The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-06-12
Frederick Haskin's Letter
THE CASE OF THE CORSET

7 AZ OPAAAAOA u AAL4Pue over the a.
tates of fashion. Corset STYLES ~ -
changed not because they Ws,- -l.e
inrious or grotesque in apnas-s- u
but because some world iesss..l1ys
/ fashion, in the ole DAYS usrsI1- VI
queen, decided to change tbe A.
of her figure. ''ps'
Twice before corsets bavs ~.
abolished, or at least re5vco 80
! small proportions. not as a ror-.. %
sion to health or comfort bn,S
/ cause style demanded ii. The a..
occasion was in the 18th eant1s
in the Netherlands, Spain and I,.iy
when a drastice change oecn--.5
in the standards Of feminine bea1t.
Slim waists and narrow sbonISA.,
were suddenly passe, and the Vsns.
of Milo with her 28-inch waist. :.
, came the popular model M,
vogue is evident in a dravipe =
Adrian Boise OF a rich Dutch la!
about the year 1880 in which Il !.
apparent that the feminine figure -
those days was little restricted Nv
any artificial device.
The second period followed II,
French revolution when al the IL
ginning of the 18th century H.
costume of the empire was eyolvs5
This was built on Grecian lines ana
required no corset except a barS
passing below the bust and kent in
place by shoulder straps. It was
doubtless too comfortable a sfvla =
last, for it soon vanished ana vas
succeeded by a period Of exaFvar.
ated tight lacing. Here in Amerir.
our grandmothers and great-grsn8.
mothers laced themselves IjferalIv
to the point of suffocation. Woma5
,swooned costantly, largely from
lack of breath. and more than once.
we are told, death followed soma
sudden exertion undertaken nv
tightly encased woman. At hi,
time the genteel waist was IA
inches, which narrow circumfer.
ence the ladies secured by tying
their corset laces TO a bedpost and
then walking away. thus producing
heavy pressure.
The Shifting WaistIina
. This tight lacing continued ever
though the feminine figure under
went another severe change abou.
the period of the Spanish-American
war when the straight front and
bias hip form corset became pouu-
lar. The effect of this innovation
was to strengthen the apparent
waistline. According to an enthus-
iastic account of the time, all belts
then rounded over the hips and
ended in q point in front. giving to
even the stoutest woman d degree
of slenderness. On the other hand
this style was just as highly and
recommended for slender
women. The chief charm of such
corset, its champions declared, was
that it forced an erect carriage, for
it was manifestly impossible to
SLOUGH or relax in it
This type of corset probably
aroused a greater storm Of protest
from the medical profession than
any of its predecessors. One VINO
raised an outraged voice against it
declared that it was responsible for
many cases of floating kidney among
women. Another predicted that ii
would result in a permanently de-
formed race of women. and pointed
out that already the female figure
Of the moment was taking on a Gu
rious, unnatural twist. likely to be
and increased. Still
another called eloquentIy for the
abolition OF all coTsets forever
His plea was just a decade too
soon. Ten years later, the femi-
nine reaction against tight and
heavy corsets started in, with The
result that today cCrsets are pTac-
ically unknown among the fappe-
Persons who claim to
know say that the uncorseted era
S now definitely here, that the
young women of today. never have
ng worn them, probably never
will. But in view of all the cor
iet's irregular history. this concur
'ion seems a bit uncertain. Al
'eady there are faint signs that il
S returning to favor. not because
now approve Of it. but
because the Partisan designers do.