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Herlandian clothes represent the Herlandian culture’s dedication to practicality and making the most out of every available resource. A typical Herlandian outfit consists of a soft one-piece undergarment that goes over the knees and shoulders, “a kind of half-hose” that comes over the hem of the one-piece, and knee-length tunics. As Terry, Jeff, and Van discover, these clothes have numerous carefully placed pockets and are designed for maximum comfort and mobility while still looking nice. This runs in direct opposition to the expectations of the men, who believed that a society full of women would have sacrificed practicality in favor of frivolous details and needless embellishments. The pockets on Herlandian clothes serve the double purpose of ornamentation and usefulness: they are placed in such a way that one can reach into them with ease and without feeling restricted by them, but the vibrant stitching on the pockets provides an element of fashionable beauty. Furthermore, the extra fabric used to make the pockets makes the clothes warmer, which is important in the winter months. These garments highlight the fact that the Herlandians have found a way to balance practicality with beauty and comfort with usefulness, rather than sacrificing one for the other.
Herlandian Clothes Quotes in Herland
The Herland quotes below all refer to the symbol of Herlandian Clothes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 7: Our Growing Modesty
Quotes
We had expected them to be given over to what we called “feminine vanity”—“frills and furbelows,” and we found they had evolved a costume more perfect than the Chinese dress, richly beautiful when so desired, always useful, of unfailing dignity and good taste.
We had expected a dull submissive monotony, and found a daring social inventiveness far beyond our own, and a mechanical and scientific development fully equal to ours.
We had expected pettiness, and found a social consciousness besides which our nations looked like quarrelling children—feeble-minded ones at that.
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Herlandian Clothes Symbol Timeline in Herland
The timeline below shows where the symbol Herlandian Clothes appears in Herland. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: A Peculiar Imprisonment
...leads to a bathroom where they find their toiletries and a closet full of Herlandian clothes. Terry declares that they need to discuss their situation before anything else. Jeff notes that...
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...are evidently harmless and so their next steps should be to put on some new clothes. They each grab some Herlandian clothes from the closet (a one-piece knee-length undergarment, stockings, and...
(full context)
...far below. The men formulate a plan to make a long rope out of their clothes and bedsheets in the middle of the night (the only time they are left alone)....
(full context)
Chapter 4: Our Venture
...themselves and the fortress as they can. They load the numerous pockets of their Herlandian clothes with nuts from a nearby tree and drink from a stream before retiring to a...
(full context)
