DRESS THE FUNDAMENTAL CAUSE OF WOMAN’S PHYSICAL DETERIORATION
The History of Woman’s Dress; the Corset in History; the Crusade
Against the Corset; the Influence of the Corset on the Female Body;
the Curved Front Corset; the Relation of Corsets to Abdominal
and Pelvic Disorders; the Effects of Corsets on the Muscles; the
Straight Front Corset; the Abdominal Corset; the Wearing of Corsets
by Young Girls; What Style of Corset is the Least Injurious;
the Shoe; the Stockings; the Essential Qualities for Winter
Underclothing; the Length of the Walking Skirt; the Winter Street
Dress.
A careful study of the history of woman’s dress affords a forcible
demonstration of the fact that the fundamental cause of the inferior
physique and lowered vitality of the modern woman of civilization is
to be found in not only her own, but also in her female ancestors’
unhygienic mode of dress for many centuries.
Study the physique and dress of the ancient Greeks, then follow the
history of dress down through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
to the present time, and, if further proof be needed, visit, as has
been done, the savage races of the earth to-day, and behold women of
powerful and classic physique still exist in lands where the body
is not molded according to the barbarous decrees of the “modiste of
fashion.”
=The History of Woman’s Dress.=—The history of Greek costume is for
the most part free from what is known as change of fashion, for the
reason that the Greeks did not attempt to reconcile the two opposite
principles of covering, and at the same time displaying the figure;
that is to say, of cutting the dress to fit the body.
[Illustration: PLATE II
Greek costumes. “Queen and two attendants.”]
The dress of the Greeks, when at the height of their civilization—and
that of the Assyrians, Egyptians, and ancient Romans was not
essentially different—was very simple. It often consisted of a simple
garment, the tunic, which pleased the eye by the gracefulness of
its drapery, and at the same time was comfortable by reason of its
looseness.
The chief and indispensable article of female dress was the _chiton_,
or tunic, consisting of one piece of material, sewed together in the
form of a sack, open at top and bottom, in height reaching from the
neck to the feet of the wearer, and in width equal to that of the
extended arms. Within this stands the figure, and first it is girt
around under the breasts by a girdle, to keep it from falling; next
the upper edges are fastened together on the top of the shoulders by
a brooch, and the arms are either left bare, pressing down into folds
at each side the masses of material, or these masses may be gathered
around each arm, and fastened down the outside with buttons and
loops, so as to form sleeves.
To secure greater warmth on the breast and shoulders the chiton was
made long enough to be doubled back at the top, and this part reached
to the waist. Underneath the chiton was worn a band of cloth, to
support the breasts, and, in addition to this, a cord was sometimes
crossed round the breasts outside the chiton, to assist either in
supporting them or in bringing out their form. Round the loins was
sometimes worn either a short petticoat of thick woolen stuff or a
sort of bathing drawers, such as acrobats wore. This was all of the
essential dress for indoor wear. The chiton was made of a variety of
fabrics, though generally of linen.
For outdoor wear was the _himation_, a garment also worn by men; it
was made of woolen stuff and was worn like a plaid.
The chiton and himation, as above described, continued to be the
standard dress from 450 B. C. onward.
The hair was most usually worn gathered back from the temples, and
fastened in a knot behind by hair-pins of ivory or bone, either plain
or mounted with gold.
For the feet, sandals were usually worn, in exceptional cases shoes,
and for hunting, high boots. Gloves were never worn by the Greeks,
except to protect the hands in working.
From the time of Pericles, the great European distinction between
male and female dress consisted in the length of the skirt, old men,
priests, and officials being allowed the privilege of wearing long
or women’s skirts, and young girls being permitted to wear the short
or man’s skirt. Among the Romans, this single garment, worn by both
sexes, was called the toga.
As time rolled on, this loose cord, which had formed the girdle, was
reinforced by a broad belt or band to support the breasts. Among the
Assyrians this belt was made of stiffened linen or thin metal; the
Egyptians wore a folded belt; a broad belt for supporting the breasts
was also worn by the Roman ladies. But whatever the material used,
this stay-belt does not show any signs of tight laces or of vertical
ribs of iron or bone. It was, however, the forerunner of “stays,”
and when the moral fiber of the Greeks grew lax, the courtesans set
the fashions, and dress was used to display rather than to conceal
the figure, and, in order to make the hips more prominent, the waist
was constricted by a many-layered belt. At the same time, the use of
cosmetics was introduced.
=The Mediæval or Middle Ages.=—From the end of the fifth century to
the beginning of the seventeenth there was a singular resemblance in
many marked particulars between the dress of the two sexes. It now
became the object of dress in both sexes not merely to clothe the
person, but also to display the figure and adorn it. In the temperate
climates there are always greater changes in fashion than in the very
hot or very cold.
Subjugation by the Romans in the first centuries of the Christian era
was followed by a general conformity to their mode of dress, so that
the Roman dress may be considered to have become European.
In marked contrast to the loose, flowing robes worn by the southern
nations of Europe in their decadence were the short skirts and
jackets clinging to the limbs, which were worn by the hardy nations
of the North, who were given to constant fighting and the pursuit
of the chase. The Norman lords, following the fashion of the south,
swept about in long tunics and flowing robes.
