lothing

Air may be shut out not only by tight houses but also by tight clothes.
It follows that the question of clothing is closely related to the
question of ventilation. In fact it is a reasonable inference from
modern investigations that air-hygiene concerns the skin quite as much
as the lungs. Therefore the hygiene of clothing assumes a new and
hitherto unsuspected importance. A truly healthy skin is not the waxy
white which is so common, but one which glows with color, just as do
healthy cheeks exposed to the open air.

[Sidenote: Porous Clothes]

The hygiene of clothing includes ventilation and freedom from pressure,
moderate warmth, and cleanliness. Loose, porous underclothes are already
coming into vogue. But effective ventilation, namely such as will allow
free access of air to the skin, requires that our outer
clothes--including women's gowns and men's shirts, vests, vest-linings,
and coat-linings--should also be loose and porous. Here is one of the
most important but almost wholly neglected clothing reforms. Most
linings and many fabrics used in outer clothes are so tightly woven as
to be impervious to air. Yet porous fabrics are always available,
including porous alpacas for lining. To test a fabric it is only
necessary to place it over the mouth and observe whether it is possible
or easy to blow the breath through it.

[Sidenote: Air-baths]

At times we can enjoy relief from clothing altogether. An air-bath
promotes a healthy skin and aids it in the performance of its normal
functions. Not every one can visit air-bath establishments or outdoor
gymnasia or take the modern nude cure by which juvenile consumptives are
sometimes treated (even in winter, after becoming gradually accustomed
to the cold); but any one can spend at least a little time in a state of
nature. Both at the time of rising in the morning and upon retiring at
night, there are many things which are usually done while one's clothes
are on which could be done just as well while they are off. Brushing the
teeth, washing the hands, shaving, etc., necessarily consume some time
during which the luxury of an air-bath can be enjoyed. Exercises should
also be taken at these times. Exercising in cold air, _if not too cold_,
with clothing removed, is an excellent means of hardening the skin and
promoting good digestion.

[Sidenote: Tight Clothing]

[Sidenote: Shoes]

The constriction from rigid or tight corsets, belts (the latter in men
as