New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-19

female charm, a slender waist. without injury to
! the health" Another had sometimes seen de-
cded Improvement in health follow when tight
| lacing had been enforced upon an awkward ronnd
| shouldered girl"
| A surprisingly large number OF men took part In
| the controversy. and though few as well as some
women. condemned the practice in most emphatic
| language many more cordially approved II. one
| man said that women must perpetrate this su-
| preme folly for the admiration Of one another
| since he did know single man who hked
small waist but If the other letters may De taken
as any Indication of the prevailing opinion OF the
time he must have been exceptionally fortunate
| IN his circle of acquaintances. Not a few OF the
men confessed 10 wearing the garment in question
| themselves. one of them stating that he had the
| addresses Of forty "staymakers' in London VINO
made corsets to order for men. Nearly all the
! other men were agreed in wanting their wives 10
| have as small waists could by any means ne
| attained to. -,
| One woman wrote that her husband frequently
| told her that she caught him with her small waist
! and q devoted wife gave a detailed ana apPeiins
account of the torures she endured in order 10 re-
! duce her grth 10 the dimensions which the part
nor of her ioys and sorrows considered artistic
This heroine expressed herself to the following
effect:
did not commence TO lace tightly until a1 % Tas
married nor Should 90 na aaye fond Of small
waist; but was determined not to lose one atom
C OF ms not bear to think Of him liking any one
e Hos hsTre waist 6sSer ea nar inches
went and ordered pair t, Oh bone yneasmping only
and nabes ea ou Mn the ss Wa PS with tie
assistance Of my maid put on, Shu ncbes Al
nsbt slept in my corset without oosing the lace
in the least The day my maid got my ' wqlsr
t to 6aV until she got them meet
ega5y w st4asS e tSns dd 2em as the
might stretch little They did not open IN rom
that could no, Tnd the h nan was Very great
bv as soon as the stays were laced close and
had worn abd nTm so sh 1Gr in month or
have taken them of on any acc1Iir az, nv husband
enjoyed me dress to fit was amply repaid for
my trouble; and although am nov Zone from my
ana the eth NV 6gure remains the same. which Is
charm age will not rob me OF nave never ''AO
cause to regret the step TOOK
That she might have retained the bloom Of youth
y u,t,e longer II she had given her vital organs
more room is an idea that seems never 10 nave
occurred TO this writer ~
some letters from fathers Of grown up daughters
indicate a similar and more decided trend OF
masculine opinion. "A Colonel wrote that on go
,rg abroad some years previously he had placed
his daughter at school In England, with lhsuuc-
ions to the principal that every means known 70
art should be employed in order TO secure ,he i"s"-
ionable degree Of figure" Judge OF his surprise
,harofore on his return at finding her with thick
U1iS
,ho, the only construction that had been applied
. ~ ber waist had been by means of fimsy elastic
corsets and that even these had never peen
effectually laced Upon consulting woman iriehu
he learned that II not too late, ana thh' IL INC
,,o,,no woman was submitted TO a thorough course
~ fight lacng the desired degree or attenuation
, which he was Informed for fashionable span
| waist ought not TO exceed fourteen inches, might
| he attained It was recommended also that
blackboard should be rgidly applied 10 correct lne
| stooping propensity His daughter, he wrote "as
| as determined as he TO follow this advice, and ne
| would be glad II some correspondent OF the Haea-
| zine would recommend him person competent
| to undertake the case.
! A vidower wrote in a similar strain, complaining
| that his three daughters all had round shoulders
and bad figures, and that, unlike the co'o".,
| daughter they were unwilling TO submit TO the
heroic measures thought necessary for the correc-
| ton Of those defects.
| "Anoth4r Widowcr" asked for advice regarding
| corsets for his daughters. and added tha' lie h"u
| ALWAYS thought most OF those ladies who pracuseo
| tight lacing" He might also say that he had worn
| stays himself made after the model OF those worn
| nv women and that when he did so he carried the
| pract,ce OF tight acing TO the extreme ana iouhu
the greatest pleasure In doing So lie wouIo never
| have given II up had he not been persuaded 10 &c
| go by his wife. =.
The results Of all this figure training" as 1t
MAS called IL given in one OF the most Interesting
letters OF the series reprinted from La Vie Paris
,enne" and apparently written by man. Ills
| letter somewhat condensed, is 10 the FOLLOWING
| effect
| II is impossible TO find figures more perfect than
| ,hose ~ The Young English women. They are re-
! marked everywhere on account OF thelr lapeIlIih
| waists so elegant as TO defy all comparison Many
! ~ their centuries measure no more thah shteen i
or seventeen inches. We are particularly t,h
| m,,h the extreme taken by. E.nBHs..
mothers In forming. by the rigorous appiChuosi VI
| .ioht lacng the figures OF their young glrs, ~
umrS9,hstandne that they are very tightly lacen lIo
" 90 ~ thirteen or fourteen years IN corsets Vet
Sto n ana ne their agreea bic animation, the i!esH-
| nnss ~ their complexion, the brightness OF tnS,i
| ',es nrove remarkably how far from pehg P,se!u,
49, 70 their health Is the gradua! reductioh OF ths
stza ~ The figures In first rate Engsh schoois ~.
S.Shtonable boarding school, the emulation OF VIZ ~
iio js such with the young women that Inost o!
,hann sleep in their corsets Hence II happens Una
her year they possess those HaI
loWaiu lilies de glepes which we find nowhere eN
80, I,s England Austria. II Is well 10 IeIhelns'
Sep. -, hat the most stylish OF our Parlsehhs'
s yerv negligent in this matter. Inere s Iat
n. 80 their part; perhaps the return 10 lhe Ihsn
tn - long waists may Induce hem 10 lace sn ,een
| ioh VI iHse ms 10 remember the sylphldrs OF lo@V
| a aaush women are continually In relatloh VIII
ronst celebrated corsetleres or Paris, anu
t tIe certain houses IN London where one can %
IT. beautifully made corsets, ana Oh sucn
rnssure as 10 coon transform the most htuD"o ~
| 49, English show tat tney ius loo
trssmev tight from principle ana custom ers, ai
treIhey o'eht nm 10 IL from their infancy, hrst a.
bome and afterward IN the fashionaoe DoS' TN
schools where tight lacing 10 strictly ,h txo handi
air