The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-03-15

- URPRISING changes have come
about IN the contours and physical
~measurements Of womankind. The
~feet are getting larger by size OF
two and the hips are growing
smaller by n few inches The waist line
has increased In circumference 10y TWO
or three inches. and the bust menSuro
meut has shrunk ut least as much. lness
changes have been taking place uurins
the mast decade hut probably the great
est jump has taken place In the pas'
months.
DR.. Sargent, of Harvard University,
has made an exhaustive study OF inc
matter and as a result has great uo.e
books filled with data. Each page vi
his notebooks contains certain inao mos
tor regarding tie mentioned cnsn stnr
ami he claims that the woman passins
IN the street 10 proof positive OF his con
tentions. -
The sheath gown aided matters. ana
the hobble skirt played no small par..
Twenty years ago womans pnysical III s.n,
acteristics were ultra-feminine' account,
to Dr. Sargent. Her waist was sniah
and her hips were large; her feet were
apparently 20 delicate that 1t was uan'
Rerous for her to attempt to stano upon
them. while the bust was well deveiopeu'
The changes have been to the other eA.
treme, and q great deal OF TINS eau o0
blamed ON the latest styles In gowns
the figures being made to At the ~ ,ncu
lar style Of garment in vogue. The fash
ionabls woman Of today has ngure
quite like that of a man, but with tue
hips smaller and the feet larger. her
physique has been revolutionlzeu' anu -
the present changes are to pe taken 90
y model, in q few years II wouiu We
hard to determine from the measurements
lust what the proportions will be.
Physical experts of today say that
women have begun to revert to the pr'ml-
tive type, and these experts give hun
bred reasons for the change. IL ID Ger
tain that the wasp-waisted woman Is a
thing Of the past, and that oroao n m,ps
are becoming less common. The smail
foot IL no longer the asset that 1t once
was, and the muscles Of the arms, necs
and lower limbs are becoming more az
veoped Women are also growing taiie
say the experts who have made the
study. and the increase In height Is
not little matter. Within the past
twenty years the average height Of
women has increased to great extent.
The craze for athletics. which started
with women only few years ago, has
added to the height In way, and as
result the long. lean girl OF today was
the dangerous and curved iady OF yes
terday.
One Of the things that has helped to
bring about the marvellous slimness is
the corset, which is always in evidence
with the fashionable figure. 1t Is the
strips of whalebone. reinforced by steel
and held together with canvas. that has
driven away the curves and plumpness
The waist, lor the most cramped por'
ton Of the female anatomy, 10 no longer
ssushsd by the pressure. It y the bust
and hips that are now receiving attsn.
ton, and the body 10 NO longer nodded
into an oval or elliptical shape, The
new corset is almost the same 4 from
tha top to the bottom. The 4 urs 10
made round BY 1t and the hips and
shoulders are not allowed to spread and
become too marked in their outlines.
During the year 1890 Dr.. Sargent first
bagan his studies of the feminine figure.
u was about that time that women first
began 10 take an interest In athletics.
Girls schools began to insist that the
students play basketball, tennis, croQuet
and other games in the open air. From
the measurements Of over 10000 women
d. Sargent made . composite statue
representing the female hgure Of 70
years ago. From this statue it appears
hat the really remarkable change has
tA4fn place during the years from then
Until now.
nS(ous times since that date indicate
GAt womsn's feet are larger now than
~ were at the cloee Of the nineteenth
fsssuTZ: ThS hipS tn h., VIZ ono: !srss