Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-07-31

are in the minority. My customers are
society ladies ten to one"
There is hope. We are not nearly ms
big fools as we have been. Kate l.. Jack
sen, throughout her criticism, admits
that "to many the external dress con
formable to the world, and answer the
highest needs, is not yet within the posi-
Dillties of woman. Nevertheless much
can be done in this direction without rrn-
derlng the wearer obnoxious to friends
and society"
Many of us know that we are physically
"cabbined, cribbed, confined" and cannot
be what nature intended We endure
what we protest against that society may
endure us. No good can be claimed for Il
style of dress that in working demands the
expenditure of four times the amount of
force. Were women's first desire to at
tain beauty, as is often claimed, they
would know, given the intelligence they
, do not possess collectively that the first
attributes of beauty are adaptabiity and
utility. Even an ornament that means
nothing is artstically u crime. Where
is the adaptability or utility of the revived
hustle
Several of the North Amcrtcun critics
rail against cOrsets as inherently abomina-
BILE. THE corset" writes Elizabeth
Stuart Phelps, even when not unreason-
ably worn or'laced, congresses the dimen-
sions of the waist eight inches from their
peatedly proved"
No one has II greater regard for Miss
Phelps than myself, but fact forces me to
take issue with her on this point A cor
set that Is not laced increases the size of
the waist to the extent of It's own thick
ness. Instead of being a bane corsets
when not laced are an advantage, so long
as the present long waists and skirts pre-
vail. They help support the skirts, pre-
vent strings from pulling upon the waist,
ana Keep the wrinkles out of plain bod
ices
My ladies'" testfies another modiste.
according to Miss Phelps, are coming to
me and saying, "Make me look like Gree
Cleopatra (Naming a beautiful and
famous and favorite actress) | answer,
Madame would you have of me the i'm
possible Gree Cleopatra has never worn a
corset. That grace, that suppleness, that
charm, that ease with which you observe
how the lines of her costume follow the
contour of her figure-madame no dress
maker on Gods earth can create YOU those
things out of a French corset ~
should very much like to know the
real name of "Circe Cleopatra ?' If she
dOnS modern costume she must wear a
corset to preserve the smoothness of the
bodice without which it will not fit
properly. | have known actresses all my
life, some blessed with fine figures, not
one of whom ignored cOrsets except in
ureek azure. Even IN Galatea, Mrs.
! Langtry clings to her whalebones, for the
reason that she adopts the modern waist
instead of wearing a proper costume
where the waist is Immediately below the
/ bosom. Just so long as women wear
long waists, just so long will corsets in
some form or other he Indispensable
/ When women really love beauty, and
recognize that such figures as the Venus
of Milo are finer models than fashion
plates, there will be neither long waists
nor cOrSetS
If American women were not absolutely
I snobbish in their allegiance to Paris dress
makers, if they thought for themselves
and dared to call their bodies their own
they would meet in council and make
their own fashions. Mrs King well says
Women need character reform as much
as dress reform" and until public schools
and private seminaries turn out self
helpful, able bodied individuals, instead
of rickety parrots stuffed with book learn
ing, the reign of common sense will be
postponed.