The Wasp — 1895 — page 733: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains two distinct illustrations. The upper inset labeled "Summer Dress" depicts beach attire of the era—a man in a striped bathing costume and a woman in a modest swimming dress. The main lower illustration shows a well-dressed man in a business suit sitting in a chair, appearing anxious or troubled. The partially visible caption at bottom reads "Society Changes Its Base of Operations" with text mentioning "sunburn on her dainty cheek / And freckles on her nose." The satire likely mocks the contrast between society's formal indoor conventions and the modern summer leisure activities becoming popular. The man's distressed posture suggests discomfort with changing social norms—perhaps satirizing resistance to women's increased participation in outdoor activities and the physical changes (sunburn, freckles) that accompanied this social shift away from strict indoor propriety.