Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1895 — The Approach of Hoops. [ARTICLE]

The Approach of Hoops.

“Now buckram dames do walk in sweet Mayfair,” and in the streets of Boston, too, says the Boston Transcript. Fashions have stiffened, and linings grown heroic of haircloth to such a degree of late that 'tis rumored that the penace of her carriage or her calling gown is lenten to ladies who on the promenade rejoice in the armor that is concealed oven in silk attire. The effect of the enlarging sleeves is balanced, to a fine perception, by the counterpoise afforded by all the stiffening the goddess of fashion indulges in. Trust not the soft exterior of the most gentle maid or matron who has traffic with fashion these days; there is costly weight of woe to be carried aboux when buckram rules. Neither the notions of the cloister nor the manners of the old days when the stuff was of a costlier kind than now are copied by those who wear haircloth to-day.