentt The practical observation of what are locally considered the requirements of modesty is--purely a relative question depending upon the tastes, customs, and Busceptibilities of the population of ft place. External influence and comforts inayhave much to do in laying down a local code of what are considered the requirements of modesty. A savage, in - tropical climate, does, not blush if accommodated with garments to the extent V©f waisteloth. An Esquimaux, compelled ...by^iimateto-wear substantial clothing at all times, would, apart from the physical suffering of semi-nudity, feel morally -shocked if compelled to undergo it. A Mahoramedan woman veils her face and covers her neck and bosom, but displays coquettish trousers and trim ankles. A European dame may expose all her face and three parts of her bust, but must not tte lex non scripta : of her local society, show her ankles, still less parade in trousers aja normal and ordinary state of bbstume; but while she would shudder if launched into a ; drawing-room in a pair of serge inexpressibles and a tunic, with bare feet and ankles* even though the male occupants of the room may be among her most intimate friends, she does riot consider that she violates propriety if she exhibits herself in bathing attire, regulated according to the manners and customs of the watering-place where she takes her bath. In England, e.g., while ladies do not parade themselves on the sands in dripping attire that, close-clinging, but sets off the contour, of the frame which it is supposed to veil, the male population (till lately everywhere, and still in some less fashionable resorts) could disport themselves in utter nudity among the /breakers not 100 yards from the throng of morning loungers on a beach, and, from . force of custom, no scandal was supposed to exist at the exhibition. On the Conti- ' nerit and in America the ladies are less reserved, the gentlemen more so, in their ideas of propriety in bathing. The former will parade and gossip with male acquaintance,, robed in the scanty wardrobe of the bath; the latter adopt clothing as complete in: its way as that of their fair companions before they exhibit themselves to the curious eye of spectators. An actress, let us say of unimpeachable fame, will play her part without flinching in male attire in burlesque or. opera, and exhibit her well-turned limbs in silk tights and" hose a la Henry Till, to the admiration and criticism of even the WhitechapeV " gods " in the gallery ; yet . if asked to join a supper-party, non-pro-fessional, an hour later, wearing the same costume instead of her ordinary mufti, would feel herself grossly insulted. If a gentleman came to an evening or dinner-party with a shirt as decollette&s that of an ordinary blue-jacket, showing all the contour of his neck and collar, . he would be considered to violate proper prudence, and the ladies would affect to blush and turn away their heads. Yet they afc the same moment would show a far larger expanse of neck and bosom without arricre pensee. In the United States, especially before the days of Abolition, the same curiously relative ideas of the refinements of decency were prominent. For a slave to be seen scantily ..attired, or for a child of color to parade 4 in uttep nudity, was ay matter of no moment even among an assembly of edu- ■• oated whites. The sight was so customary that it produced no more effect than the ... ■ natural;nudity of one of the brute creation ; but a similar expose on the part of; a white individual would have evoked a general exclamation of scandal. It needed but a glance at Leech's sketches of life and character }5 or %0, years ago "tp recall the extreme length at whioh ( . thosjp " inexpressible " garments were then wdrn by the ladies. , The least elevation of a skirt in stepping over a puddle displayed the edges of a pantaloon almost

as low as the ankle. For a lady not to show the lower end of this sort of raiment might have been construed to imply that she was neglectful of wearing them at all. Fashion has turned, and not only grown ladies, but even small short-skirted children, now carefully avoid showing the least trace of these mysterious undergarments. To wear them in these days so long that they could be perceived On ordinary occasions would be interpreted as an unnecessary reminder of .the existence of raiment which is how sought to be cut short from si^ht and from disquisition. The low-necked- costume of full evening dress for ladies found its way first into European society in the days when Courts set a public example of licentiousness; ifc has unconsciously held its own to these days of comparative chastity at Courts.' But had it never gained a footing in times when ladies were more, prodigal of their charms, we much doubt if it would have been capable of introduction in these times. As a matter of conventionality, wheh analysed, it cannot but strike nnyone as curious that a lady, while so prudish about even her ancle joints, should be so lavish of her bust. To the pure all things may be pure,- and we do not imply that the "present fashion of a more than half-naked female bust in the evening has any material effect in sapping the innate modesty of young girls. We rather look at the matter from an opposite point of view, and argue that if conventionality enables us to tolerate this style of dress with any feeling of indelicacy, it must be conventionality, and not any real necessity of propriety, that prevents a lady from abandoning the side ■ saddle, wearing boots and breecbes in the hunting field, or from adopting Bloomer costumes at rinks or at lawn tennis. We have no wish to urge upon any lady that she should make herself conspicuous by such a. procedure ; conspicuousness in dress, even if the dress fulfils all requirements q'fr decency, is it itself a first step towards ja disregard of the claims of modesty, i W:e are content to point to current fashions in' this and in less civilised countries, and to compare one with another, as a proof that the fashions of modesty are based upon relative rather than upon positive principles.—Field. -