The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-07-13
VAR ON THE CORSET
Has Been Declared in the
Home of the Corset.
ALL WOMANKIND WONDERS
How the Battle viii Go--What
Some Say of 1t.

sidered it seriously. II the corset goes into
disuse, think of all the tygenic clubs OF
| advanced women, all the physician special
lists who will crow triumph and say 81
| told you SOP But the question is, Can
women go without their corsets and still
be delight to the eye? Have we not all
grown too accustomed to the clearly de-
fined waist-lins, the curve Of graceful hips
to admire lovely woman Invested Of any
bones Of steel, perhaps in some cases (sai
that 1t be to confess it of the. sexD looking
like bag of jellyfsh tied around with a
string. OF course this Is taking the worst
view Of it; but it is a woman's view, and
as the following facts show, is a view
shared by many. The corset Is in a stage
Of Improvement, but not of abolition en-
tirely.
1t has been recently quoted that several
of our leading actresses are abandoning
the corset. 1t is true that Miss Elsie de
Wolf NOW in Europe) wears only a rib
bon corset; that is tiny band around the
waist, just drawing the waist in slightly,
thus leaving something to button skirts
on. Miss de Wolf is very slight and can
we'll afford to renounce the steels.
Any one who has seer-Gsss. Leslie Car
ter in "Zaza" will readily see that she
cannot be hampered with corsets. She
said to the Journal yesterday:
20, no. don't wear corsets. I gave
them up long ago. The corset impeded the
action of my arms and restricted the free
dom and ease Of my breath. Now I wear
simply a ribbon corset band just to button
my skirts upon; but 1 wear even this
loose. and Of course it Is virtual no corset
at all. If 1 were stout of course should
certainly be obliged to wear a corset, but
/ would wear 1t loose. Tight lacing is
vulgar, and 1 think many stout women
make their size all the more pronounced
either by badly shaped corsets or else lac
ing them too tight. 1 believe in comfort
as well as artistic grace in form, and
many of my friends share my views"
Said Mrs. Dudley, her mother, with one
Of her charming smiles:
az never wire a corset until was mar
ried and had children: but dear me, now
I getting so stout what would look like
without one?
80, no, the corset will never he quite
abolished as long as there are fleshy wo-
men; but I think it is becoming muchc
more modified in make and use"
Nine. Macheret, the well known French
modiste, did not believe anything would
ever come of the new movement in Paris
why. French women are tooestout, and
what could they do without something to
compress the flesh? About forty the aver
age Frenchwoman Is plump, and at fifty
getting very fat. No nation thinks more
of appearances than the French, and it's
women will never give up corsets. Mime.
Peters, the best corset maker in Paris
now, is making a very low corset, short
on the hips and much pointed in front.
This Is the best coret for stout women,
as it leaves their chest ana arms free,
and draws them in at re waist. Several
of my customers are wearing the ribbon
corset, which is extremely short, and 7
believe in every one wearing corsets
loose. Mrs. Leslie Carter needs no cor
sets. She is perfect in form, and it would
be shame TO put them upon her. I know
Bernhard wears no corSets, but she,
again. has no use for them. AS for Eng
lish women All, well it does not matter
much what they wear. In the daytime
they go around dressed Just anyhow, and
they exercise so much that their flesh
is very hard and firm. In the evening,
even these stiff English girls wear corsets,
and usually have the French make"
Mrs Irene Bruh, the champion woman
cyclst, of Brooklyn, wears no corsets,
and she is as sstraight and supple as Al
young pine. She said:
"Oh, could not ride in stays. I like the
freedom of all my muscles. and find no
fatigue in holding myself erect in the sad
die" Mrs. Brush thinks all women would
be better off without stays, speaking, of
course from a professional standpoint.
DIR. Sara Armstrong speaks decidedly
and gracefully upon the subjects Size
says:
Il believe in keeping the new modes and
outlines, only with the figure not confined
as it is in corsets. l declare against cor
Gets, as the term is now defined, but 1
likewise declare against the unfeminine
from the regular corset figure Is now set
ting in from golf and other sports of So
ciey girls OF today. and some of the sweet
est gowns displayed by actresses are be-
ing wwOrn without stays. OF course no
society girl has any ambition to be either
a DIR. Mary Walker or Helen Of Troy.
and gOrments that compromise between
Grecian draperies and Mother HubbarGs'
have no attraction for them. I simply adj
vocate the sort of gown that outlines the
body, and defines the natural waist line.
think even a stout woman. VINO hereto
fore has dispaired of being anything but
monstrous. can. by careful teaching. adopt
a style that will reduce her flesh and
make her comfortable. one stout woman
said to ne: ''How dreadful l should look
without corSets" 7 replied doubtless you
would look much better than you do now
1t all depends upon ones exercise. habits.
and perseverance in right MANAGEMENT of
the body.
The way women are laeing now is
dreadful. This barberous fashion almost
died out for a time. the more estimabie
society women giving themselves more |
generous waist lines. but this Spring the |
lock OF the tailor-made froNs IS shocking. |
The waists have no beauty nor grace. and |
are Simply deformei. l think the corSets |
that are offered in the shops to give one \
a splendid form are Just the ones to b. /
avoided! / especially denounce the French 1
corset. which Is go cut and so boned as
to compress the figure into an unnatural 1
shape. instead Of falling into the lines of /
perfect grace and symmetry. There are /
certain reform corsets, andI have a model
IN mind which It is my intention 10 intro
duce. hoping 1t may prove a boon to my
sisters now under the stern do
minion OF the corset;
''T1sh; iacing utter.y destroys symmetry.
and stout women make fatal mistake in
90 doing. II makas than, "a L. IL. -