In the twelfth century the Anglo-Saxon women, dressed in their loose
garments, were indebted to the Norman ladies for the introduction
of “stays,” and the fashion of tightly lacing the body with a robe,
laced down in front in order to show its undulations, as well as the
use of cosmetics.
In the household register of Eleanor, Countess of Leicester, which
bears the date of May 24, 1265, is one of the earliest places in
which the word _corset_ occurs. The word is again found in reference
to the wardrobe of Richard King of the Normans, and Edward his son.
Corsets were at this time worn by men as well as women.
The author of the life of St. Thaïs, who lived in the twelfth
century, tells us that the French were so tightly laced that they
could bend neither their bodies nor their arms.
Peter the Great wrote that the robes are so tightly stretched over
the body, that the ladies can scarcely breathe in them, and often
suffer very great pain in order to make their bodies slender.
It was in the thirteenth to the fourteenth century that the last
trace of the Roman drapery gradually disappeared: the women adopted
for the most part the robes with the tightly fitting corsage, leaving
ordinarily uncovered the neck and the skin of the breast; this
closely fitting corsage was closed in the back by lacing.
Boots and shoes of this period had their pointed toes made two or
three times the length of the wearer’s foot. The fashions of England
were the same as those of France, though apparently they were not
carried to quite the same excess as on the continent. The singular
aim of each sex was not only to emulate the other in the sumptuous
style of dress and its profuse adornment, but also to imitate
the form and fashion of the other’s attire; this obtained in both
countries.
=The Renaissance.=—In the sixteenth century a distinct separation
between ancient and modern dress took place, and our present fashions
took their origin from about that time. It was during this century
that men adopted clothes closely fitting about the body, overcoats
with tight sleeves, felt hats with more or less rigid brims, and
closed boots or shoes. The women also wore their dresses tightly
fitting to the figure, with tight sleeves, low-crowned hats, and
richly trimmed petticoats. These garments, which differ wholly from
antiquity, constitute, as it were, the common type, from which has
risen the endless variety of modern male and female dress.
At this time the general resemblance between the clothing of the two
sexes, which may be traced to the earliest times, became decided.
After the accession of Queen Elizabeth in 1558, the well-known
costume, associated with herself from about the middle to the close
of her reign, gradually became established. The long-peaked and tight
stomachers of the ladies, and the padded quilted doublets of the
men—it might truthfully be said that each garment was a parody of the
other.
Ruffs of an exaggerated amplitude and of a painfully severe stiffness
were worn by both sexes.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century the dresses were tight at
the waist, but begun to be made very full around the hips, by means
of large padded rolls, which were still more enlarged by a monstrous
arrangement of padded whalebone and steel. To both boots and shoes
high heels were added, in place of the flat heels previously worn.
About 1710 the hooped petticoat was introduced, and about 1740 they
obtained enormous dimensions.
When traced to their original sources, we find that all of the
extremes of fashion were made to conceal some deformity of the
figure, or to give to a part of it undue prominence, as in the case
of the corset, which was first introduced when clothes were not
wanted for the concealment of the person, but to make more prominent
the curves and undulations of the figure. The ruff grew out of a
scrofulous complaint on a royal neck; the hoop-skirt, to conceal the
_enceinte_ condition of a French queen.
=The Corset in History.=—Dr. Bouvier divided into five epochs the
transformations undergone by the corset, or by that part of the
clothing which took its place from earliest antiquity to 1853.
The first epoch is that of antiquity; in this, as we have seen, the
band or girdle, which was worn by the Greek and Roman ladies, was the
forerunner of the corset.
The second epoch comprises a great part of the Middle Ages. This was
a period of transition which partook of the styles which preceded and
followed it. At first there was an abandonment of the narrow Roman
band, and later the introduction of the corsage fitting tightly about
the body.
The third epoch embraces the end of the Middle Ages and the first
part of the Renaissance, which was marked by the general adoption of
robes with a very tightly laced corsage.
The fourth epoch is that of the whaleboned corset, which extended
from the middle of the sixteenth century to the end of the eighteenth.
The fifth epoch is that of the modern corset.
The busk, known since the fourth century, was introduced into France
in the sixteenth century; men also wore busks or stomachers. The
busk relates closely to the history of corsets. The middle of the
sixteenth century is the epoch of transition from the corsage to the
whaleboned waist, which constituted a sensible approach to the modern
corset.
We find that the reign of Queen Elizabeth was marked by the first use
of the whalebone stays. These were much affected by her successor
James, who insisted that all his courtiers, male as well as female,
should cultivate the appearance of the wasp.
The corset of George II, represented in Hogarth’s pictures, is said
to have been one of the most harrowing forms of screw torture. We are
told that the doughty warriors of Gustavus Adolphus wore stays almost
to a man.
To Catherine de Medici is generally attributed the introduction of
the closely whaleboned waist into France, and the corset which she
invented resembled in more than looks that instrument of torture—“The
Machine Virgin of the Inquisition.” This corset was made of steel,
and was as inflexible as a suit of armor, and, like a warrior’s
breast-plate, consisted of two pieces. It opened longitudinally
by hinges, secured by a hasp and pin, made like an ordinary box
fastening. In the front and back a rod or bar of steel projected
in a curved direction downward, and on their bars depended the
adjustment of the long-peaked body of the dresses and the set of the
skirt behind. During the forty years in which she ruled at court a
thirteen-inch waist measure became the accepted standard.
