Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-04-12

A Crusade Against C0rsetx, Petticoafs,
Tight Boots, and Twenty ButtOned
Gloves.

lecture on the present style of dress was
delivered by Mr.. Frederick Treves, at Kensing-
| ton, on Saturday, under the auspices of the Ma
tlOnal Health Society. The lecturer observed
that the primary objects Of clothing, to cover
the body and maintain it at an equable temper
| ament, have little or no concern in some of the
dresses of the period. In the low evening dress
| the arms, neck, and upper part of the chest and
| back are bare, while about the lower extremi-
| ties is accumulated mass of raiment that
would garb a dozen children. In the ordinary
dress of women little regard Is had for MAIN
tanning an equable temperature OF the body
The covering Of the upper part Of the chest
above the line OF the corset is very thin-per-
haps that OF the dress only. The region Of the
corset Is reasonably covered, while about the
hips many layers Of clothing are massed. Thus
| the body may be divided geographically into
frgid, temperate, and a torrid
zone As regards tight lacing Mr.. Treyes said
if the most beautiful female outline is that of
young, normal. well-develOped woman, then
narrow waist is hdeOus. miniature waist is
defOrmity under any circumstances, and few
defOrmities are pleasing. The waist is an in
Election of the body between the lowest rib and
the hip bone. No normal woman is waistless,
although its cOnSpicuOuSness depends some
what on development Children have normally
no waist and a tight laced child is q gross and
pitable defOrmity. The normal waist has a cir
conference of about twenty-eight or tYenty1
twenty inches; the waist measurement of dress
makers lay figures now varies from twenty-One
TO twenty-five inches. Those who wish to i'm
prove their figures by stays have before them
the conceptions of a twenty inch waist Venus.
TO the outline of this hour glass they aspire. The
normal waist is quite oval; the fashionable
waist quite round. Women with miniature
waists who maintain that such waists are
natural to them, and are Independent of
art, must have been born defOrmed. No person
~ w nrIh DIV do foch
able waist. AS regards health, the tapering
waist is effected mainly by a compression of the
five lower ribs these ribs being more movable
than all the rest. There is popular delusion
to the effect that there is plenty of empty space
inside the body and into this space the dis
placed organs are pushed in tight lacing Tight
facing means depression not of skin, muscle
and bone. but of liver, stomach and lungs
Even slight amount OF construction affects
these organs, and stays that are by no means
tight lessen the capacity of the chest for air.
Post naOftemS on tight laCerS show the liver
deeply mdented with the ribs. and more or less
seriously displaced. The stomach is also COM
monty affected, as, too. are the lungs. The dis
eases that commonly result are chronic dys-
pepsia, liver arrangements, disturbances of
nutrition, DC. Tight lacing, moreover renders
more or less useless the diaphragm, or principal
muscle of respiration. The breathing powers of
the narrOw-waisted are always seriously
impaired. and hence follows possibly the Ian
guOr, the inability for eXertiOn the tendency to
faint, &c The circulation, moreover, is inter-
Tered WITH and certain cases are reported of death
from apopleXy in young women who have tight
laced. Stays injuriouslv affect the muscles of
the back. These muscles become wasted be-
cause their function, that of supporting the
spine, is absorbed by the corset. and they ex-
hibit the usual changes of muscles that have
been long disused. Thus the back is actually
weakened by the use of stays and those women
who maintain that they cannot do without the
support of stays make use of the argument of
the opium eater, who, after having by indul-
gence developed craving for the drug, asserts
that he cannot do without it. Under no Cir
cumstances do young girls require stays, and to
the bulk OF young women also the same remark
applies. A modified corset. composed merely of
some stiff material, and devoid of all bands and
whalebOnes, etc, may be used by those who in
chne to stoutness, or whose bustS are prOmi-
nent and by women who have been mothers
Such corset or bodice would merely give that
slight amount Of support required for comfort
and appearance. The lecturer next referred to
shoes and boots, and denounced pointed toes
and high heels. He thought the amount of
clothing usually worn by women was too great
and that the number of petticoats was
often excessive. These garments have for
their primary object the protection of
the lower extreElities, but if addi-
tiOnal warmth is required for these parts surely
the use OF an extra petticoat or so is not the
most sensible way of supplying it. Not only do
petticOats add greatly to the weight of dress to
be carried, but they throw a very injurious bur-
den on the hips around which they are attached
Several petticOats suspended layer by layer
about the waist cannot have other than an inju-
rlOus effect upon health, and the evil is espe-
cially obnoxious to young girls. in whom the
hips are narrow and in whom the garments can
not be properly supported without cOnsidera-
bic amount of construction of the waist If these
garments must be worn. let them be attached to
bodice, or let them be suspended from the
shoulders by modified form of brace. A far
more sensible way of clothing the lower extrem-
tiles is provided by the so called combination
garment. which Is a most valuable addition to
reasonable and healthy dress. Gloves with q
fabulous number OF buttons. that cover nearly
the entire arm. and with closeness of at, and
with linpermeability OF structure, must seriously
interfere with the action of the skin of the upper
extremities There was need of a dress both
sensible and pretty. and the evolution of such
dress would appear to be at present somewhat
oppose fashionable costume The Greek Dress
somewhat recently introduced, was not only K
temely graceful but it was also healthy, and
may, with some little ingenuity. be adapted to
all the circumstances of every day life.
The Habit OF Late Suppers.
Speaking Of fashionable customs in New
York. correspondent of the st. Louis Globe
Democrat writes Another striking indication
in small way, is the liberality with which the
many expensive restaurants DelmOnicO's, the
Brunswick, &c, are patrOniZed. The man who
has already spent $50 or $40 for couple of
seats to hear Patti or to see Sara Bernhardt
will, of course, not hesitate to wind I'D the
evening with supper which will cost IS or $40
ahead more. Perhaps no more vivid illustration