ABSTRACT
This chapter describes Mr. Oscar Wilde’s ideas upon dress, as given in the report to-day of his lecture delivered at Ealing. Let the ladies remain as they are – stays, high-heeled boots, and all; they will never consent to loose waists and flat feet, not though a greater apostle than Mr. Wilde rose from the dead. If Mr. Wilde could induce the tailors and hatters, for they are the real setters of fashion, to introduce well-cut breeches and strong felt hats, he would be doing more real service to the cause he has so much at heart than in advocating the beauties of ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Grecian costume. Beautiful and appropriate in their climate, and under the social conditions of their wearers, they certainly were; but in this damp, cold northern island, lying in the latitude of Labrador, they would be as useless as absurd.
