Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-06-12
THE CASE OF THE CORSET
BY Frederic J. Hskin

-
New York. June 1.-THE feminine
corset, which heretofore has always
been subtected 10 tho hnrshcst criti-
oism and ridicule, is now suddenly
being endorsed by prominent phy-
siclans. II is. they say. necessity
TO every woman. and should not be
discarded.
/ Throushout the centuries women
have worn this curious appliance In
one form or another, In spite of per
sistent jibes and protests from the
masculine sex, because each changing
fashion demanded IL. Now for the
first time In many long years the
corset IL practically out OF style. and
the tide Of professional crItlcism is
turning unexpectedly In Its favor.
DR.. Royal 8. Copeland. Health Com
missioner Of New York City, says that
he cannot urge too strongly upon
women tho advlsability Of wearing
corsets. lie declares that they have
worn them for 80 many hundreds Of
years that they have come 60 need
them. and many serioua disorders are
apt to result from their abandonment.
Or. Adolf Lorenz, the famous Vienna
surgeon. who spent last winter in
New York, also adds his recommends-
tion Of the corset
Every woman should wear a cor
set" he says. 1t not only braces
vital organs that need brecing. but
II is a preventive of spinal troubles"
or course DR.. Lorchz does not ad-
] rat In ha
, waisted high corsets which cranp the
, body and prevent free movement Of
the muscles. He believes that the
, eli important consideration is that
, the corset should I'm every instance
be a perfect 1T, perhaps even nodded
after casts made from the person who
is 10 wear Il.
Yet it ip doubtful II Dir. Lorenz' sd-
, vice will make much Of an lmpressicn n
upon the rising generation Of young
. women, as long as tho corset remains
out Of style Just as their great
!, grsndmothers insisted that they were
!, healthy and comfortable with 49,
inch waists even while they swooned
3 so the modern prom girls are pre-
= pared TO risk the gravest anatomical
a "Old Ironsides" at the college dsnces
j. Fashions vs.. Health.
> The corset controversy has rsget
= continuously from the very earlies
y times, and always fashion has pre-
vailed over health. The date Of tn
~ first appearance OF the corset is no
known, but among the art works dis
covered In the ruins Of one Of tn
u mysterious forest cities Of Soutl
=. America. whose history is lest in re
u mote antiquity. there is a relie
- representing a female figure whicl
" shows Enthusiastically that contri
~ vance similar to the modern corrc
~ was then in use. This consisted Of
y complicated and elaborate wais
,. bendaEe. which by a system ~ cir
- cular and transverse folding an
looping confined the waist from jus
below the hips a. firmly and com
D paotly a. the most unyieldiug corse
~ of modern times.
- Some suthorities give the German
:. the credit for inveDtinx the fire
~ European corset and possibly intro
. ducing II into Rome. At any rate
Ia known that the early German VIC
'e men and tho fine Roman ladies por
much the ssTns type Of restrictin
o' bsndages
That the corset was found ridicJ
lous even in the somewhat ridiculor
Middle Ages is shown by sketc
- dated l04s, found IN the British MI
's scum. which cartoons not only the r,
trf. H..
20 Ing draperies Of the period worn :
long that they needed knotting 10 /
kept from the ground The heay
steel corsets OF the time Of Catherir
' de Medici. and tho hinged steel be
with the depending rod or bar
-" steel over which the long uoakf
bodice of tho dress was adjusted. a
fected 10y Queen Elizabeth, aIso pr
duced much sardonic amusement ar
denunciation.
Never in all these years has publ
opinion triumphed over the dictat
of fashion. Corset styles have chang'
not because they were injurious
- grotesQue In appearance. but becau
some world leader of fashion, In Il
M old days usually a queen. decided
change the lines OF her figure.
- Twice before corsets have be,
abolished. or at least reduced to SIN,
-. proportions, not as a concession
health or comfort but because sty
- demanded it. The first occasion W
in the seventeenth century in {
Netherlands, Spain and Italy wh
a drastic change occurred in the sta
dards OF feminine beauty. Slim wais
=, and narrow shoulders were sudder
passe. and the Venus Of Milo with h
2SInch waist became the popul
model. This vogue is evident in
drawing by Adrian Boise OF ri
Dutch lady about the year 1880.
which it Is apparent that the femini
tn