Read the excerpt from Chapter 3 of Wheels of Change .Taken together, these floor-length petticoats and the dress that covered them could weigh 25 pounds—even more when the unfortunate woman got caught in a rainstorm. Plus they were unsanitary. During a casual stroll, an unsuspecting fashion plate could pick up cigar ends, cigarette butts, discarded food, tiny insects, and animal droppings as her clothing swept the ground.