Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-04-08

| hAe "aepe upon my word, ene looks q.
though she might break in two very easily"
Its funny remarked the professor
thoughtfully, that tastes in the matter o.
waists should have changed SO much within the
last few years. Such slenderness as that Of tn,
young lady whom you pointed out does no
excite admiration NOWADAYS On the contrary
1t is the reverse of beautiful in the ewes of mos
people, being SO evidently artificial and at the
| same time suggestive of ill health Nothing
better illustrates the growth Of common sense
in the present age than the almost universal
abandonment Of tight lacing. Yet one heari
| cranks denounce this evil practice as il il still
| existed as 1t did when my grandmoth was
| young girl"
WAS she . victim Of the practice?" asked
Noodles.
| Decidedly. She often told me how she wa,
sent to fashionable boarding school when she
| was fourteen years old. Having always lived
in the country and spent her time unrestrained
in healthful pursuits ont of doors her shape wa.
| what nature intends that young woman's shall
be at that stage of her being. To the ladies i,
charge Of the scholastic establishment in oues.
ton, however, her figure appeared simply
dreadful as they expressed it, 1t would have
been well enough. perhaps. for milkmaid, but
for young lady it was most improper. The
misfortune could only be remedied by treat
ment of a drastic character. Accordingly. my
| unfortunate progenitriN was at once put into q
| course of straight jackets"
| straight jackets?" repeated Noodles
| Exactly SO. A corset of great strength and
| rigidity was fastened about her body and laced
In to the utmost possible point of construction
This che was obliged to wear at night as well as
| In the daytime. the instrument of torture being
fastened behind in such a manner that she
could not remove it surreptitiousy. Further
more, during her waking hours a board was
strapped fiat against the back of her waist and
shoulders. extending up the back of the neck,
where steel ring covered with leather encir-
cled her throat. This latter device was de-
signed to prevent her from stopping. She also
wore straps to keep her shoulders back though
an apparatus, sometimes preferred for the same
purpose, was a stiff curved bar Of steel sewn
along the upper edge of the stays. which ex-
tended back to the shoulders on each side"
You must be Joking" said Noodles. 81
never heard of such things"
Nevertheless. my young friend" said the
professor, devices OF the sort / describe were
commonly employed in 1920 and later 1t is
probable that tight lacing was carried to a worse
point at that time than ever before or since 1t
Is said t" have been quite usual for a mother to
lay her daughter down on the carpet and plac-
ing her foot on her back. break half a dozen
iaces In tightening her stays. MANY OF the cor
sets then In use were strengthened with bars Of
iron or steel three to four inches broad and
eighteen inches long. The standard of elegance
for waist measure was the span of two hands
At the boarding school which my mother at
tended there was actually rivalry among the
girls as to which of them should have the
smallest waist. 1t was considered necessary
that every young lady should have her figure
formed by such articles. The proper way to
accomplish this was by system of gradual
training, as it was termed. II began when
the girl was quite a child. corsets being put on
and worn often night and day in order that the
waist should be prevented from attaining the
size natural to an adult"
AS bad as Chinese feet" said Noodles.
Much worse, because infinitely more
destructive to health. Plenty Of young women
in those days used to boast of sixteen-iuch
waists and a measure Of fifteen inches was re-
garded as most enviable. Naturally, after a
course OF straight jackets the muscles on which
the body relies for its support were rendered
SO Tar useless that q young woman accustomed
to wear tight stays could not get along without
them. Deprived Of them she felt weak and
hardly able to sit or stand upright Thus there
were always to be found plenty OF advocates of
laclng, who declared that it WAS really neces-
sary to comfort. My grandmother's case was an
unfortunate one, because not having enioyed
the advantages Of the training system she was
Obliged. at fourteen years of age, to undergo
the process termed forcing that is to sa, she
was compelled to wear a progressive series Of
straight jackets, each one tighter than the last.
until she was reduced to the requisite point of
construction. The tortures she underwent were
horrible, but no mercy was shown her In fact
1t was then regarded as wholly impossible that
young lady should be allowed to have a normal
waist: She would have had no chance of getting
married"
How absurdr'
such was the fact Men admired nothing
so much in a woman then as a small waist
Physicians have told me that this practice of
our grandmothers is chiefly responsible for the
little health Of women at the present time.
There is young lady Of my acquaintance who
fn 90 r,ah ODD ~
prise her grandmother. The latter said to her
the other day that when she was a girl she was
accustomed to do with impunity all sorts of
things which young ladies would regard nova
Gays as dangerous impruSences. relying on her
robust constitution. She was trying to show
that girls are not what they used to be physic-
ally. We'll, grandma replied my little friend,
ii you had taken better care Of yourself when
you were young probably should not be
nearly SO delicate as am"
That was one on grandma" said Noodles.
There was good deal in it. 1 think" ad.
mitted the professor. "As you know. at the
period Of the American revolution tight lacipe.
which went out Of style for q while subse-
quently during the reign of the first Napoleon,
was very much in fashion in France. STAYS
were laced then to the extreme limit, the bodice
being sometimes sewn upon the figure of the
wearer after the corsets had been adjusted
The stays were commonly made of sole leather.
no other material being strong enough and
sumcientiy unyleldlng to stand the wear and
tension. They formed a sort of narrow conicsl
case, in the most circumscribed part of which
the waist was closely confined, SO that the fip-
ure was held remarkably upright Toward the
end of the reign of George LII gentlemen wore
corsets well as ladies'"
'You don't say sop
''Oh, yes. Since cOrsets were first inyeutsd
they have been worn quite commonly by men
Within comparatively recent years Young gem
tlemen in Europe were put into stays as n mart
Of their training for the army. In ENGLAND. as
early as the reign Of Queen Anne. hoops had
reached great size, one important object of
them being to make the waist seem smaller
writer OF that period speaking Of the requisite
accomplishments Of q matchmaker saws: .She
must know how to hide all the defects Of the
proportions of the body, and must be able 10
mold the shape by the stays SO as to preserve
the intestines, in order that while she corrects
the body she may not interfere with the pleasures
OF the palate"
did Queen Elizabeth wear corsets2"
well, rather. So did the men of that
period. The fashions then were most extra
ordinary. Gentlemen of the EIizabethan
period wore neither garments 90 puffed ont and
voluminous that laws were passed restricting
their dimensions. One man on being arrested
Tor breach OF this regulation excused himself
by pleading the convenience of the pockets
which his ample clothes contained From
them he drew forth pair Of sheets, q couple of
tsolecloths, dozen napkins, half dozen
shirts, brush, . glass, some night caps and
other useful articles The neither garments
az <roJ~ 49,