HEALTH AND CLOTHING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10753, 26 April 1913, Page 4

HEALTH AND CLOTHING.

(By ELIZABETH SLOAN" CIIK-SSER, M.Li., in ihe ••\omig Woman.' j Wo wear clothes primarily for purposes of protection from cold m this country ; at any rate, if that were not the case, our garments would he simpler and tower in number. Xlioy would be made of lighter material and be fashioned in more graceful and artistic line?). That clothes, especially women's clothes, are also intended to bo decorative cannot bo denied. Bui it is witn health, rather than fashion or appearance, that wo are at present concerned. From the point of view of health the modern woman is tar ahead of her grandmother, where her clothes aro concerned. Although she is still far below tho ideal hygienic standpoint, she dresses more sensibly, more hvgienically and more appropriately than her grandmother ever did. The frills and furbelows and flounces of the early \ ictorian period would never be tolerated in these days of outdoor girls ai:d business young women. In spite of yarifons attempts to reintroduce the crinoline skirt, so generally worn hfty years ago, tho modern woman has steadfastly refused to adopt it even in a modified form, and it is only tho more artistic and moderate styles of dress, such as the Princess and the Empire, which have enjoyed a second period of favour in modern times. The chief fault of the dress of our grandmothers was heaviness and durability, the very points they deemed so creditable themselves. Medically speaking, the modern socalled flimsv garments are much to be preferred. "The rich, silks and brocades beloved bv grandmamma, heirlooms from her grandmamma and worn by two or three succeeding generations of admiring young women, are calculated to horrify the most elementary student of health nutxinis to-day. We are all so " knowing" on the subject, of germs and the microbic origin of disease that other people's old clothes, even of the heirloom variety, do not appeal to the modern young woman. The gospel of cleanliness—medical cleanliness —has been preached to such purpose that we are beginning to learn the lesson that the less durable and the more frequently washed our clothing is the better, from the point of view of health. Tlie modern blouse, for example, is a hygienic garment, because it can he frequently changed and frequently washed. It is inexpensive, and can be consequently discarded after it is worn for a reasonable time, even if it is not the washable type of garment. Compare it with the heavy polonaise of five-and-thirty years ago, a garment as ridiculous, artistically speaking, as it was undesirable, hygienicall.v speaking. because of its weight, and the fact that it was generally mad© of unwashahle material. The tailor-made short skirt of to-day is another garment- to the credit of the modern girl. The heavy skirt, tho hoops and frills and trimmings of the past will surely never reappear so long as English girls are as " keen '' as they are at present on outdoor exercise and 6port. For autumn and winter wear especially, there is no garment so suitable as a tailor-made coat and skirt of light tweed or soft ScotcTi cheviot cloth. The girl who golfs or plays hockey, who skates or walks or eoes in for any healthful winter exercise, rarely makes the mistakes of wearing long skirts of fancy costumes in the street. If the non-athletic girl could only be made to realise that nine out of ten young women are at their smartest- and best in a sensible hygienic well-cut coat and skirt, the'fashion would be more generally adopted by business girls. Too many business girls go in for the so-call-ed artistic style, or. worse still, for cheap finery and pathetic imitations of the clothes suitable enough for carriage wear and afternoon parties, but quite out of place in an office or when engaged in work of any sort. One good coat and skirt in winter should be an essential part of every girl's wardrobe. This, combined with sensible footgear, would go far to preserve one's health more than anything else. Long 6kirts mean damp and mud and disease germs, means that the wearer .if she tries to lift them lias to carry an unnecessary weight when walking out of doors. She. therefore, walks at a disadvantage, and cannot derive the same benefits from the exercise as the girl unhampered by trailing skirts in wet weather. Long skirts for outdoor wear and ridiculous footgear generally appeal to the same type of girl. How many gills realise that thinsoled shoes are responsible for a great deal of ill-health amongst women in winter time? One of the. oldest health maxims in existence tells us to keep the feet warm and the head cool. This can only he accomplished by the aid of sensibly-soled sho&s and woollen stockings. Thin open-work stockings and paper-soled French shoes are quite out of plac© in midwinter, and many a case of influenza. pneumonia and pleurisy rpight be traced to cold, damp feet, subsequent chili and consequent liability to infection.

