Vitality Supreme

If I were to select an ideal costume for men I am inclined to think that I would go back to the Roman toga, to the flowing drapery of the Greeks, or to the Scottish kilt. The kilt is undoubtedly better suited than the robe to the colder weather of Northern Europe and America. These costumes not only allow a reasonable amount of freedom for all bodily movements, encouraging rather than discouraging the correct position of the body, but they also allow free circulation of air to the central portions of the body. As a hygienic feature this is of tremendous value. The air coming in contact with the skin is of value at all times, but it is especially required in these important parts of the bodily organism. Many weaknesses are brought about through the unhealthful covering and restriction of these parts. Trousers are not by any means an ideal garment. To be sure, they are a vast improvement over the long skirt, but they are not by any means equal in healthfulness to the costume of the Scottish Highlanders. In feminine apparel corsets are perhaps productive of more injury than any other part of the costume. The injury wrought by tight lacing is now everywhere understood, and in recent years large waists have become stylish. This tendency of the times will ultimately mean the elimination of the corset. When fully clothed we should have the same freedom of movement as when unclothed. The most perfect costume is our "birthday clothing," the clothing with which we came into the world, the human skin. To be sure, in cold climates bodily covering is necessary for warmth a part of the year, though in warm climates, or warm seasons, the more nearly we avoid restrictive apparel, the more happy and more healthy we are. The ideal costume in warm weather, therefore, would be no costume, but conventions demand that we cover our nakedness, and this command should be followed in a manner that will restrain our movements as little as possible.