The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-11-05
A SLENDER WAIST
How to Secure This Desira-
bic Possession Without
Injury to Health.
EXPANSION VS.. COMPRESSION
Things That Beautify the Furni-
ture-A Unique Profession
Evening Waists and Fancy
Book Covers.

The worship of the waist line, accord
ing to a scoffer at American customs,
is the most firmly held article of an
American woman's creed, remarks the
Philadelphia Press. There is some truth
in the c~riticiSETbut unfortunately, not
enough.
The American woman's worship of the
waist line is not intelligent enough; it
is not comprehensive enough. 1t begins
and ends with sienderness. 1t does not
IA sufficient regard for suppleness. 1t
ignores proportion. 1t bows down and
adores twenty inches, ignoring the S6-inch
chez measure above and the 40-inch
hip Sneasure below. The Ameri-
can worship of the waist line,
in fact, expresses itself rather in
IT, purchase of French corsets than in
athletics, which are warranted to produce
sylph-like lines.
An intelligent attention to the waist
line includes attention to the position of
the shoulders and of the abdomen. The
waist cannot be slightly if the shoulders
are bent or if the stomach protrudes.
Consequently arm movements with dumb
bells or indian clubs or merely with the
hands are important in the cultivation of
a shapely waist. The movements are
simple. The seeker after grace assumes
an erect posture, with arms, shoulders
and hips on a line and with heels touch
ing. In that position she practises the
movements taught in every school-lift-
ing the arms straight above the head,
stretching them out On a Level with the
shoulders, out straight in front and
straight downward. Five minutes de-
voted to this exercise every morning and
evening viii do wonders toward giving
one an erect carriage and toward filling
out the chest.
The movements for keeping the hips in
proper proportion are equally simple. Ly-
ing fiat on the back, the gymnast raises
her leg slowly as high as possible, using
the hip as a pivot. The leg is also moved
from side to side, and finally a circular
movement is made.
To attain suppleness. which is included
in the worship of the waist line, bend the
body from the waist forward, backward
and to each side as far as possible, five
times in each direction twice a day. Also
practice touching the floor with the fin
ger tips, without moving the knees, and
learn to rise from a recumbent position
to a sitting one. using only the muscles
of the back, and not bending the knees.
All these exercises tend to keep the
waist supple and graceful, and the chest
and abdomen in place. The women whose
actual waist Measurement. however, is be-
ginning to be a source of anxiety to her,
must adopt more radical measures. She
must make a study of the methods of
athletes in training. and follow them to a
moderate degree. The athlete, when he is
getting himself in shape for a contest,
rids himself of su~perfiuous flesh by elimi-
mating fat producing foods from his diet,
and by violent perspiration inducing ex-
ercise. The woman whose worldly
ambition it is to train down
a growing waist, must follow
foods must be given up; long, brisk
walks. followed by hard "rub7downs,"
must be taken daily. Bicycle riding, row..
ing, horseback r~iding-any brisk exer-
cise-must form part of her daily regi-
men. And unlike the professional athlete,
she may after a while sink into mild re-
pose, for the contest with increasing
waist measurement is a never ending