The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-24
MANLY BEAUTY TO ORDER.
Masculinity Made Up with Face Paints
and COrSerS


From the Cincinnati Commercial
One doesn't hear much about it, but a
great many CT tue weIl-dressed men Of to-
day wear corsets. 1t is sad. but true, that
q large majority Of the society swells who
pose as models of masculine beauty are as
completely made up" as any ballroom belle
with her touches of paint and powder.
According to tailors who ought TO know,
more than half OF the straight-backed,
handsomely formed Apollos with who ~ I'M
suspecting maidens fall in love- owe their
symmetry OF figure to genuine whaleoones
and steels.
1t is by no means an original idea with
them, however. They inherited the idea
from their ancestors. Fifty years ago the
swells of London knew, or at least thought
they knew, that Bulwer Lytton wore af-
fairs of this kind for the purpose OF squeeS-
ing his shape into outlines graceful enough
to extort admiration from the other sex.
The consequence was that when Lytton
made mis- attack on Tsnnyson in the COL
umns Il Punch and declared that he out
babied Wordsworth and out-glittered Keats
and referred to him, the laureate, as
''Schoolmiss Alfred" Tennyscn responded
in verse, and the most vicious of satirical
digs, wherewith the verses sbounded, dealt
with the fac5 that the au hor OF Tho Cax-
tons" was In the habit of resorting to this
woman's device for the improvement Of the
human form. Bulwer had signed his verses
"rhe New Timon," and 1ennyson, who
| responded under the suitable name of Alci-
blades, rhyLned one OF his conceits as fol-
| lows:
So died the Old; here comes the New.
Regard hm-a familiar face
thought we knew nm. What, it's you
The padded man. that wears the stays!
1t is obvious from this that the poet lau-
reate thought that the most Sc ere thing he
could say about man was that his tailor
was in the habit Of padding his coat and
| that his haberdsSher was In the habit of
supplying him with corsets. l don't know
| but that this idea would be Endorsed to q
cJns derable ex ent in the present day, and
| yet it is known that so distinguished a man
| $ Roscoe Conkling wore corsets, and W re
! them constantly after he had passed his 3Oth
| year. an6 made no concealment of the fact
| although, of course, from the nature # our
present dress, he made a ooncealment of the
corsets.
The man who wears corsets today usually
| orders them from a gentlemens furnishing
| store. He Drnba 1ly comes 10 the dsterming-
| don Ct wearing corsets whom be uegins to
grow so stout That the lie of his waist is
! nearly Ouliterated. and he finds, as he
views himself in the long pier glass. that
tuere IS scarcely any curve whatever from
the point Of hls arm pit to tha beginning Of
the hip.
The ordinary man usually exhibits good
deal Of embarrassment in giving his frss
order for this new and strauge feature in his
wardrobe. Indeed, he breads so much the
necessity. or alleged necessity. for giving IL
that n many cases hs buys a lsrgo-slzed
misses corset on tue pretsnse
htt it is for bis daughter.
sho Is staying out o. town, or for some
other lad members OF his family 10
4nds however that this affair does not DC,
.nd after all 10 Is compgiied % rasorG % bis
aheriasA9r Then. even. be doesn't always
com Out a say u j. fuT hlnself. and when
be does acknowledge thai be - going 20
teaF them be forinalafes all manner ~
ilferilpg excuses. tno chief ul9Dg then
ahlea % ttat hs IL t1ogslrsl sta seaE mus
'la-, hni Us doctor b e. advised bin tLat
acEsri % nHsltgialF lfrtsf8 T. lts pr9prl-