Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-10
The WeI-Groomed Woman
THE CORSET PROBLEM DIS
CUSSED PRO AND CON.
BY KATHERINE MORTON.
Copyright, 1908, by 7. c. McClure.l

- VOLUMES might be written on the
the subject OF corset comfort, but
AZ the average woman would not
stop to read them She would
continue to do as she has done
beratofore-rush off to buy the corset rec
commended by her dearest friend whose ng-
ure Is dramatically opposite to her own or
the corset which takes its slyph-like lines
from the figure of the waxen lady IN the
show case, Women leave comfort out OF
the question when selecting corsets, and
that is precisely why so many women nave
cause to grIeve over their very poor figures.
The trick Of corset buying Is to fit the stays
TO the figure when the latter is adjusted
10 a good shape and not to fit the figure to
the corset simply because its lines appeal
10 the eye.
Il want a p corset No. 10T, $50
style in coutil,'' remarked customer in a
first-clasS department store.
The saleswoman looked her customer over
with a critical eye.
II think that No. 1916 would give you a
better figure and it is only - cents more"
ssHumph,'' replied the customer, resent
fully rive worn No. 10T for years and
ought TO know whether it fits me. OF course.
1t is your place to sell higher-pric cor
set if you can--
The saleswoman flushed and bit her lip.
but after the shopper had taken her de-
parture, she remarked quietly:
What possible object could have In Of
fering a corset just % cents higher IN
price except to advance the interests of
customer? II l had suggested one of our
seven-ffty or ten dollar corsets, she might
have reason to talk that way. Sometimes
] think l will never again tell woman
what she ought TO wear. You see, the un-
thinking woman decides that 1t Is shame
TO waste money on a garment that does
not show. and she does not stop TO think
that dollars spent to buy up-to-date fao-
riCs and trimmings for gowns are wasted
when dimes are saved on the corset Ask
any dressmaker and she will say the thorn
In her flesh is economy in eorsets.
Besides, styles in womans figures change
almost every year, and she should change
the style OF her corset accordingly. Also,
when she takes on twenty pounds of flesh
as some women do, In single year she
must not continue to wear the corset which
she used when her figure was slender and
girlish. Yet have mothers who weigh TO
pounds ask for the same corsets / sell to
their daughters who barely pass the hun
dred mark. To the slender girl the prob
lem is not so serious. The stout woman
should make 1t study and have her COR
sets fitted as carefully as her shoes and
gloves Then she would not blame her
newly acquired flesh for the discomfort due
TO an in-fittinS corset
Enquestionably the new corset demanded
by this seasons styles Is higher busted and
calls for smaller waist. but this does
not mean that the straight front corset
has gone out 1t has come to stay and
the tight-lacing which belonged with the
princess gown in bygone years viii never
be approved again. The sensible woman
who wants to be well-groomed and incl
dentaiiy trim-waisted. does not lace She
exercises. Trapeze performers and aero
bats are VIGOROUSLY small WASTED, and a
woman can take an inch from her waist
measurement In two months by practieing
exercises which make her bend at the
waist. And while she is doing this, she