In this printed letter to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Gerrit Smith declared that the women's rights movement would never succeed as long as women insisted on wearing fashionable rather than practical dresses. Women, said Smith, must escape "the kingdom of fancy and fashion and foolery" for the kingdom of reason and righteousness."
Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874, “Letter from Gerrit Smith to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, December 1, 1855,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed March 15, 2025, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/434.