Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 November 1901 — THE SHORT SKIRT. [ARTICLE]

THE SHORT SKIRT.

Reaction In England Against Dust-Rais-ing Garments. Is there going to be a reaction at last against the long skirt trailing on the ground? The English were the first, a good many years ago now, to protest, to give effect to their protests, and, indeed, to> change the fashion. But the change did not last long. Short skirts produced pretty boots, and we heard a great deal about common sense. But common sense and

ladies’ drees do not always combine. Paris restored Jhe trailing dress, and English ladles abandoned common sense, not for the first time, in favor of the Paris mode. The Parisians, indeed, knew what they were about. As a rule, they have not pretty feet, but they have a peculiarly graceful way of catching up their dress from behind, and It is an art which our countrywomen have never mastered. English ladies inelegantly clutch at and bunch their petticoats, while the French wellconsidered grip Just lifts the rim of the long dress from the ground and gives a pretty disposition to its folds. Now, however, comes the change, and it comes not from England, but from America. In Switzerland this year many ladies are wearing short —indeed, very short —skirts. Of course, for ascents, or even for small climbs, the gain is considerable. When you are trusting to your alpenstock you have not time to think much about the rim of your petticoats. And you don’t. But perhaps that is not all. For, though American girls constitute a very fair proportion of Swiss tourists, still they mostly keep in the val-

leys, where they are seen to great advantage, and rarely do much' in the Alpine peaks. But the Americans are a practical people, and short skirts are obviously the sensible thing to wear. —London News.