Wisconsin School for the Deaf - Tattler Yearbook (Delavan, WI)

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MODES OF DRESS THROUGH THE AGES By Marian Schauer .lust when dress wiu first worn is not known. Our first ancestors, no doubt, lived in a warm country where dress was not needed os a protective covering. Later as their descendants indurated to colder climates the necessity of clothing become apparent. So in the first place, man needed clothing for warmth. Later, his pride and vanity led him to kill birds and animals and use their plumage and parts of their skins for ornament. The dress of the cave-man was very simple. It was merely the skin of some animals thrown over the shoulders, reaching to the middle of the lower limb or sometimes lower. Crude clasps of bone held it together at the shoulders and waist. They very rarely used caps or hats ns we do now. Their matted hair was protection enough for them. In Sumerian days men and women wore fringed garments of wool or feathers and both wore their hair equally long. Dress became the fashion but fur. wool and feather were not comfortable in a hot climate, so people came to wear aprons of unplnitcd grass and reeds, loiter the fibres were woven into u fabric and the weaving showed improvement after improvement as the centuries passed until we have the finely woven fabrics of cotton, linen, silk and wool of today. In the ancient days of the Greek and Romans, the people wore n tunic or shift. Among the Romans the tunic wan often ornamented. The cloak which they wore over the tunic varied much at different times and places. Among the Greeks, it usually took the form of a large oblong cloth wrapped about the body so a to envelope one from the neck to the ankles. The Romans used a similar garment, known as the pallium. The Roman cloak was the toga, a large cloth in the form of a segment of a circle worn with the straight side upperward. One end came forward over the left shoulder reaching nearly to the ground. The garment was then passed mound the back, over the right arm and across the front with the other end being thrown over the left shoulder and allowed to fall behind the back. At the time of the Norman Conquest of England men and women wore a couple of tunics mid a loose cloak. The tight Chauases” or hose enveloping the legs was the chief innovation. From the two tunics were evolved the jackets, jerkins and doublets of later times, and from the short cloaks the various over garment . The initials and devices which were seen in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were for the most part of embroidery. Men. in order to have more freedom in his labors, in the chase and in war, discarded the toga and changed to a garment resembling the present day trousers. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries women’s shkirt were full and bodices were laced in front, sometimes with an embroidered stomacher. Cocked hat-brims developed at the end of the century into the three cornered hat. In the seventeenth century both men and women carried muffs. The muff continued in u»e by women until recently. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the skirts of men's coats had become fuller and the sleeves had wide cuffs. The sleeved waist coot was shortened and sometimes richly embroidered. During the course of the century, the skirts of the coat and the corners of the waist-cout were cut away in front, reducing the form more nearly to that of the coat of the present day. Embroidery was used for ladies' dress, especially for the underskirts, rendered visible by the open front of the dross. Silk brocades and bright colors were used. Toward the middle of the century skirts became very ample, being supported by very wide hoops. The sack or sacquc, or a loose dress falling straight from the shoulders, continued in use during the greater part of the century. By the nineteenth century the change in men’s clothing had swept away much of the finery of the past. Knee breeches were lengthened into the modern trousers. The cocked hat of the eighteenth century was replaced by the top hat. Meanwhile women's dress was marked by a graceful simplicity, with high waist and low neck. A lower waist and puffed sleeves followed. Fringes, trimmings, flounces and long trains were in use during the latter part of the century. In 1900 women's skirts were so long they

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ttnuhlr when they cajole the laborers to strike. t'(immuni»t. are paid by representative of the Russimi government which is working against not only the United States, but England. France nnd other foreign countries. If the Russians had their way, there would he huge revolutions in all countries which differed from them, and Russia could then easily be a world ruler. Unemployment serves as u barometer to the •tate of financial conditions existing at the time. For instance, when the “Help Wanted” advertisements are numerous and a large demand for help is shown, that is indicative of Itood business. On the other hand, when the “Help Wanted” items urc few there in unemployment and the times are hard. Then you see a long list of Fituntion Wanted. The subject of chain stores and their effect on the community is much discussed now. Despite their dislike for them, people continue to patronize them and the stores stay, Chain stores grew from small chains of only two or three stores to (rrcut chains of a thousand or more. Small grocery chains by some reliable dealer ’ o o 0 ‘ 1st Scot: •Til bet ye n two pence I can stay under water lonirer than ye.” 2nd Scot: “All right. The next morning the police were still hunting for the bodies. An American officer was drilling a Russian regiment. He sneezed and three men answered, “Here. Question: “I suppose you've been through Algebra? Mark: Yes, but I went through at night and couldn't see the place. “I helieve this school is haunted. Why? They are always talking about the school spirit. Science teacher: Name a liquid that won’t freeze. who hM» been asked by his patrons to extend his service is all-right, but coast to coast chains or other large concerns are a menace to the community. They pay no taxes in that town nor even in that state, hut send all their proceeds to the center of the system. They ap the resources of the community. A city should prevent a chain store from building a branch in the city. Patronize only your home grocers, hardware dealers, dry goods stores, etc. What is higher in price is worth twice as much in quality. I have conceived of a different plan by which the government controls all industries, hanks, in fact, everything. The individual would have no money whatever, but would work in one of the government's business enterprises nit the time. In return, all the men or women too, would be furnished with a home, clothes and every necessity and luxury of the time. However, what obstacles might arise I do not know. In closing I might say that our present system will be satisfactory if such conditions ns unemployment, race prejudice, and jealousy, both between individuals and countries, might be eliminated. O Q O Student: “Hot water.” Lady Passenger: “Does thl car stop at the President Hotel? Conductor: No ma’am— wc leave it in the sheds at night. Prof: “Name six wild animals found in Africa. Beta: “Two lions nnd four tigers. Physics teacher (after lecture) “Are there any questions? Student: “Yes. sir. How do you calculate the horsepower of a donkey engine? The talking pictures have a never ending possibility, hut we shudder to think of « slow motion film of a man stuttering.

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 'Wcpl the ground. The hotly won imprisoned in n comet that pushed the bust forward and the lower part of the body out behind. The lower neck was stiffened by « collar with whalebone stays. The sleeves, bodice mid hat were trimmed with pulf and frills. Change in men’s dress have always boon proceeded by those in feminine fushions. The two change hearing u slight resemblance. Just a the women in 1900 could not breathe freely been use the body was imprisoned, the men during the ume period wore stiff collars, worn extremely high. The stitf collar became lower when women’s diets began to free women’ necks and have given way to the soft collar. The change that have appeared in masculine attire during the Inst twenty-five year have affected only the length and width of the coats and 11 o users. After the World War, women became wiser ns to dress. They found the trailing skirts were disease carriers. So year by year, they have shortened their skirt , making them simpler and lighter in design mid form. In I9 24, dresses being simple in ?hnj c and trimming, the feminine costume fell into a dreadful dullness. Fashion began to demand matching not only the dress, coat and hat. but scarfs, gloves, shoes mid hundbags. Thus we hal t the ensemble. Up to the year 1928, dresses were becoming shorter and shorter, but now they arc again growing longer. It may be wc will once more return to long skirt .