The Washington herald., 1914-06-02
HOW TO MAKE THE
MOST OF YOURSELF
A Talk on Corsets.
By ELIZADETH LEE.

| lncifned 10 say. but tnefe hic no Sof-
sets nowadays. The corsetless agure Is
the thing. and corset as 1t is UNDER
| stood is seen no more.
But this Is only partly true. The cor
set is with US. but In much more COM
| Portable form than ever before. In fact,
too comfortable. according to the view
point of the corsetiere. and already the
| manufacturers are getting out a model
| which is designed TO correct the terrible
slouch of the would-be up-to-date fash
| ionable girl. In less than six months,
prophesy, there will be a decided change
in the figure Of the smart woman, al
though. as a matter OF fact, really we'll
dressed women never did adopt the ex-
treme corset or allow their figures to fall
| into unnatural and ungraceful lines.
OF course, we shall never return to the
stiff bundle of steel and bones of here
| tofore. but that there will be something
more shapely than we have been wearing
| is bound to come.
Only one woman in ten is so built that
she can be supported by a band Of elias
| tic at the waist line sewed to a hip con-
| finer. which is a fairly accurate descrip-
| ton of the present model.
II Is a singular fact that the average
woman gives very little thought or care
| to the selection of a corset. She will buy
corset over the counter without
thinking OF such thing as trying it on.
| taking what the saleswoman gives her
or the style that suits her own fancy.
Would she buy a pair of shoes in this
haphazard fashion? No. indeed. and yet
for her peace and comfort. to say moth
ing OF her appearance. il is quite as nec-
essary that the corset should fit as the
| shoes.
A favorite method is to select a corset
al tr-Or he gfv 10 Or
lines of which appeal to the buyer. That
| the wooden form differs entirely from
| hers never seems to occur to the buyer.
| She desires to look like that figure and
| believes that IL she wears that particu-
| lar style Of corset she certainly will. II
may be that she could have been made
to look Ike the form. but it does not
follow that the model selected would
have given such results. The proper
thing would have been to try on different
| models until the coveted figure was at
| tained.
As an instance Of one woman's stupid
ity. I was at a corsetiere's recently-s
shop where semi-ready corsets are first
| fitted to the figure and then finished
when two women who were friends. but
of entirely different types, came in to
buy. The first to be fitted was quite a
large woman. Several models were tried
on until the right one was found. and
then after the pinning and adjusting
were perfected the figure had evidently
been so much improved that the friend
| insisted upon getting the very same cor
set. In vain the filter pleaded. II can
give you that fisSre." said she. but not
with the same corset. Your lines are
entirely different from those upon WHICH
the corset IS built and you will not look
| like your friend at AL" But the pur-
chaser persisted Let me put on the
corset and then have it fitted to nv fig
ure the same way as you fitted my
friend"
After quite lively discussion the litter
gave in. but, as she afterward remarked.
selling that corset Is going to do me
more harm than good. for II is entirely
unsuitable to the figure that will wear
it"
Many women do not even take this
amount of trouble, but take anything
that strikes their fancy. Yet will she
not spend half a day choosing a material
for new gown, search for trimmings
perhaps until nerves and strength give
way. consult fashion books by the score
for days before she can decide upon
design. and endure perfect agonies until
the gown is out of the hands of the dress
maker? The question of the framework
gown is to be a success or a failure-for
few of us are so perfectly formed that we
need no aid from art, and art in this
case means correct Corseting-is probably
settled in half an hour or less. The first
step in buying a corset is to decide
! whether it shall be mad to order. be one
of the semi-fitted STYLES. or of the ready
to-wear variety. II economy Is not to
be studied, then there is no question that
~.
the best choice. I may add II is also the
most economical Cparadoxical as il may
sound, because the made-to-order article
will keep its lines better and so last
longer Not all women. however. can
afford the initial cost and so have to get
the lesser priced corset.
Models ready to wear can often be
made to fit the average figue. but those
who have developed irregularity-that is
bust. hip, and waist measurements out
OF proportion and who cannot afford to
pay a high price. will undoubtedly get
the greatest benefit from the semi-ready
corsets, because these are originally
built on lines fitting a perfect figure and
then finished to suit the wearer BY
these means comfort as well as fit is
assured.
Ready-to-wear corsets can now be
bought in cutie a number of excellent
models and are usually to be found at
all good stores. The buyer will try diff
ferent styles until both filter and fitted
are pleased and very often the transac-
| ton proves entirely satisfactory. and
next time there will be no trouble at
all, because one can ask for the same
corset. Those persons who can get suit
ed this way can save time and. another
advantage. one can see exactly how she
will look, and more important still to
most women. she can also tell how the
corset feels.