Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-04-08
AT the court of France?"

''Yes; when she assumed the power which
she so long maintained at that court costume
and fashion became her study. aud at no period
of the worlds history were the laws of style
more exacting She detested thick waists. and
the correct standard OF measurement as de-
creed by her was thirteen inches. In order
tina. this extreme slenderness should be a.
| tanned she invented and introduced a severe
and powerful corset which was called the
corps 1t was hardened and stiffened in
every imaginable way, descending in long,
hard point and rising stiff and tight at the
throat. In this rigid continuance the form OF
the fair wearer was incased, and gradual con-
striction was pursued until the waist became Of
the proper size Over this corset was worn a
cover Of thin steel plate. cut out and wrought
into an open pattern for the sake of lightness.
Upon this cover the silk or velvet OF the bodice
was sewn directly. so that there should be no
fold or wrinkle. The steel cover was made in
two pieces At both front and back long rod
of steel projected in a curved direction down.
ward. On these rods depended mainly the
adjustment of the long peaked body Of tho
dress and the set Of the skirt behind.
The ladies of the nobility in France were
compelled to adopt these devices OF the queen,
as well as the standard Of waist measure set by
her. In this way the fashion got such q start
that it was followed over the greater part Of
Europe. Queen Ehzabeth's court accented ii,
but it never became general in England In
that country later on it was superseded by a
stout and unyielding corset closely ribbed with
whalebone. Both men and women wore such
stays. Queen GATHERINGS son, Henry III, was
much addicted to tight lacing. He inherited
from his mother all of her taste for personal
adornment. He wore eardrops in his ears, dyed
his hair and padded his hips.
AS far back as the sixteenth century En-
peror Joseph OF Austria. becoming alarmed at
the formidable lures laid out for the capture Of
mankind by the fair sex. issued an edict rigor-
ously forbidding the use Of the corset in all
nunneries ana places where young females were
educated. Transgressors of the law were
threatened with accommodation from the
church among other penalties. The royal COM
mand. like an electric shock. startled the col
lege OF physicians into activity and ZEAL and
learned dissertations on the crying sin Of tight
lacing were scattered broadcast among the
ranks OF the beuighted and tight-laced ladies of
the time. The only result was that open def
ance was bid 10 the edict and the doctors, and
corsets were, if possible, made tighter than
ever before.
1T is not known just when the laced corset
OF modern type was invented. The first exist
ing record of 1t is a caricature which adorns
manuscript dated 1043. now in the British
Museum. The drawing represents the Fiend
OF Fashion, which seems to be q typical imp
with horns and claws, wearing a long skirt,
lewery and corset. The picture was pro-
duced during the reign of Edward the Con-
satire on prevailing fashion. conveying a wa-n-
ing TO the male that alabaster shoulders
and slender waists are too often associated with
birthstone attributes. In the thirteenth CEN
fury corsets were made for men. Richard,
king OF the Normans, and his son Edward wore
them. At that time the practice OF tight
lacing pervaded every rank of society. Chsucer
speaks with admiration of q young lady as
being small as a weasel"
$50 there were no corsets before the eleventh
century," said Noodles.
Yes, indeed. Corsets have always been
worn since the time when ssvages first found
out what a useful support is given TO the figure
Ry broad stiff girdle such girdles were first
made from the skins Of beasts. A thong of
hide or strip of tendon served for a lace, which
was passed through holes made with a sharp
bone. II did not take long for the primitive
young woman to discover that a belt well drawn
In served to display her figure to greater ad-
vanta~s than one carelessly or loosely adjusted.
To i. -xe il ornamental porcupine quilts sea
shells and the teeth of wild animals were fast
ened upon il. In the mysterious and ancient
forest city of Palenque. in South America. the
history of which is lost in remote antiquity,
there is bas-relief representing female with
an elaborate waist bandage. Ii confines the
waist from just below the ribs down to the hips
as firmly as the most unyielding corset Of today
''On certain islands of Polynesia, when they
we're discovered, the native young women were
arranged rattan cane. This, once put on was
not removed until the celebration of the mar
riage ceremony. The taste for small waists
seems always to have existed in the world II
has prev allied in the orient to a greater extent
than in Europe. Women Of Java eat a kind of
red clay TO make them slender, though il de-
stroys their health. 1t has the effect of taking
away their appetite. SO that they can eat only a
very little at a time. The people of Ceylon
make q study Of slimress in females. They
consider that young woman's waist should be
small enough to be clasped by the two hands.
Oddly enough, this standard seems to have
been accepted all over the globe from the coral
fringed isles Of the Pacific to Tartary ard
Circassia- Circassian women, SO famed for
their beauty. wear q corset of morocco with
two plates Of wood on the chest to prevent ex-
pansion OF the chest and to confine the bust.
This device Is worn even at night and il only
taken of when worn out
Ladies' of ancient Rome wore . bandage as
well as girdle, and these were intended to take
the place OF the modern corset In their day Q
slight and tapering waist was considered beau
tifuL The nrst corset OF which there is any
record was the celebrated girdls Of Venus,
which, according to Homer's account, Juno
borrowed Tor the purpose Of rendering herself
more attractive in Jupiter's eyes"