That our £rnndmothers quite disregarded the advice of the ancients on the value of keeping the head cool is illustrated by the ridiculous hair-dressing of the early seventies- Tho chignon, with its monstrous piles of true and false hair, its bird nest arrangement of tho coiffure makes the hair-pads of the present day seem quite hygienic in comparison. Fashion insists upon a good deal of elaboration even nowadays, and hairpads of any description are absolutely unhygienic." They prevent the access of air to the scalp and cause loss of hair and early greyness. Heavy foil and winter hats add to the mischievous effect of hair-pads, to the over-clothing of the scalp which, in reality, requires no protection from cold save what Nature provides in tho shape of hair. But it is not wily tho head we over-clothe, but the body generally. Tho skin is adapted in itself to protect us from cold. That is, it/ has tho power of contracting to a cold influence and relaxing to a worm influence. If wo over-protect our skins, the skin will gradually lose this natural function. It has n wonderful poiyor of adapting itself to changed conditions. Look how tho delio-ie skin of tho facehas accustomed itself to coH and heat. A North American Indian was once asked if he did not feel cold owing to the lack of what the questioner deemed insufficient clothing. "Me all face,' - was what he replied; and it is perfectly true thnt. tho moro we interfere with the natural tu-icr.jon of the skin by orer-obrhing ourselves, the more we feel the cold as n resuH.

,: The ideal amount of clothing for * halthy person in the minimum whbh will 'protect, that person from n-'-due depression of temporal, nre whilo following his usual employmentsaid a well-known medical man iu a recont publication. The second important function of the ekin is the excretion wasto sxibstances from the hodv. I: follows that cloth ins next to tna skin Tsr.'.st. he porous io allow the.se watery vapours and fuid excretion* to ppes away from the skin. It must also he nbM>nv.'iu. Flannel, contrary to popular opinion, i* not absorbent-. It is warm, it is a bad conductor of heat. The oldfashioned idea was very emphatic as regards the virtue of "flannel next th>"* skin." But tho newest ten'-hins; h against flannel or woollen underolotbin«. because they are unahsorbont and consequently unhealthy. They rather

Tho .croat drawback 10 cotton, ami ui!k undere-lot hing was t tlu\v woro not " warm.'-' that is, their tihres contained no sir .-paces, hemv thov wero fjotul conductors of heat. Air i*< a had conductor, and flannel is full of air spaces, and i> exiled '"ifiirm." Hut. silk, cotton and linen can all now bo mule porous, so that there is ! - n inadtca! justification lor condemning them tor undergarments.

If '.ii'i-ss l'oiorm is to l>e aoeompHslied we must needs reduce tho number a-s uell as tlio weight of feminine garuients. rlcav'y clothes locomotion ond limit healthtul exei - cise Healthv clothing should bo light and Iposo and, as mueh us possible, evenly distributed over the body. As a rule, the lower part of the * bodv is overclothed. tiie chest, arms and legs nro inadequately protected, and tho neck is swathed in stocks or high collars or heavy furs, which is the dir<?ct reason for the prevalence of sore tliroate at this season of the year. At one time of the day tho neck is enveloped in iurs or encased in a etiit collar, then just as it has got accustomed t.o this coddling treatment, it is berel fc ot all covering to satisfy tho convention of evening dress. Hut the neck, like tho rest oi tho body, resents such abrupt changes of temjxsrature, and if we do not treat our throats consistently, we shall assuredly have, to pav the penalty, Yi'omen are more liable to colds, loss of voice and throat ailments than men, because even if man is a ridiculous slave, where his high starched collar is concerned, he does not. discard it at the coldest time of day during the coldest season of the year. He wears it morning, noon and night, and hw neck gets accustomed to tho unnatural pressure and heat in duo time.

Of course, wo cannot afford to disregard fashion altogether, and bare necks all day and every day are not- advisable for many reason?. But the neck, like all other tissues, .requires exercise, fresh air and sunlight, if it is to keep healthy. Bare necks are only possible in very hoi, weather or in the lion.se; but even whero some covering is necessary it, should not bo tight nor high to impede movement and prevent the access of fresh air.

A stock of rhin lace or ribbon or muslin is all that is necessary, and furs should never be fastened tightly round the neck. Furs, like ail other nou-n-ash able garments, should be frequently cleaned or beaten to get rid of the excess of dust and microbes which literally cake the surfaces of all dark clothes worn in cities in winter time.

Unfortunately, very few people dream of washing or cleaning dark clothes, because they do not- realise that fabrics which do not ''show the dirt" are the dirtiest of all garments.