KinSource - Tale of the Week - Sensible Summer Girl

KinSource

Minnesota Tales

The St. Paul Daily Globe, June 3, 1900, p. 18

Sensible Summer Girl.

SHE WILL BE MORE ATTRACTIVELY DRESSED THIS YEAR THAN HERETOFORE.

ABBREVIATED SKIRT LONGER

Brighter Colors Permissable on the Golf Links Than on the Bicycle - Neatness and Durability Maine Features.

Athletic girls are not noticeably different from other girls this year; that is, as to their clothes. Of course they will be brown and brawny and all that, but every sort of summer girl takes on as much color as she can, so that is not a distinguishing mark. But the abbreviated skirt has dropped almost to the ankles, whether for golfing or bicycling, and the ballet skirt rivals of a few years ago will be almost as rare and startling this year as when they first appeared in public. The skirts are almost invariably of the double-faced cheviot or other heavy cloth which requires no lining, but the jarring plaids are little seen, the colors being more on the tones of the outer surface. For instance, a black or gray cloth has an inner surface of black and white or gray plaid, a brown cloth corresponding shades of brown with lines of black or white.

The circular skirt, which was satisfactory at first, sagged so sadly that it has been given over for one cut with just the right flare to look shapely and to stay that way. The bottom of the skirt usually is finished by a strip of cloth, held in place by from six to twelve rows of stitching.

None of the fancy shirt waists should allure the athletic maid into donning them for her sports. The plainer the better, is still the motto for these. Madras, cheviot, linen and flannel are always in the best of taste. The mannish collar and cravat no longer are assisted upon, for which all women should offer a thanksgiving. So infinite is the variety of stockings and neckgear that one hardly can go wrong as long as she gets something that is pretty, comfortable and simple. A stock and tie of the same material as the waist is much affected, also the Persian silk designs.

Jackets to be worn with outing suits are for the most part modified Etons or coats coming just below the waist line.

In outing hats there is a decided tendency toward the normal, and an avoidance of the stiff effects that came in with the knee skirt. Some of the prettiest of these hats are silk or linen, stitched so as to give them a corded effect, made in soft shapes with moderate crowns and brims and trimmed with a loose arrangement of a Rumchunda scarf or of soft silk or crepe de chine. The protruding quill and even the wings and breasts without which no hat seemed complete in the not far distant past are lacking, rather conspicuously. Belts and girdles are of many kinds, but nothing is more effective than the braided leather cinch belts fastened in real cowboy fashion.

Because bicycling is no longer a faddish pursuit for women, it does not follow that it has fallen into desuetude. Ultra smart women have taken to the automobile, but it can hardly be said to be replacing the bicycle as yet. The wheel is a convenience, and if it is less talked about, it is no less depended upon as an adjunct to outdoor entertainment. It is true, doubtless, that fewer persons than formerly ride merely for the pleasure or excitement of riding, but it is true, also, that a great many more use the bicycle as a vehicle for taking long or short pleasure trips, from early spring until late fall. City folk have learned to love and appreciate the country through the medium of the wheel, and country folk have found a simpler method of exploring their locality than when they had to "hitch up" for every trip. Women at first were carried away by the novelty and freedom which they found in the wheel, and their "stunts" threatened to bring wheeling and the sex into disrepute. But time has brought moderation. Century runs and other tiresome feats are left to cranks; the spirit of bravado which led one never to dismount for hills or dangerous roads has died out; the ungraceful stoop is honored in the breach, and the weird costumes of weird wheelwomen have had their day.

The bicycle girl of today is trim and natty in appearance. She rides at a moderate rate, rests when she is tired, dismounts for hills, enjoys the beauties of nature as she goes along and ends her ride invigorated and inspired, not fatigued and dulled by over-exertion.

Golf is, without doubt, the popular sport of the day. It started with the aristocracy, but is has spread to the people. Those who first went on the green to jeer remained to play and to become the worst cranks of the whole set of devotees to the ancient and royal game, which, the small boy says, is nothing but slow "shinney" after all.

For those outside the pale of exclusive country clubs, links have been laid out in public parks and in accessible suburbs, where the fees are moderate enough to open the privileges to almost any one.

Moreover, the cost of the implements of play has been reduced to a price which can be considered by those who have only a slender purse to draw on for their recreations and amusements. Golf is not a cheap game yet, but its schedule is not prohibitive. It is the game of games for the outdoor girl. She can put in a whole day at it. It gives to her a splendid opportunity to cultivate the walk as if one were striding over ploughed ground, which has been the aim of smart women for some time. Hats are out of place on the golf links, and, therefore, one may get the full value of the color which is the summer trademark for women of fashion. Also, it is permissable to roll up the sleeves and burn the arms. Altogether it is as good as boating for coloring the complexion. There is a pleasing sense of power and achievement, too, in making a drive that lifts the ball into the air and whirls it through space to its destination, while the men say: "Well done, by Jove!" that compensates for those lapses when one only bites the dust, so to speak, and the ball buries itself in an almost inaccessible spot, only a few feet distant.

In any case, a girl is satisfied that she looks well on a golf course, if she has any sort of figure and bearing. Posed on a knoll, with the sky as a background, she makes a pleasant picture, as she lifts her stick and sends the ball off with free, swinging stroke. Nor is she less picturesque as she walks across the green, her movements unimpeded by her well-hung skirt and a sense of infinite power apparent in her bearing.

Brighter colors are permissible on the golf links than on the wheel, gay colored shirt waists and jackets being considered perfectly appropriate.

Special low, heavy shoes are made for golfers. Footgear for wheeling is left largely to the taste of the wearer. The high boots that were invented along with the short skirt still hold their place in the liking of some wheelwomen, but more incline to a low shoe, which is cooler and admits of greater freedom of movement. The great point is to be shod neatly; little else matters.

There has been an effort to revive the popularity of croquet in the last season or two, and it is on the lawn again this year. For those who are satisfied with something tamer than the sports that have been most popular, this game is not without attractions, and will have its share of attention. A general outing costume suitable for other sports or walking is correct for this or for tennis, which still lingers in some quarters. For mountain climbing, for boating, for any of the pursuits that lure women a-foot and a-field in these days one costume will suffice. If it be sufficiently simple and well made, devoid of fuss and feathers, of good quality and workmanship. Neatness and durability are the most important characteristics of a girl's outing dress, for whatever special purpose it is to be worn.