The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1909-08-19

The woman whose figure was not
made for princess gowns is more puz-
zled in these days over the designing
OF her outlines than over the planning
Of her fra.ks. Her style Of figure had
It's day during the reign Of the
"s.raigbt front" For the first time
in history the fashion world effected
COMPROMISE with the wide waist
lire. The small. wasp-like waist ac.
tually disappeared and the stout wom-
an no Logger apologies for her size.
No one knows exactly what she did
with her too solid flesh to conceal it,
but she certainly accomplished feats
with her figure But there is no com
promise with the Empire school Of
fashion. and so. the gown not being
adapted TO the figure, the figure must
adapt itself 10 the gown. This is pos.
sib,e. although it must not be sup
posed that a woman can become as
thin as thread in as short time
ae she wishes. nor yet without an ex-
Jenditure OF force and persistence
that would win out easily if devoted to
some less resistant cause.
None of the methods of reducing is
pleasant 1t is not pleasant to diet,
nor to walk miles and miles every
day. nor yet to steam in the Turkish
bath. But the woman who Is deter
mired to grow thin stops at nothing.
She will even eat scraped raw potato
without a murmur. This is one OF
the newest methods Of reducing, and
as the potato belongs to the deadly
nightshade family the dose of three
tablespoonfuls daily before meals may
produce unlocked for results.
popular scheme for the reduction
OF anatomical lines to suit the Direc-
toire design is revealed daily in New
York by the women who walk at
breakneck gait around the reservoir
in Central Park. The days are get
ting little too warm now, but all last
winter and spring the reservoir path
served as a training track for many
fe,hy women who live in the vicinity
They would don sweaters, tie thick
wells over their hats and tramp ten
times around the reservoir without
much fear of being noticed or recog-
nized. One woman. more persistent
than the others, still keeps it up, and
she has her racetrack all to herself.
The fact that she always wears a car
acul fur coat, even on the warmest
day. testifes to her determination.
Diet is a nuisance. The woman who
decides to add no flesh to her liberal
supply must eat no starchy foods, so
that deprives her of potatoes and
bread. She must eat no sugar, so
that denies her dessert of all kinds,
preserves, candy and almost every
thing she really cares for. Crusts of
bread, toast dried to a cinder and
broiled ham constitute the usual re-
ducing diet. There must be no gravies
no butter or salad oil, no milk or
cream, and by the time all flesh pro-
dycing foods are eliminated life is
deprived of one of its pleasantest
features.
Many women eat only two meals a
day, and some deny themselves
breakfast in the fight against flesh.
There is always the specific of wor.
ry, which is recognized as unfailing
in the matter of reducing weight. Il
worry all the time" said one Jolly
looking woman who weighed nearly
two hundred pounds, because ! can.
not wear a Directoire gown but the
more | worry the more | weigh. | be.
leye should hold my own even il I
lived on air, like an orchid"