The herald., 1895-06-16
MEN WEAR
CORSETS NOW
AT Least Some Do, So 1t
Is Said, Not Here But
bra Elsewhere
INTERVIEW WITH A MAKER
Some Customers Hope to Heighten Their
=: Beauty and Others to Improve
= Their Health, So They
INTERVIEW WITH A MAKER

tAC dih VI COlSCbS W uciSHbtH tlcli per
sonal attractions always have them made
to order, unlike the majority of women.
1t appears that there is a considerable
class of men who are not at all ashamed
of the practice of wearing corsets. 1t is
defensible on two grounds. One is that
they are an aid in elegance and beauty,
and the other that If properly made they
are beneficial to health by keeping u
weak frame erect, and giving the lungs
and other organs better chance to work
SO says q writer in the New fork World.
The argument that the frightening of
personal attractiveness in the male by
artificial means is noble object soon
carries one into profound philosophical
discussion. When among the lower ami
mails the males are commonly the more
gay and beautiful, why should man, who
must necessarily resort to clothing, be
sombrs and unsightly? The desire to
have well-fittng clothes is a remnant of
an instinct which was once Irong in
man. The wearing of corsets seems but
q modest development of the instinct of
self .ndornment. Why should it be con-
sidercd unnatural and Shameful But if
the argument for beauty in male attire
is maintained. the garments of today
must he entirely discarded. That men $
corsets are often things OF beauty is
proved by London makers statement
that he had in hand one pair OF pink
satin decorated with heur dc lis, and an
other OF Nile green adorned with lotos
flowers.
There is good reason to believe that
many Americans. especially New York
ers, wear cursets. but SO great is the ty-
ranny of public opinion in this country
that they guard the secret as they would
no other. A man with an unusually we'll
round figure, gracefully broadening from
the waist to the shoulder, is always to be
Inspected of wearing corsets. You have q
good opportunity to detect them when he
ascends a staircase, as they are apt to
impede upward progress.
In the German and Austrian armies
corsets are very frequently worn by Off
GERS. In their case il is certainly not for
hygienic reasons, because they are mostly
stout STRAIGHTFORWARD fellows. Their
end is purely the frightening of their per-
sonal charms, and they attain it, at lsast
in the eyes of their countrywomen. No
where is the primitive superiority of the
male so well maintained as by d young,
uniformed German officer in the presence
of few German maidens.
A representative of the Westminster
Budget recently had an interesting con-
versation with the most fashionable cor
sct.maker for men in London. Here it
is:
MANY men," said the corset-maker,
"are sent to me by their medical advis-
ers and have, in fact, one medical man
himse among my customers. OF course
/ attend to them personally to see that
they have no trouble about the fit OF the
corsets.'
''But those are not all your customers,
Mr.. Everett. are they? The dandies who
wear stays to improve their figures are
much more amusing than the men who
are perfectly justified in wearing stays
as a support. Tell me about the dandles?
II have some of the latter as well,
though, let me tell you, it is not at all
amusing to fit or measure them. Not
that any OF the men for whom | work are
troublesome or fastidious. as the ladies.
about their stays. But they take the matter
seriously, in business-like way. They
come here by appointment. as rule, and
the only sign that they want the matter
kept pniet Is that they mark their letters
private. 1 measure them for hitting them,
and when the stays are ready they are
sent to them addressed as private. Some
mon don't like coming here, and | ar
young gentleman explains that he
wants to improve his figure. No, even
this sort of customer does not tight
lace: ! simply made the corset fit, that
is all. ~
"What is the average width OF mans
corset waistP Fifty, hundred or there
AbOuts?"
mo, not quite that: though | meas
ured fat clergyman the other day for a
pair of stays who measured fifty inches
around the waist. Clergymen are good
customers of mine. A good many Off
GERS in the army and navy get their cor
sets from me. I sent pair to India only
<vnvy fhntt mo n hn.
MATERIAL
And from among the pretty patterns,
Everett drew one of a lovely pinkish silk.
embroidered with tiny French tlenr-de-
lis. and held it up. Think OF the waste
of loveliness Out in his wild, untidy
bungalow somewhere on the Indian hills
or plains, ii. NJ. S warrior DOMINIC his
pink silk fleur-de-ls embroidered stays.
1t is disgusting, from the aesthetic as
well as from the practical point of view
Another pair that ad not yet gone
home to its owner was shown to me;
white brocade with gooseberry green
floral pattern. 1t had shoulder straps. was
terribly heavy with steel and whalebone,
and measured twenty. lone inches round
the waist.
That one tight-laces, anyhow. said.
"Oh. no, he is a very slight man. 1t
just fits HIM easily"
: 'Do all the men who go in for stays in
1
lovely silks as part of the serious Jrans-
action?"
mo, most of them choose a very plain,
strong material of a staple color. Gray
is m ost used, and black now and then.
Black has the drawback that it marks the
linen. A man wears his stays between
his vest and his shirt, SO black is not
on the whole good color"
And do they impore you to hide the
fact from all men, even from their own
household. that you supply them with
stays?"
Far from it. They d not want it pub
lished, but they are not in the lets nerv-
ousa pout keeping it secret from their
own people. Only the other day a lady
came In here for whose husband | had
made pair of stays. He was so pleased
with heir fl that he sent his wife in order
that she might be measured for pair"
Now. Mr.. Everett. as to the price Is it
ruinous?'
Men stays are more expen sive than
chiefly because there is more
in them. But | can supply
thoroughly good pair at Sc and, as a rule.
they are just $3.50 more than ordinary
ladies' stays. OF course. l make for each
customer specially. 1t would never do to
keep mems stays in stock.
Down goes the price People who want
cheap machine can buy new machine, oak