Madame de Sévigné, born thirty years after the death of Catherine de
Medici, formulated the axiom which has since been a law to the French
modiste, “Les hommes ont la permission d’être laid; les femmes ne
l’ont’ pas; aussi n’en est-il aucune qui consente à l’être.”
The idea of the waist was unfortunately that which concerned the
execution. Instead of being adapted to the body or figure, in
accordance with its form, to bend with its movements, as the supple
corsage which preceded it had done, this new garment became an
inflexible mold, which distorted the natural contours and imposed
upon them a conventional mold, and prevented the least variation of
size or situation of the contained organs, as well as their continued
integrity and the proper performance of their functions.
The use of the whaleboned corset prevailed even among infants
scarcely out of their swaddling clothes. This was the natural
consequence of the pretended necessity to mold the human form in
order to obtain beautiful proportions, to reform nature, and
prevent her mistakes, and one could never take too much care to
obtain such laudable ends. Mothers would have been considered
culpably indifferent of their children who had neglected these first
indispensable cares for the regulation of the formation of their
bodies.
=The Crusade Against the Corset.=—From the time of Galen, 130 A.D.,
to the present day, in spite of the anathemas hurled against it by
the state and medical profession, denouncing this great injury which
woman does herself, has the corset still prevailed.
In the thirteenth century, Henry III, having permitted its use for
some time, proclaimed a very severe edict against the wearing of
corsets, which was considered so pernicious to the health of women,
but of no avail.
In the fourteenth century an edict was issued by the Emperor Joseph
of Austria, forbidding the use of corsets in all nunneries and places
where girls were educated, and calling upon the Church to aid him,
threatening excommunication to those evil-disposed damsels who should
persist in operating upon their waists. The College of Physicians
of that day took up the subject with activity and zeal, and
dissertations upon the evils of tight lacing were scattered broadcast.
Professor Virchow, that eminent pathologist, wrote, “What is the use
of introducing the principles and appliances of hygiene into the huts
of the poor and ignorant, when the scions of wealth and pretended
intelligence, especially of the gentler sex, show their contempt of
hygiene by their dress and general wearing apparel. In days gone by I
have battled against that diabolical invention called the corset, but
this crusade has been given up by me as absolutely futile.”
The modern hygienist has taken the stand that, since the corset
cannot be suppressed, it _must_ be reformed. About 1880, for the
first time, some attention began to be given to the hygienic
consideration of the style of the corset.
=The Influence of the Corset on the Female Body.=—As a result of the
four hundred years in which the corset has molded the plastic form of
woman, she has become physically so degenerated that it is necessary
to have recourse to the artifices of the modiste in order to have
even the appearance of a good figure, and the support afforded by the
corset to maintain the erect position.
[Illustration: Fig. 13.—Normal chest.]
[Illustration: Fig. 14.—Effects of tight lacing on bony thorax.]
The modern corsets, made of one piece, can be classified in three
categories, according to the region of the body on which they exert
the greatest pressure. First, the “curved front” corset, enveloping
the thorax and abdomen, but making the strongest compression at the
base of the thorax; second, the “straight front” corset, enveloping
the thorax and abdomen, but making the strongest pressure upon the
abdomen; and third, the “abdominal corset,” only embracing the
abdomen, and supporting neither the breasts nor the base of the
thorax. In studying the effects of the corset on the body they will
be considered in this order.
_The Curved Front Corset._—The corset is applied to the trunk of
the body, consisting of the thoracic cavity, a distensible cage
containing and filled by the heart and lungs; second, the abdominal
cavity, whose walls are almost wholly composed of muscles, and
containing the liver and the entire digestive apparatus; and third,
the pelvic cavity, whose walls are partly bony and partly muscular.
When the anterior wall of the body is forced to take the shape of
this curved corset, it is pressed back toward the vertebral column,
and even when the corset is not laced tightly, there is always more
or less constriction of the base of the thorax, so that a serious
deformity of the lower part of the thorax and abdomen is produced;
instead of the normal outward curve of the anterior surface of the
body, with its most prominent part in the region of the umbilicus,
there results a broken line at the waist, and an obtuse angle is
formed here, pointing outward. This causes a marked incurvation
of the lower part of the chest and its approach toward the spinal
column, with a corresponding flatness of the chest and lessening of
the respiratory capacity of the lungs, and the action of the heart is
seriously interfered with.
The chest or thorax is forced into the shape of a cone, the lower
opening is narrowed, and its walls are brought too near together.
The lower ribs become too short, and, if the corset is worn early in
life, the upper ribs become too long; and the thorax as a whole is
too long.
The greatest constriction produced by the corset occurs in the plane
extending from the ninth to the twelfth ribs, which corresponds to
the position of the diaphragm, stomach, and liver.
Just how seriously the curved corsets interfered with the expansion
of the lungs was shown in a paper published by Dr. Sargent in 1889.
He found that the average lung capacity when corsets were worn was
one hundred and thirty-four cubic inches; when corsets were removed,
the lungs showed a capacity of one hundred and sixty-seven cubic
inches—a gain of thirty-three cubic inches; that is, corsets crippled
the lungs to the extent of one-fifth of their entire capacity.
