New Britain Herald Newspaper, July 25, 1929, Page 17

L 2 | | i A IO IO %, B e O TR0 N Science Says |0 Years of Short kirts : Did Us a Lot of Good CLING TO TRADITIONS “If we consulted the wisdom of the ancients, we would put woman in the harem, with the veil and the drapery skirts that hid her completely,” Affirms Prof. Marston. S short swirts, OME. Above: Typical Group of Conventionally Dressed Arab Women. hiovering around the knee line and some. times escending above it, which are now so universal that they cause no surprise or shock, are a direct outgrowth of the World War. Tuwelve vears ago, girls wwho ha! thrown themselves into auxillary branches of the colossal jray, found that they couldn’t drive ambulances or perform similar exaciing te: they gradulally s were both efficicnt and happy. lis with their ankles hampered. So iipped fifteen inches from their skirts and, presto! In the ten years that have ensued since the Armistice, psychology has had time to study the effects upon iwmanity of the short skirt. Herewith science, in the person of Prof. Tiarston. presents its findings. Is as an uncons place themselves on the masculine plane of * hair he put in the same category, the ’llli‘ Andre Tridon in woman’s s, or ,mr.mlh conscious, desire to superiority Bobbed but riare recent psyclic investiga- saw tion teruds to show that the cropped locks and the cropped frock appeal to many women whose most non-existent. “inferiority complex” is 5o slight as to be al- Such women say they prefer short skirts and hair because they are more comfortable, pretiier, according to modern standards, and lend themselves to tenis, motoring and dazcing betier than the sweepers There i and snip skirts. great popularity for the forged to the fore. of our grandmothers. however, an odd concomitant 1o this desire to clip tre With the widespread edoption of these two niodes, lave anliler” Such ornaments, street- and the “slave bracelet” have frem time immemorial, have been the mute symbol of woman’s acknowledged enslavement to man. They are stil seen today in cil Oriental countries ere ils and robes hide the faces and figures of Mohammedan womankind. Ry PROF. (Lecturer on Psychology University. Author of “Enotions of Normal People,” etc.) T o this part of the Century is involved in the continued free manner ot di oace the most WHL. M. MARSTON. at Columbi :smmonplace and profound social problem of I'wenticth new and ssing of the world’s women, In other words, what brought about the short skirt, bobbed hair, the sleeve- less dress, and the lipstick? After the manner of all old genera s, our particular old generation has by turns twitted and scolded th:s particular new generation of women for its outrageous freedom in dress. Is this new paraphernalia of woman really as wicked and graceless s the GOING UP! Drawing by Arti t Louis Biedermann, Demonstrating, from Right to Left, the Skyward Progress of Woman's Dress, from the Pre-War Long Skirt te the Frock Terminating Above the Wearer's Knees. But ro Offset This, Capricious Woman Flaunts the Slave Anklet, Ancient Symbol of Servility to Man majority of both the old and the new generation feel in their hearts? A host of questions are involved. Aside from the debatable ground of the effect of the scanty clething of women on the drygoods trade and the fashions, as well 4s that of haalth, the whole moral nature of men and women has been stirred in this age when too many are godless. I will show later in this article that the exposure of women's legs, merely to pick nut the mxample of the evident result of short skirts, n my opinion one of the greatest constructive forces in our civilization. But first let us examine the prob- lem in deta; The drive behind bobbed hair is mostly and largely the expression of the new dominance and freedom of woman. She goes into Lusiness and sports and doesn’t want to be bothered with the long, poetic, and beautiful adornment provided her by nature. As will be remembered, the custom came in during the World War, a releaser of emotions and destroyer of conventions, when women began to emerge from the harem-like life and surroundings. However, when we come to the lip- stick, the sleeveless dress and the short skirt, old posessions of the bou- doir and the theatre brought outdoors by the World War, we are digging far deeper into the social life of our times. We touch sex, the seat of the emotions These three have two emotional mo- tives behind them. The first is to vamp men, to serve the captivation drive of women to make men love and admire them. But there are shades of length and dis- tinction which many women may use but do not understand. For instance, the captivation drive connot be enforced if the skirt is far ahove the knee. At that point the ef. fect on men is to make it a sign of sub. mission rather than inducement. This fact was lately pointedly illus- trated in a New York night club ani restaurant where the women waitres had bare legs and too-short skirts Many of the men customers thought this too bad, pitied the gi and so told the pmprvelor of the plm-e She saw her fault in psychology and had the girls lengthen their skirts. This incident shows the male atti- tude. They want the woman to be mis- tress of the situation. It fiatters their dominance. When a man exchanges roles with the woman, be it remem- bered, and tries to be the captivatar, his dowminance gets away with him and he becomes sadis The second emotional reason or mo- tive for short skirts as worn by all women today is the exhibition of self. It is an old and true saying that every woman is an actress. She wants to show herself, draw attention. But do not forget that the one-piece bathing suit and the nude esthetic dance spring from woman's love drive tn submit herself. So when the skirt gets above the knee woman feels she s giving herself. ow what is the effect of the short s on lhe nature of men and women? 