National Republican., 1886-12-25
PERFECT FIGURES ARE RARE.
Secrets Of the Trade Given Away by
Drcssmnker.
Tf.t-,tt T'r.ttrU1
LrelrsIt Trinnne.l

Drcssmnber.
Detroit TriuunC1
"What is a perfect Ggurc'' repeated a
popular Henry street mod,ste. "Well,
perfect figure is a rarity. There are many
good figures In Detroit, but should say
very few perfect ones; that is, Of just the
required proportions"
"What are the propor,onsn
"ThirtysiN inches bust end 22 waist, 10
inches chest and If back Is perfect figure.
The average good figure is 8S bust with ~
waist, or 33 bust with % waisi. OF course,
l am not speaking Of little ordinary figures,
but woman . feet inches 60 feet or9
irChes in height. Now, Fanny Davenport
has what may be called an extraordinary
figure. She measures 20 inches waist, 3j
lust, and II inches In the length OF her
waist, where l6 is called the perfect length"
Have you perfect figure among your
CustomersV ~
81 have one, young lady on Slbley
street She has u perfect figure, round and
lroportionste, al ii needs no padding"
Padding Domost figures require pad
dlrgp
"Bicss you There Is uoton In lfty that
is rot built up more or less. Some are
crooked, others are hollow chested, or
have vacuums under the arms, one
high collar bones, and these defects have
TO lc rcmedicd IN some way, you see. No
good Dir, ssmuker wishes to turn out work
That looks like n crazy quilt Half the
world would say Il was the dressmiker's
fault instead Of seeing that It was the figure
which needed rounding out. Ladies often
ssy they will not wear 4 dress, but when
they ave few uul G,s they are glad to
leave II to the drpssma'ur's Judgement
"Whi,h Is the letter, wool or cotton, for
paddingfn
"Both answer the purpose. Actresses
like wool; 1t does not iiHtten out II we
have 10 build up ouly some particular part
We use cotton. Some have an eatire har-
ness Of either cotton or WOOL One ObicC-
tion to wool Is It's warmth, especially in hot
weather. There ere few figures SO free
from augles as to do entirely without some
artificial plumpBess, but 1t Is very funny
how few women see their figures as Others
see them. They usually think their
own forms divine, and the poor dress
mah,r ,UfTers for It, when the truth OF 1t is
tlaJuct more than half Of the American
wLtlen have even passably good figures.
'ghe other half are positively bad, aud the
fdrCssmakurs have to pad up to make them
ut oil prescntalle Why, the very number
Of manufactured articles for the improve
inCnt Of womCu's shapes shows this. There
Is always coming ont Il hip-bustle, dress
Kind of corsets.n
"What Kind of corsets do you consider
the testw
"A long corset which holds the hip down
without pressure. A corset should not be
worn over the bust, except merely as a sup.
port, lut it should 60 over the hips unless
the figure is very slight"
"What is the best style Of dress for bad
fguref"
Something full, which will cover the de.
feet. A plain princess is becoming for an
ordinary figure. A good figure looks best
in perfectly plain dress"
"Ilow many can wear plain dress 2"
"About five out Of twenty. OF course
any one can If she will consent to be built
'"Do girls pad more than formerly" ?"
so, yes: twenty years ago very few girls
padded. l remember young lady visiting
here from the east who spent SO much time
padding that young society was greatly ex-
cited over it. 1t was said that II took her
three hours to dress for a party. The
mothers shook their heads, and the
Jealous of the attention their brothers
and beaus paid her. A good many
young girls began to pad then.n
"Was there as much lacing IN those
daysg'
"There has always been lacing since my
day. / don't think the tight laclng that
there is so much talk OF is half as bad as
the high.heeled shoes. Fashion In foot
wear bas more weak spines than lacing
ever has. There is nothing that ruins a
figure like high-hGeled, narrow-toed
shoe"
''Do yon think the athletic craze has
anything to do with the present shapeY"
'Not yet; neither that nor the esthetic
rage has run long enough to make any
change. l think the next generation will
be benefited ly these outside sports. IL
parents would Only see the necessity of
watching their growing children the next
generation would need fewer pads and pam
niers. Men talk about tight lacing and Its
beiIg ihe cause of the American woman's
ill.heulth, but don't believe 1t. The Eng
lsh WCmcD, who are very healthy, lace
much tighter / think the STOPPING posi-
tions children get into AZ school, doubling
up their ipiHes aud COMPRISING growing
organs, and the long flights Of stairs they
climb are more to be censured. am not
giaGuate nor an NJ. d., but | wish
could impress upon the American mother
the great necessity OF bad habits being
noticed sLd corrected In early life to give
their children less book education and make
them take The right exercise. Every grow
ing girl should exercise to promote symmet-
rlcal bodily development. IL would save any
amount Of trouble and temper lfw men and
girls were formed as Nature intended them
to be and as they might be II they would
give more attention to hygiene. Then we
would see grace and symmetry aud taper
ing CuIvCs in shoulders and waists as
nature first defined them"