The Female Fashions of the Day by G W Levack c. 1882

The Female Fashions of the Day
by G W Levack




I see wir lasses a' gang wrang
Wi' fashions odd an' new,
The female sex, wi' dresses queer,
Like ballet-girls, do now appear;
Their narrow skirts an trains I fear,
Will mak' wir land tae rue.


Sae straight-laced baith in arm an' limb,
Hoo can they walk about ?
They seem in ticht fits when they're dressed -
Their wriggling gait can't be expressed;
'Tis so untrig, that I detest
To see them when they're out.


They're tryin' mair an mair tae be
Like men I do declare -
Wi' roun' felt hats an' neck-ties too,
Wi' cuff'd and breasted jackets new,
An' weel starch'd fronts spread oot tae view -
Breeks should be their next care.


King Cetewaye's Amazons
Hae donn'd the warlike dress;
So if wir sex at home do want
To gang oot in a twa legg'd pant,
In Zululand the men are scant -
Sie queans we winna miss.


Their feet in little boots and shoes -
Wi' scarce a heel at a' -
This makes them gang as if on thorns,
An' twists their limbs an' not adorns,
As if they were sair fashioned wi' corns,
An' almost like tae fa'.


We speak in scorn o' bygone days,
Wi' garters an high heels:
Yet in wir female dress I see,
Wir comin' near as near can be
To those auld times, so fient a plea
Remains for siccan feels.






Printed in 1882.