The great West., 1889-12-20
AMERICAN GIRLS WAISTS.
An Artistic Dressmaker Says They Are
Too Long to Be Ideal.

Too Lon. to Be Ideal.
II particularly want you to cut the dress
so that it will make my waist look as long as
possible" said the plump young damsel, as
she threw over her head and dimpled shoul-
ders the skirt of her walking costume, "It
has always been my greatest grief that
nearly all the girls know have longer waists
than l."
'By always" interposed her mother "my
daughter means the two years since she has
been out in society. OF course long waists
have been very much in fashion of late and
she has come to have notion that her figure,
which both her father and myself consider
exquisite, is defective in that respecn"
ooh, mammal" exclaimed the maiden, and
was going on with a speech of protest, when
the dressmaker interrupted her.
"Why, madame" said the latter, as she
folded up the airy fabric of silk and lace Just
tried on, ''there is not necessarily any rela-
ton between the ideal in female development
and the fashion that clothes it. The former
can never alter, while the latter is the very
type of change. What we call the mode is
perpetually trying to modify the figure by
fattening it out, swelling it up like a balloon,
or throwing in hump here and there to rem
der itsmore symmetrical; but it is not to be
supposed on that account that the ideal is
subject to alteration"
"And one is to find the ideal, suppose, in
what the artists, who are such awful bores,
as rule, call the antique"
"Better there than anywhere else, madame.
The Frenchman who instructed me in nv art
used to say that the function of fashion was
rather to improve upon nature than to follow
her-to pursue fancy rather than reality. A
woman with nothing on or draped after the
manner Of classical Venuses was not any
thing like so attractive as the same creature
in Nineteenth century frock. And, there
fore, he argued, fashion is an improvement
upon nature But even he admitted that the
type to build upon was not found attired in a
modern ball dress, but i'll the marble of the
old Greek sculptors. There is the beauty that
is absolute he would confess; the rest is but
q passing seduction to the eye, to please
which incessant change is necessary"
"But if ones figure is not the fashion,"
pouted the young girl, ''it lis none the less dis
tressing."
II don't know about that" rejoined the
dressmaker. II will venture the liberty of
saying that agree with your mother and
father in thinking that your figure is admira-
BILE. You have the length of limb which SO
many women lack, although yotare not very
tall; perhaps for the reason that you are
short you are we'll developed, as few tall
women in this country are; your arms are
long and straight, and the line from the back
of your neck to your heels is perpendicular,
so that you carry yourself gracefully. But
best Of all, you do not exhibit the great and
almost universal defect of the female figure
in America-your waist is not too long,"
$50 you actually regard long waist as a
defect?" exclaimed the elder lady in sur
prise.
"From the point of view of art, yes,
madame. The American woman is nearly al
ways too long wasted, and for that reason,
chiefly, her figure is the worst in the world
today, while her face is the prettiest Amer
ican girls are the most beautiful on EARTH SO
far as features and complexion go, and yet
how few of them are well developed. AS an
evidence of their structural deficiency you
may observe their surprising want of health.
A waist that is overlong, like neck of the
swan like variety, is symptom of consc;
tutional weakness"
"And the Greek"-
"Greek women, madame, used to make the
waist appear as high as possible by passing
girdle around just beneath the bust. This
gave the utmost appearance of length to the
limbs, and the lines of the chiffon were made
as flowing as practicable. No costume was
ever more. becoming-its seductiveness used
to be referred to in those times by advocates
of moral purity as its chief drawback-and it
has remained for 2 $500 years the ideal female
dress. ."-Washington Star.