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224
The Science of Dress.
[CHAP. XIII.

The other costumes which serve the same purpose, are to my mind prettier and more artistically constructed than the first. In Fig. 22 there is a smart jacket body, the skirt being plain with a number of pleats inserted as a deep kilting in the front, partially concealed by a pointed apron. The pleats provide accommodation for the knee when it rises in working the machine, and they are utilized in the same way in the costume represented by Fig. 23. This dress is more like an ulster than a costume. The upper part of it is made like a Norfolk jacket to which a plain skirt is attached; a deep kilting is inserted the whole length of the skirt in front. There is something very chic about this dress, and it is suitable for rather cold or wet weather, when it may be used as a winter mantle, or to take the place of that valuable but ugly contrivance—the waterproof. Although so different in appearance, these dresses are all made with the same design, that of providing comfortable and healthy costumes for lady riders. This design has been excellently well carried out, and although in the pictures the bodies are represented as being rather confined in the waist, this fault is not to be found in the originals. Tight-lacing must be banished from the mind and body of the woman who would ride the iron steed; but since dresses for tricycling should be becoming as well as healthy and comfortable, although room must be allowed to give perfect freedom to every movement, a really accurate fit, such as can only be given by a good tailor or maker, is required.