Nature endeavors to make up this loss by the increased rapidity of
the heart’s action and more frequent respirations, but this is at the
expense of greater wear and friction of the machinery. Palpitation
and shortness of breath follow, and the woman is obliged to give up
all active exercise.
Through this failure of the suction power of the heart there result
disproportionately larger lower limbs and an accumulation of adipose
tissue below the waist. This condition is much more common in women
than in men, and is due to the lack of power of the heart to draw the
blood back from the lower limbs against the force of gravity. Hence,
the blood tends to linger in the lower extremities and the oxidation
of the tissues is interfered with.
[Illustration:
Fig. 15.—Diagram showing the action of the curved front corset
(O’Followell).
]
_The Relation of Corsets to Abdominal and Pelvic Disorders._—By
the constriction of the lower part of the thorax, as we have seen,
the action of the diaphragm is very greatly impaired; this not
only seriously interferes with its respiratory function, but with
digestion as well, since, by the active contraction of the diaphragm
in inspiration, it presses down the liver and other abdominal
contents, and produces a powerful massage of those organs, which
aids in the digestion of food and in the unloading of the bowels,
and, at the same time, the pelvic circulation is interfered with and
pelvic congestion is favored.
The direct pressure of the corset upon the side walls of the chest
forces the ribs in upon the abdominal contents; the liver suffers
most from this, and not only does the liver sometimes actually show
furrows upon its surface from the pressure of the ribs, but, in the
postmortem room of the great Vienna Hospital deep grooves upon the
liver were repeatedly found with great distorsions of the body caused
by the corsets, and, in a few instances, the left lobe of the liver
was found to be nearly separated from the right.
[Illustration: Fig. 16.—Relation of bony thorax to lungs, heart,
liver, and stomach, with artificial outline produced by corsets
(after Gray).]
By the constriction of the waist, the liver and all the abdominal
contents are pushed downward below their normal position, and their
functions are greatly interfered with. The effects of this pressure
upon the stomach are most disastrous, and cause a host of digestive
and nervous troubles. There is very frequently a prolapsus of the
kidneys; the right one is more frequently prolapsed than the left,
owing to the relation of the right kidney to the liver.
In a study of 50 cases Dr. Gallant found that in 90 per cent. the
stomach was pushed down below its normal level, and in 80 per cent.
there was prolapsus of the right kidney.
The constriction of the waist crowds the small intestines, with the
accompanying mesentery and colon, into the pelvis; if the rectum is
loaded with feces and the bladder empty, there follows an anterior
displacement of the uterus; if, on the other hand, the rectum is
empty and the bladder distended, there is a backward displacement
of the uterus. In very many of these cases the compression and
constriction are great enough to interfere with and retard the
peristaltic action of the intestines, and constipation is produced.
Gynecologists are unanimous in the opinion that tight lacing is a
most serious impediment to the development of the pelvic organs,
and is a prominent factor in causing disease of these organs. Tight
lacing displaces the uterus downward from two to three inches, and,
at the same time, the pelvic floor is bulged downward from two and
one-half to three inches and the circulation rendered sluggish.
When there is no interference with the respiratory movements the
uterus rises and falls with every breath, and the movements of the
uterus promote the circulation of the blood in the pelvis.
A high corset compresses the breasts, and so interferes with their
development. The low corsets of the present day support rather than
compress the breasts.
_The Effects of Corsets on the Muscles._—In the back the corset
forms an extended plane from top to bottom, destined to support the
posterior part of the thorax and to diminish as much as possible
the size and projection of the shoulder-blades. This compression of
the muscles of the back leads to their atrophy, and, as it is their
function to hold the spinal column erect and to approximate the
shoulder-blades to the thorax, when they become atrophied the bony
parts become much more salient. Further, the corset, in weakening
the muscles of the dorsal region, interferes with the normal forward
projection of the chest, and so leads to its flatness.
The corset atrophies the articulations of the vertebral column,
produces a round back, an inequality in the height of the hips and
shoulders, with the resulting familiar awkward, waddling gait.
When the healthy skeleton offers to the muscles of the body a solid
base of support, the action of the muscles of the back are not
interfered with, there is nothing to prevent their contraction,
and the body is held erect. With a perfect muscular development,
the shoulders are effaced, the back is admirably straight, and the
carriage is erect and graceful.
The strong compression of the muscles of the abdomen not only
destroys the normal contour of the body, but, by the atrophy of the
abdominal muscles, a partial paralysis is caused, and so the support
which should be afforded the viscera by these muscles is weakened,
and a prolapsus of the abdominal contents follows.
It will be seen that the two bony cavities of the body are connected
in the back by means of the vertebral column and are not immovably
fixed in relation to each other, but by reason of the flexibility
of the spinal column, they can be approximated or the distance
extended. The suppleness which results from this mobility corresponds
to the physiologic needs, and constitutes one of the most essential
conditions for gracefulness of carriage.
The movements of extension of the chest are rendered possible by the
action of the muscles of the back, which hold the trunk erect and
extend the vertebral column.
