Motoring from By Gone Days………
Some fashion advice for the Ladies from the early 1900's ..
In the case of motor driving there are two things only to be considered: how a woman can keep herself warm in winter and not be suffocated by dust in the summer without making herself unattractive. "The fact that women should motor-if a verb may be employed-and care for it as much as they do is a great tribute to their lack of personal vanity, for, try as hard as they can, it is almost impossible to make the dress they have to wear a becoming one.
The first consideration must be how to keep warm, and this must be considered from every point of view, and plenty of suitable clothing is absolutely essential. A warm gown should be adopted and made of suitable material that does not catch the dust, and it is also important to wear plenty of warm clothing under the gown; for unless such jerseys and bodices are worn, the wind penetrates and it is quite impossible to avoid feeling chilled after a long day.
Difficult as it is, however to keep warm an fairly clean as regards the clothes which should be worn, the real problem is how to keep a hat on. The head must be warmly covered and the hat small, for anything large and wide offers too much wind resistance and gets quickly blown off. A Glengarry cap which is pinned in one or two places, along with a veil of gauze, the best colour for the veil is grey which hides all dust."
And now for the Gentlemen…………
"Speaking, generally, the first requirement of motor clothing is that the stuff that they are made should be air proof and the second that they should be contrived as to prevent the wind getting under them.
A leather jacket and leather trousers are objectionable because the moisture from the body cannot escape, however leather may be used as a lining for cloth clothes, provided small air holes are included in the leather. A suit of cloth lined with punctured chamois leather will be found agreeable for both summer and winter. With regards to undergarments, the gentlemen would do well to remember silk's heat retention qualities. A tent shaped over coat, made out of the waterproof material Melton cloth, which had the look of a long, full skirt on the bottom, was found to be the best garment for protection from rain. All coats must have one unnoticeable but very important feature, they are made to button tightly around the wrist, preventing air from travelling up the sleeve. Likewise, if trousers were worn, they must also be bounded tightly around the ankles when driving. A cap should be avoided, simply due to the numerous accidents resulting in the driver being temporarily blinded by a flyaway cap".
