# CORSETS: An Analysis

| Plate 1. First Subject | Plate 2. First Subject |
| Plate 3. First Subject | Plate 4. First Subject |
| Plate 5. First Subject | Plate 6. First Subject |
| Plate 1. Second Subject | Plate 2. Second Subject |
| Plate 3. Second Subject | Plate 4. Second Subject |
| Plate 5. Second Subject | Plate 6. Second Subject |
| Plate 7. Second Subject | Plate 8. Second Subject |
| Plate 9. Second Subject | Plate 10. Second Subject |
| Plate 11. Second Subject | Plate 12. Second Subject |
| Plate 1. Third Subject | Plate 2. Third Subject |
| Plate 3. Third Subject | Plate 4. Third Subject |
| Plate 5. Third Subject | Plate 6. Third Subject |
| Plate 7. Third Subject | Plate 8. Third Subject |
| Plate 1. Fourth Subject | Plate 2. Fourth Subject |
* Diagram 4. The influence of the corset upon the posture of the individual is a matter far the mast careful study. Corsets in general have little or no corrective in­fluence upon the bad attitude, because the basis of their construction lacks every element required to produce the desired result. But with a corset built fundamentally upon physiological prin­ciples the results are positive and easily produced, even in those cases which appear almost hopeless to the com­mercial corset fitter. The key-note of the correction lies in the abdominal sup­port, which can be obtained with the correct corset even when the iliac crests are more prominent than the ab­dominal wall.
* Diagram 4 shows an extreme case of backward tilt of the upper part of trunk, the balanced weight as usual falling upon the heels. Patient had worn the ordinary type of corset, which fitted only at the waist line and exerted downward pressure at diaphragm. The dotted outline shows body without cor­sets, and the black outline the correc­tions made with the physiological corset. No change was made in the regular "ready-to-wear" model of this corset except to reinforce the back with two extra groups of boning down each side of the center.
Diagram 7.
Diagram 7 shows in broken outline the shape of an average bad corset upon a slender young woman unusually wide at hips for the width of rib wall. The corset was tight at waist and pressed the flesh downward over the hips, causing it to bulge out at the thighs.
A reference to the first sub­ject of the photographic plates 1, 3 and 5, an pages 13, 14 and 15, will show the type of corset which produced the outline in­dicated by the broken lines, and in contrast to that the plates 2, 4 and 6 on same pages, the cor­set with which correction was made.
Comparative measurements of the two corsets (in inches) :
Incorrect Corset.Correct Corset.
Bust3031
Rib wall2528
Waist2123
Hips3634
It will be noted that the wrong corset constricted the waist 2 inches and the rib wall 3 inches. This for so small a per­son greatly diminished the breathing capacity.
Six months after fitting patient could not wear the former corset, awing to increased expansion of rib wall and diaphragm. "Nervous indigestion" and a feeling of extreme exhaustion were the conditions from which there was a gratifying relief. :
Diagram 8. Diagram 8 shows in the broken outline a typical case of the deformity of the figure caused by one of the "flatten­ing hip" corsets upon which corset makers have expended all their energies the past two years. Being too narrow at the hips to go down in place at the waist line, this corset is short-­waisted and constricts the lower part of the thorax. It presses the flesh downward and causes a most unsightly bulging of the thigh muscles. The black outline shows nor­mal proportions restored by the correct corset.
Comparative measurements of the two corsets (in in­ches) :
Incorrect CorsetCorrect Corset.
Bust4040 
Waist2829 
Hips4843½
The first corset showed a difference of 20 inches between waist and hip measurements, the second, a difference of only 14½ inches, producing better proportions by 5½ inches and giving a comfortable feeling as well as better appearance to the body. This shows that a large woman appears much less conspicuous if her body is not encased so tightly in corsets that the flesh is displaced and caused to protrude where the pressure of the corset ceases. :
* Diagram 11. The foregoing record of the case was made at the first correction. A second corset was fitted five months later, and one year after the first record a second test was made with the results shown in dia­gram 11. Comparison of the two body outlines. the first in dotted lines, the second in black lines, shows the improvement in the body without corsets. The muscles of the abdomen have regained their tonicity to a gratifying extent and in­stead of allowing the ab­dominal contents to fall down and forward there is fairly good natural support.
* Diagram 12. In diagram 12 comparison of the new corset outline in black and the new body outline, indicated by the dotted lines, shows that the ab­domen does not fall forward more than one inch when the cor­set is removed. The natural ab­dominal measure has been reduced from 60 to 53 inches—the corset measure from 66 to 50 inches. The patient has lost 46 pounds in weight, can stand without difficulty, climb stairs, walk long distances, and is in very much better general health.
* Diagram 13. Diagram 13 shows the outline of the two corsets--­the black indicating the one made one year later than that indicated by the broken out-line. The reduction in size is a marked improvement in ap­pearance as well as an in­dication of better physical condition, and instead of be­ing grotesque and unsightly in form, the patient dresses becomingly and the at the age of fifty-four has become much brighter than it has been for many years.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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