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1 I THE TOMAHAWK. A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF ...
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No. 125.] LONDON, SEPTEMBER 25, 1869. [P...
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FASHION'S MUMMERS.
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Autumn brings other things besides fruit...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
1 I The Tomahawk. A Saturday Journal Of ...
1 I THE TOMAHAWK . A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATIRE . 0 GEfcitefc bp ;& rtt ) ut a'Becfc ^ tt . " INVITAT CULPAM QUI PECCATUM PRETERIT . "
No. 125.] London, September 25, 1869. [P...
No . 125 . ] LONDON , SEPTEMBER 25 , 1869 . [ Price Twopence .
Fashion's Mummers.
FASHION'S MUMMERS .
Autumn Brings Other Things Besides Fruit...
Autumn brings other things besides fruits to perfection , among them , the extravagance of each year ' s Fashions . The season of general holiday-taking is a capital opportunity for the extravagant powers that rule the land of Le Follet , and they avail themselves of it to the utmost . At a time and at
places when simple dresses would , one would think ,-be most suitable , the brains of the modistes and the fingers of their wretched workwomen are taxed to the utmost to produce the most costly , useless , and ridiculous sort of garments which can possibly be imagined . Arrayed in these , the queens of Fashion
and the imitative apes who wait in their train , take their pleasure at the sea-side by walking up and down some few yards of terrace or esplanade , showing themselves and staring at others . This is their idea of pleasure—of the beautiful country around them , of the many interesting objects of Art or of Nature , they
take not the slightest notice . They may rouse themselves to the effort of lunching , in a new and special costume , on board some yacht ; or of being transported , in another new and special costume , to some old ruin—not to a picnic , but to an elaborate outof-doors luncheon , where all the comforts and luxuries of a
diningroom are imitated , if not exaggerated , and where a due regard for their dress prevents them from wandering far from their well-cushioned seat . None of these parties of pleasure would be deserving of the name unless attended with the utmost expense in the way of dress . Each excursion is made the excuse
for some fresh enormity of extravagance , and the mosjt religious care is taken by those who profit by this wicked folly that the nature of the dress shall prevent any healthy or vigorous exercise of the muscles ; the shoes are made for anything but walking j while the whole dress is formed of the material
most easily stained or torn , and generally adorned with lace , the safety of which is quite sufficient to occupy the mental powers of . the puppet who is its temporary owner . That this is not an exaggerated picture no frequenter of the fashionable autumn resorts can with truth deny . It is a very
striking feature of modern Fashion , that it seems to have been one of its aims to render all honest simple enjoyment out of doors impossible . The time was when women were as ready as men to ramble through woods , or climb hills , or explore the
mazes of some wild dell and scramble beside the mountain stream . But now all this is at an end except for the few who despise fashion . The tight stays that impede all healthy respiration , the dress which , while pretending in its shape to be
simple and comfortable , is so lavishly ornamented , and made of such costly material as to give the lie to the pretence ; the useless high-heeled shoes , throwing an unnatural strain on the muscles of the instep , and , in time , deforming the foot , whilethey render walking martyrdom ; the monstrous pinnacles of false hair , twisted
and pinned and plaited and messed about so as to produce headache after the slightest exertion ; when to these are added the , happily , not universal accessories of bismuth and other poisons gradually making their way through the pores of the skin into the bloodand producing sickness , dizziness , and a host
of uncomfortable sensations , ; when all these items of Fashion ' s livery which now-a-days her servants are content to wear , it is not surprising' that all pleasure should be confined to the gratification of that contemptible vanity for the sake of which such crosses are borne . The amount of perverted heroism which is displayed
by woman in submitting to the monstrous caprices of la mode is enough to raise her , if properly directed , to any height in the social scale which she may desire . Another equally distinctive feature of Fashion , but one which we believe she has generally exhibited in all civilised communities
where female disciples have not been wanting , is the wanton extravagance which she enforces . Certainly now-a-days this seems carried to its utmost limits , but it would be dangerous to say so , for next year the inventive brains of the milliners' artists might produce some kind of garment in which money was more
recklessly wasted than it is in the " costumes , " " drapeaux , " & c , & c , of the present season . We have not the slightest objection to women bestowing attention on their dress , it is one of the very few things on which they are capable of bestowing any , and it would be cruel to deprive their petty minds of such
a congenial occupation . Let those who can afford it wear real lace , and dress as * handsomely as they like . But let those who can t afford it not try and emulate them with trashy imitations dear at any price , because in themselves utterly valueless , and of ^ a most perishable nature . But lace is but a slight item in our
wives and daughters' bills ; we do not wish to dabble in the nauseous jargon of the artists who piece together that elaborate mosaic—a full-dressed lady of 1869 ; suffice it to say that by every device expense is added , and that no one ever seems to — - ~ - ¦ ^ give j — — a tho - — ug —^ j ht to - — real - comfort or to economyw * , but solelym
to appearance and ostentation . Girls now-a-clays must have this and must have that , till Heaven and their fathers only know the mean shifts and hard screwings which must be resorted to in order to provide these useless necessaries . Even in man ' s dress , which remains monotonous only in its ugli-
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Citation
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Tomahawk (1867-1870), Sept. 25, 1869, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_25091869/page/1/
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