1937-06-03 — Page 53

6

THE AGE OF CUFFS AND COLLARS

Clothes We Wore in the Nineties

HE greatest sartorial adven- Our Shirts

THE

ture at the end of the eighteen-eighties was the arrival of pyjamas as night attire for

men.

-

They took on immediately and soon every young man had dis- carded his nightshirts and passed them on to his younger brothers. There were of course a few con- servatives who objected to the night- new-fangled bifurcated dress, and resisted its glamour for years before capitulating.

Not all I know an old gentle- man of 70 who is still faithful to the long, ghostly, white linen shirt, reaching to his calves; and as such a garment is not stocked now by the haberdashers he has to have his night-shirts specially made for him.

unt

And our day-shirts, how comfortable they were! We wore in 1890 stiff, starch-fronted linen, not only for evening parties, but also for office and all day-time functions.

The shirts had stiffly starched cuffs four inches deep, which it was imperative should peep out for half an inch from the coat-sleeve. Thus to "shoot your linen” was a phrase familiar to the fin-de- siecle well-dressed "masher," who would have fallen from grace if his shirt-cuff had ever failed to furnish that smart half-inch of stiff white linen at the edge of his coat-sleeve.

There were some poor devils, to afford who, not being able

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linen and its consequent big Та washing bill, wore flannel. hide this sin against society they took refuge behind a sort of starched linen bib, called a. "dickey," and loose starched cuffs, whose refractory behaviour caus- ed many a blush at the exposure of their detached existence.

Then, too, the throttlingly high stand-up collar and the clips to hold down the necktie, which without that restraint would have crept up to the ears, were other items of sartorial martyrdom. When in the 'nineties the "double stand-up" collar came into fashion it brought other necktie difficulties, but relieved us those ugly, vulgar, ready-made sailors-knots and bows which fastened with a little buckle be- hind.

of

It also robbed us of the Ascot tie, that big, puffy plaster fasten- ed in the centre with a breastpin. The Cummerbund

The dinner jacket-first called the "smoking- jacket”—was just coming in.

we wore

Before its advent satin-fined swallow-tails for din- ners, concerts and soirees; and the low-cut waistcoats, either white or black, was sometimes discarded by the brightest young men for a black silk sash called a "cummerbund,” something that came to us from India.

Another Indian accessory to a vel thought out walking dress was the "puggaree,” a muslin scarf with a border of stripes. It was wound in neat, flat pleats round the crown of the felt or straw hat, one end hanging down behind-later both ends went round the crown.

The black billy-cock hat was still the height of fashion for wintry days (die hardebolkuil, as the Dutch called it), and every one from schoolboys to bank managers wore the ugly pudding- shaped abominations. It has quite disappeared from our streets and our shops, although in England even King George still flaunts its ugliness so graciously.

AH, MEDICINE! "How about a kiss, honey?” "No, I have scruples.” It's all right, I've been vaccin- ated."

Eng. Prof.: Mr. Gish, correct this sentence: "Girls is naturally better looking than boys."

Gish Girls is artificially better looking than boys.

to

Mrs. Johnson (learning drive)-Henry, that little mirror "up there isn't set right.

Hubby--Isn't it?

Mrs.” J.—No, I can't see any- thing but the car behind.

She: I'm hungry.

He: What?

She: I said I was hungry. He: Sure, I'll take you home. This car makes so much noise that I thought you said you were -hungry,

Girls fond of explorers Have many adorers.

LINGUIST

Fond Mother: Yes, Genevieve taking French and Algebra. Say good morning to Mrs. Jones in Algebra, darling.

-By Bernard Lewis

In 1890 grey or black bell-top- pers were still worn in the street by elderly gentlemen. Sir Gor- don Sprigg wore his shabby black silk one to the end. Those Trousers !

Our trousers were so tight that they moulded t the calf and the thigh and were shaped to a curve over the instep.

It was no easy matter to sit down in comfort; and baggy knees were as dreaded as the plague. Trousers were not turn- ed up at the hems except in 'very dirty weather, and had to be turn- ed down again as soon as one To have them came indoors.” turned up while paying a visit was to commit an unpardonable” solecism, an insult to your host-

ess.

But the tailors began to ask their customers: "Do you turn-up the trousers, sir?" and later on the question was: "Permanent

the per turn-ups, sir?” And

manent turn-up is mine qua

non; and only my old friend,

he

who still wears a night shirt, re- fuses to let his tailor turn up his trouser hems.

When the wide trousers, bell- shaped over the boot, followed in 1893, it seemed that all of us- as far as our legs went had sud- denly turned from soldiers into sailors.

It was not until the Boer War that soldiers wearing shorts (and khaki) came to the Cape; and that was also something imported from India. For non-military men shorts were, of course, un- thinkable, except on the football field, and even there were not short shorts.

When We Bathed

Mixed bathing was not yet the vogue and men as often as not went swimming in puris naturali- bus. When women were bathing too, the man's dress covered him from neck to knee and was al- ways navy blue.

It has taken 30 years for red, green or any other gay colour to be considered correct for the swimmer. As for bathing (either sea or sun) naked to the waist in the presence of ladies, it was (and is) a barbarism not then tolerated. Me?

White gloves were absolutely indispensable at a dance; to ap- pear with bare hands at a ball or less informal "hop" was an un- speakable offence.

A pipe was never smoked in the street or drawing-room; nor was a cigar or cigarette lit in the pre- sence of a lady anywhere, unless permission had been obtained from her.

Sartorial conventions were hard and fast, illiberal, and not always sensible. To-day slack ness in dress is in itself a con- vention, an easy one to conform to.

Open shirts, shorts, bare legs, and sockless, sandalled feet are comme il faut.

occa-

Sloppy trousers, sweaters, sleeveless sports shirts are worn on suitable and unsuitable sions "according to taste,” as Mrs. Beeton puts it. Refine ments of dress are left to the ladies. For men it is "the thing to neglect all elegance of both dress and demeanour.