II. DRESS FOR MEN
By Baron de Zuylen de Nyevelt
President of the Automobile Club de France
When I asked why I had been invited to write on this matter I was told that it was because I had toured on my motor-carriage in many parts of the Continent, had met automobilists from many countries, and thus had had peculiar opportunities of picking up hints as to dress. It was added that in addition to this, as I am in the habit of spending a part of every year in England, I was in a position to know what would and what would not be acceptable to British gentlemen.
The dress worn by many motorists has been the subject of much irreverent ribaldry, and it must be conceded that, in many cases, the chaff has been merited. It is difficult to imagine anything more grotesque than the appearance of some whose enthusiasm makes them forgetful of their appearance. However, in order to drive with safety to the health in an open automobile, special garments are necessary. Clothes which may be quite suitable for a drive in a dog-cart are altogether unsuitable for use in an open motor.
When driving at twenty miles an hour the wind will actually pass through tweed overcoats and cloth garments; the air will be felt whistling round the ribs, and coats become distended behind like balloons. Speaking generally, therefore, the first requirement of motor clothes is that the stuff of which they are made should be air-proof, and the second that they should be so contrived as to prevent the wind from getting under them. A leather jacket and leather trousers are objectionable because the moisture from the body cannot escape, with the result that underclothing becomes dangerously moist and disagreeable. Leather may, however, be used as a lining to cloth clothes, provided that it is bored with many small holes through which