When the corset is applied, the compression and constriction fix all
those portions of the muscles at and below the waist; the action of
the muscles between the chest and pelvis is diminished at least
one-half, so that these muscles become atrophied from disuse, and
when the corseted woman wishes to straighten up the movement must be
executed by the entire trunk.
[Illustration: Fig. 17.—Skeleton of head and trunk (O’Followell).]
Without the corset, the pelvis remains fixed and furnishes the normal
base of support for the thorax, which gains the erect position
through the action of the muscles of the back acting on the vertebral
column. Whereas, with the corset on, the pelvis is immobilized, and
it follows the movements of the thorax. The movement of extension of
the thorax, instead of taking place in the region between the false
ribs and pelvis, takes place at the hip-joints—the vertebral column
remains rigid, it takes no part in these movements.
[Illustration: Fig. 18.—Muscles of the anterior surface of the trunk
(O’Followell).]
Then, as a result of the incurvation of the anterior surface of the
trunk, there is an interference with the movements of extension of
the spine and its immobilization, which causes the propulsion forward
en masse of the abdominal contents. The anterior portion of the
chest is shortened, and an exaggeration of the sacrolumbar angle is
produced.
On the sides of the body lateral flexion of the trunk is possible,
through the contraction of the muscles between the chest and pelvis,
but with corsets on this is impossible. The two cavities are fixed by
the rigid armature which composes the corset. This not only prevents
the lateral flexions of the body, but also causes an unnatural
depression above the crests of the ilium. The waist is constricted to
such an extent that the woman can only fasten her corsets in front by
having them widely separated in the back.
All these conditions cause a complete immobilization of the thorax on
the pelvis, so that the movements of the upper part of the body are
characteristic in corseted women, and she moves all in one piece.
[Illustration:
Fig. 19.—Diagram showing the action of the straight front corset
(O’Followell).
]
_The Straight Front Corset._—This corset, when worn loose, is a great
improvement on the curved-front corset. When properly fitted, all
the compression comes at the hips and across the lower part of the
abdomen, which is lifted up, and the waist-line is increased in size.
This corset has for its base of support the bony pelvis, and there
should be sufficient space to easily introduce the hand between the
lower part of the thorax and the corset. In this case there is great
freedom of movement of the entire chest cavity, so that respiration
is not nearly so much interfered with as in the curved-front corset,
and if the corset is properly fitted, the lower part of the abdomen
is raised together with the contained viscera, and, indeed, this
style corset is prescribed in cases of prolapsus of the kidneys.
By having the base of support from the bony pelvis, the chest is left
free, and a good chest expansion and its throwing forward is favored,
and at the same time an erect carriage is secured.
The waist-line runs below the short ribs, which lengthens the waist,
producing graceful lines without compression.
But not all straight front corsets fill these conditions. Unless
sufficiently long and well fitted about the hips, they may fail to
raise and support the abdomen, and when too tightly worn may press
too strongly upon the abdomen in the pretext of obliterating it, with
the result that it is placed in a vice from before back. Pressed
down, the intestines find a means of escape at the lower border of
the corset.
The front of the corset is frequently carried too high up, and does
not leave the epigastric region sufficiently free. The corset must
absolutely not be thoracic, and must definitely renounce the support
of the breasts, which should be accomplished when necessary by an
extra bust supporter. The long straight corset immobilizes the trunk
in the same manner as the curved front corset.
_The Abdominal Corset._—In 1902 Madame Gaches-Sarraute proposed to
abandon the thoracic corset and to introduce instead the abdominal
corset. This corset embraces the pelvis without compressing it, and
takes as the foundation of its support the bony girdle; the plan of
the line of support is oblique, and inclined forward in such a way
that there can be no compression.
In this way the pressure, instead of coming from above and annuling
the contractions of the abdominal muscles, comes below and reinforces
their action; the stomach resumes its normal position, and is
supported in the plane of its greater curvature, facilitating its
functions, so that digestion will be performed under the most
favorable conditions.
The abdominal corset should not exceed the height of the false
pelvis, should have as the base of support the bony girdle of the
pelvis, and should be rectilinear in front and very slightly curved
in the back and below. The hips should be simply surrounded and their
projection preserved. A curve which follows the normal sinuosity of
this plane joins the piece from the hips with that of the abdomen.
The part corresponding to the back must be sufficiently wide and
free, so that the posterior borders of the corset will be parallel
when it is put on, and the plane preserved for the back in the pieces
which form the corset. This garment will be adjusted without strain
in the back, and it will embrace the form of the body so exactly that
it can be put on without being unlaced.
The frame of the corset must be reduced to a minimum—a rigid busk in
front and some whalebones in the back; the hips remain free, and a
slight, separate brace supports the breasts.
[Illustration: Fig. 20.—The abdominal corset (O’Followell).]
=The Wearing of Corsets by Young Girls.=—The greatest dangers come
from putting corsets on young girls who are still growing and are
very imperfectly developed, and later by an undue constriction of the
lower part of the thorax and the waist, so that the development of
the entire body and its organs is seriously interfered with and all
beauty of form is prevented.
The muscles of the back, like those of the abdomen, are prevented
from their full development, and, later, in their action, by the use
of the corset. The earlier the corset is put on, the more pernicious
will be the effects, because during the period of growth the bony
framework is more pliable and delicate, so that a relative slight
compression is sufficient to make an indelible impression upon the
form. Before the complete development of the hips and the entire
bony framework an enormous amount of harm is done by the wearing of
corsets.
