among

the

phenomenon the wearing of rubber in an orphan's home, where a sum of money was left to found this home with the stipulation that the inmates wear rubber garments for their healthful effects. Ignoring the rubber side, there was around the turn of the century a sensible fashion well-to-do to put young children of both sexes into brown Holland frocks for informal occasions and for play. The fashion was a good one. The freedom of movement offered by these comfortable garments, the ease with which they could be washed, the way in which rents and tears could be mended, the dimming of the awareness of sex differences when boys and girls were dressed alike, all these considerations recommended themselves to parents, children's nurses on Nannies and the children themselves..

Perhaps the term 'Holland' should be explained. It is a type of coarse linen, and when unleached was brown, hence 'brown Holland frock'. It was also a fabric which could be easily rubberized. The Ladies Home Book for a month in 1901 says, "It is a great pity that the sensible habit of keeping boys and girls in Holland frocks in the daytime until about the eighth year for boys and the ninth for girls has not been more widely adopted. Among the older aristocratic

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may

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or

families of this realm this practice is exceedingly common and it is to be hoped that others will adopt the fashion as it becomes more widely known. There is nothing unmanly about putting a boy into such frocks or smocks; indeed, we feel that merely to adapt grown-up styles for children of both sexes is a little stupid and shows a lack of sensible imagination. To those who are not yet familiar with this fashion, we should explain that the Holland frock consists of a simple garment to the knee and buttoned the front back on be loose enough to have no buttons and be tied at the waist with a belt. The other garment needed is short bloomers for girls, concealed by the frock, and longer bloomers or knicker-bockers for boys, embracing the leg above the knee and fastened by elastic which also serves at the waistband. Such garments are easily and quickly made by competent seamstresses, and may be made at home readily and inexpensively. Writing to us on this subject, a correspondent suggested a great improvement. The frock on smock-frock, as it is sometimes called, can be made of a fine brown drill which is lined inside with rubber-proofing. Such stuff is commonly used in the making of light weight mackintoshes and may be used both for the frock and the bloomers.

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