The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1891-06-11
WAIST CONSTRUCTION.
The Evil Effects of Wearing Tight Cloth
ing.

/
ing.
One OF the greatest obstacles in the
way OF reform is that SO few women
can be made to understand that thei1
clothing is harmfully tight, even when
they are suffering from this cause to an
extreme degree. A short time ago, ]
took occasion to measure the waist of a
lady who had made the worn-out state.
ment that she never in her life had
worn her clothing tight. In applying
| 5he tape-line about the waist outside
'he clothing, / found the measurement
20 be exactly twenty-five inches. My
ady office assistant directly afterward
measured the waist at the same point,
with all the clothing removed, and
'ound the measure to be exactly twen-
ty-seven inches, showing that this lady
who was SO very positive that her cloth
ing was mot the least bit tight had
diminished by two inches, the space
which should be occupied exclusively
oy the stomach, liver, spleen, kidneys,
bowels and nerve centers, and in addi-
ton, had crowded in the thickness of a
corset, several undergarments and a
1ress!
When exhorted upon the subject,
many women exelaim in triumph, 81 do
not wear corset. l have never worn a
corset in my life;;" or 81 wear health
corset;" or 81 suspend all nv
garments from the shoulders Never
theless, an examination will show that
almost without exception, even those
who consider that they have made
praiseworthy reform in dress, and are
exceptionally correct in their observ-
ance of the requirements of hygenie in
TINS particular, are found to be suffer-
ing serious injury from the construction
OF wristbands. 1t is useless for a wom-
an to deceive herself by lifting the
skirts and calling attention to the
iooseness of the bands as she very weIr
knows that these same bands, when
dragged downward by the weight of
skirts either heavy or light, are drawn
tightly about the body. If this was not
the case, nothing would prevent them
from slipping over the hips. They must
be tight to be of the slightest service in
supporting the skirts. Supporting the
skirts by bands passed over the shoul-
ders seldom helps matters very much,
since the narrow straps usually en-
ployed as skirt supporters, when drag
ged down by the weight of the several |
garments commonly attached to them, |
cut into the flesh and produce so much |
discomfort and restriction of movement |
OF the shoulders that, to relieve the
strain, the garments are attached at a |
point SO low as to allow the weight to |
partially rest on the hips. The evil
thus sought to be avoided, is scarcely
A woman's clothing should be as
loose as mans. There should be am
pie room for full play of the breathing
of the waist and abdomen.
There should be ample opportunity for
The diaphragm to play up and down in
It's ceaseless, rythmical activity. The.
lver, stomach, spleen, pancreas and
Kidneys should be allowed to remain
where they belong, SO that they can
perform their work naturally and eff
'1ently. To insure this, the only safe
plan is to have the upper and lower gar
nents made in one piece, and to employ
IS few undergarments as is consistent
With warmth, SO that no unnecessary
weight may be loaded upon the shoul-
lers or carried about the waist or hips.
shoulder straps and braces, skirt sup
'orters, stocking supporters, and the
arious sorts of harness recommended
women who wish to make reforrna.
ory Improvement in dress, must be un-
esitatingly pronounced failures. Tnev
o not accomplish what is expected OF
hem, but are themselves in many cases
Productive of positive mischief. The
umerous health corsets, elastic cor.
cts, dress-reform corsets, hygienic cor
cts, and the whole category of similar
are merest sophistries. The
My service which they efficiently per
orm is that of deceiving the wearer
1to the supposition that she is con-
1rming to the laws of health as regards !
ress, while the worst mischiefs are ,
teadily being wrought by some gar s
lent, the only sanitary feature of which
its alluring name.-Dr. J. HI. Kellogg. S
i Good Health. !