In early youth the heart lies higher than in the adult. By narrowing
the intercostal spaces, the heart is retained, as it were, in its
youthful position; in the adult female the heart is found to lie
higher than in the male, and the contraction of the space in which
the heart has to play is one of the causes of woman’s fainting, and
it is also a cause of organic disease of the heart.
At puberty, when the girl is rapidly increasing in stature, and her
menses begin to be a drain on the system, relentless custom adds the
compression of the corset and long skirts, suspended from tightly
drawn bands around the waist.
The spinal column at this age lengthens rapidly, and it should carry
upward all the viscera attached to it; but, owing to the weight of
the clothing and the compression at the waist, this normal process
cannot take place; instead, there is stretching of the ligaments, and
the viscera are prevented from rising and hang at a level much below
the normal.
A girl of this class is apt to be slender, with undersized hips, and
has a characteristic configuration of the anterior surface of the
body, a hollowing out of the region over the stomach, and a very
great protrusion of the abdomen.
The uterus remains undeveloped and in an infantile state until near
the approach of puberty, when it develops rapidly, and continues to
increase in size until the normal size is attained—about twenty years
of age. By the putting on of corsets the free mobility of the uterus
and its appendages and their normal development are interfered with.
This period of growth and development is one of the greatest
importance for the future health of the woman, both physically and
mentally, and the most intelligent care should be given the girl at
this impressionable age. By putting corsets on their daughters at
this time, mothers are doing them a very great wrong, which can never
be entirely atoned for. The corset prevents growth, development, and
the participation in those exercises which make for physical vigor
and good health. To the well-developed girl corsets are as much of
a superfluity as crutches would be, and nothing but the prevailing
style of dress causes girls to put them on.
It has been suggested that the wearing of any kind of corsets before
thirty years of age should be a penal offense; and in case of a
minor, the parents should be fined from one hundred to one thousand
dollars.
As regards the wearing of corsets after the age of thirty, opinion
is divided into three classes—first, those who utterly condemn their
use; second, those who approve of it; and third, those who tolerate
the wearing of corsets, but only under the condition that they shall
cause absolutely no constriction.
=What Style of Corset is the Least Injurious?=—From the nature of the
structure of the chest and abdomen and the functions of respiration,
circulation, digestion, and the pelvic organs, the wearing of any
style of corset must be more or less detrimental to the health and
vigor of woman, and a perfectly developed woman, in perfect health,
does not need a corset if she lives under normal conditions of dress
and life; but in our present state of civilization, with the present
style of dress, and with the very imperfect muscular development,
women in and past the prime of life may wear hygienic corsets without
any very great amount of injury.
The type of feminine beauty which approaches most nearly the ideal is
that of harmony of proportions and modulations of lines. The waist
proportions of the Venus de Milo is 47.7 per cent., while that of
the Grecian man is 46.4 per cent. In proportion to her height the
hips of the modern woman exceed the girth of those of a man by about
four inches, and a woman of the same height as a man exceeds in hip
girth by six inches. If the muscles which pass from the thorax to the
pelvis were properly developed, the artistic proportions would be
preserved, and the waist of the woman would be proportionately larger
than those of a man.
The ideal figures of the Greek women show a torso bounded by outward
curves, softly melting into one another, until the broadest part is
reached at the hips, thence again declining to the feet. The line
from the armpit to the ankle is one of the chief lines of beauty in
sculpture, while the anterior surface of the body should present, in
the median line, a gentle curve from the upper end of the breast-bone
to the brim of the pelvis, the convexity of the curve coming
about the umbilicus. An inward curve of this line is a deformity
artificially produced.
In order that the corset should become an inoffensive garment it must
be well adapted to the figure, so that it shall not embarrass the
action of the diaphragm or the vital organs or the movements of the
body.
The injurious effects of wearing the curved front corset have been
given, and this style of corset should be condemned without appeal,
since its use is dangerous from every point of view.
The straight front corset is much less injurious than the curved
front, but its use is detrimental to health, and prevents the free
movements of the body, so that the abdominal corset remains the only
one which is perfectly safe and at the same time esthetic.
The chief rôle of the corset must be to sustain the clothing and to
prevent the constriction of the lines about the waist and to prevent
the falling of the viscera.
This can only be accomplished by selecting the proper points of
support for the corset; this is in the lumbar region of the spine
and the crest of the bony pelvis, a region of several centimeters in
height. Except for the vertebral column, the viscera of the region
immediately above this have no bony protection, and are subject to
the greatest amount of constriction; the organs being piled up on top
of each other, as it were, and thereby suffer very great displacement
and impairment of function, while, on the other hand, the solidity of
the bones of the pelvis permits of their use as a base of support for
the corset, as well as for the clothing.
It is based on this idea that the hygienic abdominal corsets are
built, and, further, this style of corset does not sacrifice the
normal curve of the anterior surface of the body. That the abdominal
corsets do not support the bust is no detriment, as the woman with
very fully developed breasts can wear a bust supporter, entirely
separate from the corset, and in those pathologic conditions of
ptoses of the abdominal contents—and from an orthopedic point of
view, the abdominal corset affords an excellent solution.
