The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-10-20

A professional corsetiere is in To-
peka this week, and she made an ad-
dress before a company OF women
Tuesday afternoon in the Warren M
Crosby store. Madame George Burns
de Lacour. of New York, is the lectur-
er, and she brings a new gospel or cor
setry that ought to comfort the trou-
bled souls of many women.
In addition to NUMBER OF new
theories. Madame Lacour had plan
of reform all her own. She believes
that every woman who is employed TO
fit corsets should be graduate OF
school of cOrSetry, SUCH as are eStao-
lished in various cities, and more than
that she wants the club women OF the
different states to induce their legls-
lators to pass a law that all profess
sional corsetieres pass a state ex-
animation, just as nurse or doctor
is required to do
"A filter of corsets, she says,
should know enough of anatomy to
see that the nerve centers are not
pressed upon by corset bones; that
there is no pressure where it should
not be-" etc. The plan OF Madame
Lacour was noted and favorably com
mented upon in "Nugents." the great
trade journal of New York, that is to
the commercial world what Vogue is
to the general public.
And then the madame has another
theory, and that is that boys and girls
above ten or eleven years of age, IN
school, should wear some sort of sup
port, such as a corset gives. Thls IDEA
was expressed by New York phys1-
clan of the examining board. who be-
lieves that incorrect postures and
crumpled tissue from constant bend
ing over, could be corrected. He also
advocates corsets for men who do a.
great deal of desk work.
1.-THE business of cOrseting, said
Madame Lacour, lis to become pro-
fession, assisted by medical science
Since the fourteenth century women
have been wearing corsets of some
sort. The old ones are a animation
of steel and heavy cloth that is scarce
ly less than coat of mail. An Eng
lish Journal for Women has been
brought to light recently that tells how
| the fashionable women of past times
had waists of thirteen inch girth, and
the ultra fashionable got them down
to twelve inches. The process OF re-
duction began with little girls of eight
or ten years, who were put to bed in
their 'armor' and compelled to wear
| it,
Madame Lacour read a report
| from the New York Tribune, by the
public health service, which says that
| in an examination of 5000 garment
| workers of New York, the women
were found to be in better health and
less liable to tuberculosis than the
men. They attribute the condition to
the fact that they wear corsets, giving
| them proper support and compelling
them to sit straighter and breathe
better.
Madame Lacour is a graduate of the
Toledo School of Expression and
| Physical Culture. She taught physical
culture for some years and 1t was then
| that she became interested in the cor
! set question. 81 found" she said, 80
many women coming into the gymna-
SUM in corsets that they should not
wear or else coming without corsets.
Il Both methods are wrong, and the
/ authorities now say that for gymna-
\ SUM work, a sport corset should be
| worn by all means" Later Madame
Lacour become a buyer for one of the
large Denver stores, and she was en-
gagged for the surgical fitting rooms
of some of the hospitals of the west
Her services were called in to fit with
corsetS convalescents from operations
who might otherwise go out and fit
themselves improperly.
The speaker is a youngish looking
woman whose appearance makes l,
difficult to believe that she is the
mother of an e1even-year- daugh-
ter. She is blond, and blest with 8
pair of elusive cheek dimples that en-
nance her look of youth. She wore 9
pretty afternoon gown yesterday OF
black and white check com bined with
plain blue silk. The collar and the up
per bodice were of the blue. and the
body of the dress was of checked silk
The high waist line was finished WITH
a band of silver trimming.
In addition to the lecture, there
were three models to wear and displa,
the corsets. The trim, pink silk out
fits that they wore during the demon
tration, gave little flutter of excite
| ment to the audience: for New Yorl
is pink mad this year, and whatevel
New York likes, all the rest of thu
country makes haste to like also
Another message of peace that thu
| madame brings is the assurance tina
| small waists are not coming int
| vogue, as many have been led to be
| lieve. The women of our day ar
too intelligent, too freedom-loving, t
| submit to condition of discomfor
| and ill-health, as they have done il
| the past. 1 refuse to distrust thei
| common sense to the extent of think
1 ing that they would tolerate tigh
lacing, after their long period o
emancipation"
I. = =
The Idal Auction Bridge club me
| Tuesday with Mrs. John Green Sub
stitutes We're: Mrs. A T. Lucas. Mrs
| Frank Bartlett, Mrs George Mccoy
Mrs A L. Green and Mrs. Harr,
Guthrie
= = +
II The Topeka girls who attended tn
state high school Y. W. c. A confer
ence at Newton, Kan. last week re
port that the convention was not