From The Shoulders
“…But it is true today that the clothing of most women is worn too tight for the proper action of the vital organs. Every article of dress upon the person should be worn so loose that in raising the arms the clothing will be correspondingly lifted.
Another error in the dress of women of the present day is that of wearing their skirts so that the weight is sustained by the hips alone. This heavy weight, pressing upon the bowels, drags them downward, and causes weakness of the stomach and a feeling of lassitude, which leads the sufferer to incline forward. This tends further to cramp the lungs, and prevent their proper action. The blood becomes impure, the pores of the skin fail in their office, sallowness and disease result, and beauty and health are gone. Ladies may resort to cosmetics to restore the tint of the complexion, but they cannot thus bring back the glow of health. That which renders the skin dark and dingy, also clouds the spirits, and destroys cheerfulness and peace of mind. Every woman who values health should avoid hanging any weight upon the hips. The shoulders should sustain the weight of every article of clothing worn upon the person. This will go far to prevent the weaknesses which prevail among women to such an alarming extent.
The limbs, which should have even more covering than any other portion of the body, because farthest from the center of circulation, are often not suitably protected; while over the vital organs, where there is naturally more warmth than in other portions of the body, there is an undue proportion of covering. The heavy draperies often worn upon the back, induce heat and congestion in the sensitive organs which lie beneath. This fashionable attire is one of the greatest causes of disease among women. Perfect health depends upon perfect circulation. If the limbs are properly clothed, fewer skirts are needed. These should not be so heavy as to impede the motion of the limbs, nor so long as to gather the dampness and filth of the ground, and their weight should be suspended from the shoulders. The dress should fit easily, obstructing neither the circulation of the blood, nor a free, full, natural respiration. The feet should be suitably protected from cold and damp. Clad in this way, we can take exercise in the open air, even in the dew of morning or evening, or after a fall of snow or rain, without fear of taking cold. Exercise in the invigorating air of heaven is necessary to a healthy circulation of the blood. It is the best safeguard against colds, coughs, and the internal congestions which lay the foundation of so many diseases. True dress reform regulates every article of clothing. If those ladies who are failing in health would lay off their fashionable robes, clothe themselves suitably for out-door enjoyment, and exercise in the open air, carefully at first, increasing the amount as they can endure it, many of them might recover health, and live to bless the world with their example and the work of their hands.
It is not the will of God that men and women should die prematurely, leaving their work unfinished. He would have us live out the full measure of our days, with every organ free to do its allotted work. Many complain of the providences of God when disease and death remove members of the household; but it is unjust to charge God with what is but the sure result of their own transgression of natural laws.
CTBH 88-90