In order to prevent misfits, all corsets should be made to order;
the measurements must be taken with the corsets removed. The corset
must be shaped so as to fit exactly over the hips, with the lower
parts of the busks very slightly curved, following the normal curve
of the body. The upper part of the corset must be a little loose, in
order to permit of the easy movements of the body. Behind, the line
of the corset must correspond to the line of the body, in order not
to interfere with the erection of the body. In front, the corset
overlaps the pubic bones, and must be tight enough to give the
abdominal contents some support.
Instead of the lacings forming two “V’s,” the lower V, with its apex
at the waist-line, and the longer V superimposed on top of this, the
ensemble of the lacings to be normal must form only one V, with the
inferior point very elongated. The corset is too tightly laced if,
when, with the strings untied at the waist, the upper parts of the
corset separates.
The corset should be put on with the lacings wide open, be carefully
adjusted in the proper position, and fastened from below up. After
the stocking supporters have been attached, the lower part of the
corset is held down with one hand, while the other hand gently draws
up the abdomen by means of drawing on the undervest, or slipping the
hand within the corset; in this way the abdominal organs are lifted
up. The corset is then laced from its lowest point to the waist-line,
and from the top to the waist-line, in such a way that only one long
“V” is formed. The laces are then firmly tied and slipped in under
the corset.
Corsets that slip up are probably either too long waisted, too tight
over the fulness of the hips, or there is not sufficient curve in the
back and sides at the waist-line. High-backed corsets are apt to make
the woman look round shouldered, while a low back gives smoother and
more desirable lines.
=The Shoe.=—The style of the shoe is very closely related to the
corset in the amount of harm it is capable of doing. Considering
the fact that the feet form the base of support for the entire
body, and that on their condition depends the woman’s ability to
take a sufficient amount of exercise and maintain her good health,
surprisingly little attention is given to their care.[7]
The compression of the foot into a rigid body, not unlike the
shoemaker’s last, destroys the natural relation of the parts,
prevents the growth, interferes with the circulation, compresses the
nerves, weakens muscles and ligaments which should support the arch,
and is the prolific source of corns, bunions, weak ankles, and “flat”
foot.
But, in addition to the direct injuries to the feet, the excessive
elevation of the heel displaces the center of gravity, and transfers
the weight of the body for the most part from the heel to the line of
union of the instep with the toes, a series of joints with shallow
sockets not formed to bear the brunt of the body weight. In addition
to which the equilibrium of the body can only be maintained by an
increase of the natural curves of the bony framework, with the
resulting increased curvature forward at the small of the back, is an
increase in the prominence of the buttocks and abdomen. This tilting
forward of the pelvis interferes with the circulation of the pelvic
organs, and their congestion and inflammation follow.
By walking around in her bedroom slippers any one can easily convince
herself of the greater grip that the foot has on the floor when
so clad, and of the greater ease and sureness in walking; this is
chiefly due to the greater breadth of the sole, and the fact that the
slipper has no heel. The greater firmness of men on their feet on
slippery pavements is doubtless due to the difference in the cut of
the shoe and the lower and broader heel.
The front part of the sole of the shoe must be so designed that the
great toe will retain its normal position and rest on the inner
border of the sole. In many shoes the great toe is forced out of its
natural position toward the middle of the sole, and the tip, instead
of pointing straight forward, is thrust toward the line of the sole.
This not only lessens the thrust of the great toe as it leaves the
ground in walking, but also leads to a malformation of the foot and
ingrowing toe-nails.
The soles of the shoe should project a reasonable distance beyond the
uppers, to give firmer support to the foot and to protect the soft
parts in walking.
The front part of the upper leather must be broad enough for the free
movement of all the toes in walking and in springing; when it does
not give room enough for the toes to spread outward and forward in
walking, they are bent on themselves. This makes the descent of hills
and all active exercise and games very painful. Tight upper leather
is also productive of chilblains and corns.
The shoe should be slightly longer than the foot when the entire
weight of the body is placed upon it, and sufficiently broad for the
foot to spread in walking; but, at the same time, the shoe must fit
snugly about the heel and instep, or else the foot will slip forward
in walking, and all the evil effects of too short a shoe will result.
The heel of the shoe must be broad and low. High heels force the
foot to keep perpetually and unnaturally on the stretch; if they are
worn in early youth, they may bring about permanent deformity of the
skeleton and of the foot. Moreover, the high heel interferes with the
natural walk, in which the pressure of the foot on the ground passes
from the heel to the toes. The high heel requires that the front of
the foot should be set down first instead of the heel. The result is
an awkward tripping gait and a short step, which is very fatiguing.
This is one of the causes for woman’s frequent dislike for exercise
in the open air, such as walking, mountaineering, games, etc., and so
the general health is affected.
Again, from the esthetic point of view, the size of the foot must be
in proportion to that of the body. Artists declare that every foot
that has worn a shoe is deformed, and so, when they wish to make a
study of the foot, they go to the shores of Italy, where the peasant
women have never worn shoes.
Paget’s description of a perfect female foot is great breadth and
fulness of instep, a well-marked great toe, a long second toe,
projecting a little beyond the great toe, and a very small little toe.
