New-York tribune., 1910-06-12
A STUFFED GOOSE
That's What Some Styles Make
Woman, Says DR.. Sargent.

The fashionable one-piece gown, says Dr.
Dudley A. Sargent, authority on dress ana
dress reform, has everything TO be said IN
its favor The only trouble is that most
women wear with 1t corsets and underwear
that nullify all it's good points With proper
underwear the one-piece gown, because OF
its equal distribution of weight. permits an
easv. graceful carria ge, and by doing away
with awkward belts gives artistic unity.
But with a corset under It that impaleS
the legs. fattens the back, constricts the
waist and emphasizes the bust. II Is
melancholy example OF what may happen
to a good style in the hands of the igno-
rant" The high heels so often worn are
the last straw in this unhygienic and mar
tistic get-up, throwing the poise and bal
ance of the body completely out Of gear.
Another beautiful style. the high wasted
frock suffered similar fate, says Dr.
Sargent. In the, hands Of it's caricaturists.
The artists who designed II meant IL to
give soft, free lines from the raised waist
But how could IT give free lines with an
undersIip almost skin tight. and with the
outer skirt itself frequently OF the same
painful tightness? And the oversl1irt style
now In vogue, DR.. Sargent laments, Is
svathing up the thighs. kind modistes,"
he impIores, 'forbear to draw the loops
more tightly. lest women go minCing along
like wound-up toys"
These women who make OF themselves
"wasps," "trussed fowls'' stuffed geese"
and "weasels' get a good scOlding from
Dr. Sargent in the current number Of ''The
Journal of Home Economics" If fashion
demands a peripatetic waistline. he says,
by all means let II travel up and down the
figure, but don't let the internal organs be
moved along with it. Natures architect
uraI plan should be respected II lack OF
exercise and overeating have caused a sag
ging abdomen and clumsy hips. some re-
striction is necessary, but II should correct
and not increase the defOrmity. A pliable
corset, by leaving the muscles somewhat
to their own resources, will wake them up
to their duty.
Dr. Sargent considers that the old
straight front corset. with all its faults.
was better than the present fat-back
model. 1t is true that the former increased
the inward curve OF the lower back. but It
preserved the protection nature gives the
pelvic organs, and it produced a hyper
extension Of the upper spine" thus en-
abling the chest to expand freely. But
the fiat-back type does all sorts Of things
that are Iamentable to its prisoner, the
I
curve, tips the pelvis upward and back
ward and throws the weight of the ab-
dominal organs on the pelvic organs. caus-
ing painful displacements; 1t rounds the
shoulders and hattens the chest. ANY wO-
man who maltreats her body in this fash
ion needn't moan that she was born 10
suffering" says Dr. Sargent; her suffering
is her own fault.
However. the doctor sees hygienic hope
for humanity-even for COrseted woman
There are sensible corsets made, and there
are women sensible enough to wear them
Silly females tilt along ungracefuIIy I'm
tight shoes of exaggerated styles, but the
number OF women who wear shoes con-
forming 20 the shape Of the foot il in
creastng. Anybody who iTnaEfnes thar
modern women are more foolish than their
srandmothers IS mistaken
Golf, tennis and boating, DR. Sargent
points out. are freeing the modern girl
from dress restrictions Still anything sIss
that will help to bring about reform will
be welcomed by the wise. for Il is needed.
No exaggerated reforms for Or. SARGENT
however
Let US not" he concludes. soar into
impractical exhOrtationS to the refined
matron to discard skirts and go shopping
In the Turkish woman's costume or 70 thS
business girl to drape herself for a day
at the typewriter in the becoming scarfs
OF the Greek maidens. We have presenf
conditions to deal with present 0ccrf0a~ {
tions to consider. and present demands to
The doctor also takes pains to state that
the oioomer costume would never do