Chapter 15—Mrs. White Tries the Dress
Seventh-day Adventists and the Reform Dress
- Contents- Chapter 1—A Plea for Women
- Chapter 2—Distinguished Ladies Lead Out
- Chapter 3—Mrs. Bloomer Given Publicity
- Chapter 4—Dress Reform Gained Favor
- Chapter 5—Dr. Austin’s Powerful Plea
- Chapter 6—Dress Reform Principles Prevailed
- Chapter 7—The Quest for Moderation
- Chapter 8—Adoniram Judson’s Appeal
- Chapter 9—Mrs. White’s Remarks on Dress
- Chapter 10—Deplorable Physical Effects
- Chapter 11—The Influence of the “American Costume”
- Chapter 12—Basic Principles
- Chapter 13—Close Observation
- Chapter 14—The Need for a Reformed Dress
- Chapter 15—Mrs. White Tries the Dress
- Chapter 16—At the Health Institute
- Chapter 17—Dress Discussed in the Churches
- Chapter 18—“Adopt a Simple, Unadorned Dress”
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Chapter 15—Mrs. White Tries the Dress
In September, 1865, Mrs. White put on such a dress, which she wore for a time “excepting at meetings, in the crowded streets of villages and cities, and when visiting distance relatives.”— Ibid. After a time she wore it in all places at all times.SDARD 10.4
Her example was soon followed by several of the Seventh-day Adventist women in northern Michigan, and numerous letters of inquiry came from many quarters. When she saw that some were overemphasizing the question, as a matter of prime importance, she was led to protest:SDARD 11.1
“The dress reform was among the minor things that were to make up the great reform in health, and never should have been urged as a testing truth necessary to salvation. It was the design of God that at the right time, on proper occasions, the proper persons should set forth its benefits as a blessing, and recommend uniformity, and union of action.”— Ibid.
Mrs. White’s advocacy of the health reform dress came thirteen years after Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Stanton, and Mrs. Bloomer had initiated in the United States the movement in favor of dress reform. There was scarcely a section of the country in which the voices of its friends were not heard. It had found able and honored advocates in its favor, as well as critics and defamers. Thousands of women were rejoicing in new-found freedom and health. Yet with all that might well be said in its favor, Mrs. White presented adequate reasons given to her why it was unsuitable for Seventh-day Adventists, and she determined to help her fellow sisters to find and adopt a style of dress in harmony with that shown her, one that would avoid the extreme and unfavorable aspects of the popular reform dress and yet give freedom of action and be healthful in every way. She was not, therefore, introducing and initiating a style of costume that was so ridiculous and strange as to merit the criticisms that some in later years have been led to present in a manner that seems plausible to those who are unaware of the circumstances which have been here presented.SDARD 11.2