1 repeat, the exposure of women's le-'= is one of the greatest in civilization. It what is virtually a centinuous stimulation to both sexes. This was totally lacking with the long skirt. The short skirt gives construc. tive stimulus to phy the long ekirt smacked of the harem and its hidden affairs, The effect of the short skirt is camulative, in that it keeps active the sex drive. which biologically is neces sary and wholesome. As I have pointed out, if skirts should go above the knee, the result, strange to say, would be more “moral” in the reformer sense, despite the carpings of the old generation. If women went back to the long skirt there would be a revival of the street corner loafer watching women pass en windy days. Fortun- ately, today we are more moral in the best sense of that word than we were with the long skirt. The long skirt was a challenge to the dominance in men to break down a barrier. Under that regime there was less true love. 1f we examine the morality of prim- itive races, say as in the old South Sea Islands. we have records to prove that in this clime, where men and women were nude, the people were happy, joyous, and more nearly lived a social life free from love combat. It may be said with great truth that FREEDOM OF LIMB Group of Southern California Society Wemen Doing Brisk Setting-Up Exsrcives at Long Beach. Note Their Trim, Scanty Bathing Suits—— Ansther Sartorial lanovation That Would H e Been Frowned Upon Elcven Years Ago. clothes have been the curse of the northern or white race, with the rese vation that women should relatively wear more clothes than men, to keep their captivation balance. One of the curious manif ions of the emotions that crop out in the clothes of woman of today is found in the anklet, or woven chain about \nc ankle. That is a submissivi comes from nk body and a sy mmfl lof the thrill woman gets out of being chained up. What about the id woman of tomorrow? I have shown why she cannot go back to the huddle of the long skirt, with its du;\—mmp ings and its immoral {un what will this ecreature morrow? If we consulted the wisdom of the we would put woman back E h the veil and the 'y a!\HL\ that hid her completely. the only true and exact man- ner of sex separation before marriage. Many peoples, among them the Chi nese, wrapped women up so completely that even her feet were encased. This manner of dress leads too far into impractical speeulation. For the near future and the purely ideal psychological dress, certainly the skirt should be the half-way skirt for our civilization. Thereby woman indicates the proper amount of subm on and yet retains her captivation appeal. Styles are too often considercd as having a fundamental part in dress. Styles are merely the using of lo emotions by the money-making ap- petite. Taste is a compliant matter, and should so govein and modify clothes inasmuch as the love emotion is the final court of resort and control. must be realized that women are i if n nsuous, creatures get a big kick out of their bare So short skirts are not a style. a commonplace of science that oman’s receptory nerves remain attached to the love centers, whereas men have greatly developed inhibitions which disconnect these sensations lrum the emotions. In other words, we s e like woman. Therefore the woman accustomed to clothes when divested of them frees by this act many of her sensa- tirms to allurement. This is why a woman in such conditions often reg- isters the attitude of ‘“helplessness,” whereas a true, manly man in a bath- ing suit veels physically stronger. As part of the ideal dress of the future, woman may or may not con- tinue the use of co: lipstick and her “v * though she probably will. This is one of her captivation and inducement weapons. As for her haiv, it is inconceivable that for so long » time she will con- tinue to captivation weapon. M thrown it . will probably return to it in the propertion lhz\l he finds woman more to plea: of dress, it is are not at all s sought bio- pecies may propagate s lent departures, ar- ranged or devised by money makers, lead corruption and extinction of the species @ueer @ubes Versizs Realism in the Newest Sizzling Avt Row The Countess of Warwick and Her Son,” by John Sargent. “Bad,” OO I I I Says Mr. Pach. Stair A Sculptured Head by Constantin Brancusi, Modernist Artist. G vs Critic Pach Compare Ii With tie Painting at Left. EGARD for a moment the photographs at the botiem of 4 this page. Do you prefer the exg-shaped modernistic seulpture of a woman's head by Brancusi and the queer arrangement ot larics called “Nude Descending a " or the realistic portrait 7y ! Can Paintings Loved by Millions Be Bad u/')d the Artists False? by Sargent of the Countess of War wick and her son and the painting called *“The Storm” by Cot? Walter Pach, celebrated art ecritic, painter and lecturer at the conserva-. tive Metropolitan Museum of New York, has started a furious contro- versy by denouncing some of the most romantic famous painters in the world, including Sargent and Cot, as false artists. He comes out flat-footedly in a book called “Ananias, or the False Artist,” and says that many paintings such as “The Storm™ are bad. “The Storm" is in the Metropolitan Museum, where thousands of persons have seen it, loved it and found in- spiration in it Reproductions of it have 14 by the millions. Can such a pic be “bad?" Mr. Pach says it can and is. He suggests that it is only a step removed from photographs of mo tion picture bathing beauties The late John Singer Sargent was for years regarded as America’s fore nmost portrait painter, yet Pach sees him as a falze artist and writes: “He really hated the ‘sociaty portraits’ that crowded in on him.” So much for the paintings Mr. Pach dislikes. Yet when the ude De scending a Stairway” was brought to this country to cause a sensation and arouse laughter. he defended it as a CopYTIENL (824, interoatioons Festurs Sereice, inc. T L fine work. Conserva. tive critics renamed it “Explosion in a Shin- gle Factory,” but Mr. Pach reiterated that it was a thing of beauty. And he has praised the queer sculptured shapes of Brancusi, the Roumanian artist, on numerous occa- sions. Mr. Pach is ac cepted as an authority on art by many per sens and institutions, yet other authorities, just as famous, he lieve his judgments are wrong. Contro versies on art are never settled. Mean. while, the average picture lover will prohably continue to make up his own mind as to what he likes and dislikes. If yon, reader, have any doubts of your own feelings the reproduc- tions here give you an opportunity te choose = hetween two kinds of ~ “Ths Storm art. Painter. Grest Britain Rigan Hesarmd, A Y P8 1305305 e P Al (Cot, French " in Critic Pach's Eyes. Famous Nude Descending a Stairway,” by Marcel Dechamp. Mr. Pach Likes It.