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Show a Corbet mat had the TosL and V v ':ea -r 0 , l Corbet Venus Herself Acknowledged the Need of "AGirdle" To Make Her Figure Look Its Best - Art and Skill In the Modern Corset That Supports Yet Does Not Restrict the Figure JHE VERY BASIS of that lm-m lm-m portant consummation called B "tho fashionable silhouette" Is tho corset Just a handful of brocade or coutil. a few whalebones, a bit of line lace, but ah! What a difference it makes in the fashions of an epoch' When you come to ihlnk of It iomin has had exactly the samo figure since the days of Eve: yet con-' con-' elder the varieties of feminine silhouette sil-houette there have been through the centuries. And all because of th corset. One has only to glance over drawings and prints of old-time fash-Ions fash-Ions to realize how Important a part the cornet has played and how com- pletely the silhouette has depended on lit How perfectly It has accorded with the spirit of Its time also In the lax days of the Directory corsets were abandoned, women wore small girdles that supported tho bust but the rest of the figure was allowed I to take natural lines, and Josephine t and the ladies of her court wore I straight, classic gowns of the sheerest possible fabric, over chemises almost equally transparent. In tho rigid days of Queen Elizabeth In England, cor-I cor-I sets were very stiff and uncompromls-!ng uncompromls-!ng affairs and were worn under tlphr bodices draped with modest "necker-i "necker-i chiefs," and enormous skirts of heavy brocade that effectively concealed the I figure. Yet there was, all the same. ; that Indefinable thing called tho "silhouette," "sil-houette," and by its silhouette, rather than by Its details of cut or trimming. )ls a costume dated by any expert in the history of dress. And, of course. I the "silhouette." reduced to its least ; common denominator, proves to be I the corset. The Historical Girdle Of Venns Venus, who probably caused more trouble than any other femalo In his- tory' or mythology excepting perhaps Cleopatra decided that her perfect figure would bo more perfect or retain re-tain its perfections longer if supported sup-ported by what sho called a "cestus," which was a sort of girdle. Tho poet Homer relates how Juno, envious of Venus, borrowed her "cestus," In the hope that It might Impart to her own charms the allurement of the goddess of beauty. Catherine do Medici, of France, wore probably tho severest corset in history' and made all the ladles of her court adopt It too. It roso as high as the throat and was made of thin ste-cl pierced with little holes so that velvet or silk could be sewed over It. Catherino was an ardent devotee of fa-hlon and, herself loathing what she called a thick waistline, sho forced tho unfortunate ladies of her court to lace themselves Into these painful steel corsets. In Catherine's opinion a waist measuring more than thirteen Inches from front to back was hopeless hope-less from a standpoint of style or beauty. The virgin Queen of England, Eng-land, Elizabeth, also Invented her own corset, and though It was not quite as bad as Catherine's It was bad enough made of heavy, unvieldlng fabric and closely ribbed with stout bones. Even tho courtleres adopted this typo of corset and wore it under their velvets and laces. No wonder extreme dignity and conventionality marked court manner in those days, with everybody laced from throat to hip in rigid harness of steel and canvas! can-vas! Distorted Silhouette Of Victorian Days Almost as bad as tho rigid, straight up and down lines of the middle ages was the silhouette of the Victorian era, with Its distorted proportions. Its :M Ari&thietic v ) - :ar Cor3et , Jr "FlexA'ble yet Firm. Rest-rictrnd not at All wasp-like waistline, bust pushed up almost to tho collar bones, and pro I trudlng abdomen. Abominations In-: In-: deed were these Victorian "stay s" I which not only squeezed in tho vital i organs but pushed them out of place. No wonder the women of this era I were languid and delicate, no wonder exercise and athletics wero not fash- lonablo for the fair sex, and no wonder won-der the daughters of those women of the Victorian era have in their middle life filled tho private rooms of the hospitals during the past twenty years with physical Infirmities that demanded demand-ed more or less serious operations! One of the pictures today shows a belle of the Victorian era, dressed In a handsome silk of the kind that used to "stand alone" and laced, evidently to tho last point of endurance In wasp-walsted. high-busted "stays" of tho period. Very dainty is she very feminine to bo sure; but what vigor ous, active girl of 1918, comfortably and gracefully clothed, with every muscle supplo and free, would chunco her sllhouetto for tho elghteen-lnch waist of this lady of her grandma ma's time? Modern Corset n.is Reached Perfection Perfec-tion Like millinery, corsot making has become not so much a trade as an art Even cheap corsets aro 60 I cleverly designed and cnt that they I produce the proper sllhouetto ant1 I give right lines to tho figure. Tho -'5n Corbet , f Hxquiiiely Fitting. W!$M Yet riyien 1c , SupportrnA pulll? the LlatiiTpal FiSjripe.iy ilp Beauty oP Ctrl and Perfect PropoTPtiorx difference in price is usually represented repre-sented in the wearing qualities of the corset and. of course. In tho luxury and beauty of materials and trimming. Made of supple, flexible stuff and with the least posslblo amount of boning, the modern corset supports yet docs not constrict tho figure. Its wearer may lounge in a low chair, stoop to adjust her bootlace, even sit on tho floor or tho grass If sho chooses with perfect comfort, yet when sho rises her resilient corset has regained Its supple, graceful lines and Is a perfect support for her costume, however formal the latter may be. All this is achieved by utmost skill, utmost pains in the designing and building of the modern corset. And there Is no longer long-er any arbitrary "modish" silhouette to which the poor body must be made to conform by means of whalebones and strong lacings. The modish silhouette sil-houette Is tho natural silhouette, and tho more nearly a corsot can mako its wearer's ficuro approximate the perfect per-fect natural figure, tho more perfect a corset It Is. Good Corsets Subdue Imperfections Not every woman, of course, has a beautiful natural figure. But a rightly right-ly selected corset and one rightly adjusted can do a great deal toward making a poor figure better; It can subdue Imperfections and mako the most of good points, and can effect wonders with wrong proportions Physicians who used to rail npalnsf corsets when tight stays and 'Tac-Ing" 'Tac-Ing" were In vogue now recommend corsets even after operative cases, provided and this is an important point the corsets are put on correctly. correct-ly. A well-known physician of Boston in a recent lecture said: "I think certain physicians would be better occupied oc-cupied telling women what kind of corsets to wear than In condemning all corsets." How Corsets Should Be Put On Even tho finest figure can be pushed out of shape and Its silhouette spoiled by wrongly adjusted corsets, and even the comfortable looso cotset of modern make can bo worn In a way that may do serious injury to organs of the body. Expert corset fitters aro familiar with the laws of hygiene and with the structure and anatomy of tho body It Is alwavs well to havo a corsot fitted to your figure when you make your purchase, and fittings aro not charged for whon corset3 of good quality aro bought Tho laces should always be loosened before a corset Is put on, and it should bo put on very loosely nnd pulled well down on the flcure. especially at the back. Then after fastening the garters, gar-ters, pull In the laces a little at the waistline; then below, then above the waistline, keeping the lines of the back steels perfectly straight The corsot should be Just snug enough to bo felt at the hips not over the diaphragm. Giml ."SVee crrLd Uncoreted.K-eeps '') I a Trim sndDairlV f ? Silhouette I !'v'- 'i; ':L mm- 8H t i |