Since the feet are the part of the body to come in direct contact
with the greatest amount of cold, whether on the floor of the house
or the pavement of the street, it is a matter of prime importance to
the entire body that they should be warmly clad. While for house wear
and in the summer time a French kid is a most comfortable shoe, for
street wear and outdoor exercise in cold weather a heavier leather
with thick soles is requisite as a protection against the cold and
damp.
Rubbers should always be worn when the pavements are damp, even if it
is not raining, and in snow-storms and very heavy rains cloth gaiters
should be worn over the shoes, to keep the ankles dry, and later to
protect them from the wet skirts.
=The Stockings.=—Great care must be taken to have the foot of the
stockings sufficiently long and loose; this is doubly the case with
woolen stockings, which are apt to shrink so much in the wash. A
too tight or too short a foot of the stocking interferes with the
circulation and causes a cold foot, and when the stocking foot is too
short, it produces the same deformities that too short a shoe does.
The trouble generally begins in childhood; mothers forget in buying
stockings for their children that stockings shrink in the laundry and
that children’s feet grow. The result is that the stocking-foot is
apt to be too short before it is worn out, and so the toes are bent
or cramped together, and there is the starting-point for deformities
of the feet as well as corns and bunions. As much harm may come from
wearing too short a stocking-foot as too short a shoe.
Again, with the present mode of wearing the stocking supporters
attached to the corset, or, indeed, one of the functions of the
stocking-supporters may be said to be the holding down of the
corsets, the supporters are shortened for this purpose, and as
a result the entire foot of the stocking is pulled on, and an
artificial shortening of the stocking-foot is produced; and this
point must be borne in mind in purchasing stockings.
Woolen stockings should always be worn during the cold weather.
Garters should never be worn around the leg, whether above or below
the knees, since, in order to be sufficiently tight to hold the
stockings up, they interfere with the circulation by the constriction
of the leg, and so cause cold feet and greatly increase the trouble
in case of varicose veins.
=The Essential Qualities for Winter Underclothing.=—These are that
the clothing must be light, loose, warm, and equally distributed over
the body. From the hygienic standpoint, the underclothing is the most
important part of the dress.
We have seen that much of the energy of the body is spent in
maintaining its normal temperature, and that the two main functions
of the skin are the preservation of the normal body temperature and
the excretion of certain effete matters in the form of watery vapors.
In the temperate zones two qualities are required of
underclothing—that it shall prevent the too rapid radiation of heat
from the body and that it shall be absorbent. No material is warm
_per se_. The warmth is necessarily derived from the body, so that
what is required of the underclothing is that it shall confine the
warmth in its meshes; atmospheric air being one of the poorest
conductors of heat, the material should be so constructed as to
imprison a considerable quantity of air in its meshes.
The second necessity is that the excrementitious matters should be
rapidly absorbed, as they are being constantly poured out from the
skin, so that the material must be absorbent in the highest degree,
otherwise the fluids remain in contact with the skin to irritate it,
and the atmospheric air confined between the undergarment and the
skin rapidly becomes surcharged with gases and moisture, and so acts
like a warm jacket around the skin. Heat radiation is interfered with
and the skin becomes extremely sensitive to changes of temperature
and to drafts.
Wool is a poor conductor of heat and a great absorber of water. Its
powers of hygroscopic absorption is at least double in proportion to
its weight, either cotton or linen, and this property is an important
one. During perspiration the evaporation from the surface of the body
is necessary to reduce the heat which is generated by exercise. When
exercise is finished, evaporation still goes on, and, if unchecked,
to such an extent as to chill the body. If dry woolen clothing is
put on after exertion, the vapor from the surface of the body is
condensed in the wool, and gives out again the large amount of heat
which had become latent when the water was vaporized, and from this
cause alone a woolen covering feels warm during sweating. In the
case of tightly woven cotton and linen fabrics, the perspiration
passes through them, and evaporates from the external surface without
condensation; the loss of heat then continues.
In addition to this, the texture of wool is warmest from its poor
conducting powers, and it is less easily penetrated by cold winds.
The more readily material conducts heat, the cooler it feels. The
property of the conduction of heat is in proportion to the closeness
of the weave and the amount of air which it contains. For this reason
all loosely woven fabrics feel warmer than closely woven ones, on the
same principle that the more layers of clothing there are, the more
layers of air will be retained between them.
The recent methods of weaving cotton and linen fabrics more loosely
have materially reduced their general defects as underclothing in
cold weather, and if cotton or linen is worn next the skin it must be
so woven as to give both thickness and porosity to the fabric.
For the majority of people, during the wet and cold seasons woolen
undergarments are the best. If cotton is worn, it must be loosely
woven, so that it may entangle a large quantity of air within its
meshes.
The underclothing should fit tolerably closely the outlines of the
figure, without impeding the movements. Combination undersuits, which
reach from the neck to the ankles, are the best; the weight should
be adapted to the season of the year, and should be changed with the
weather, regardless of the date of the calendar.
The great disadvantage of woolen undergarments is the way in which
its soft fibers shrink in washing, and after a time become smaller,
harder, and less absorbent. To avoid this, the greatest care must be
exercised in the wash. Woolen fabrics are sometimes very irritating
to the skin, in which case some of the loosely woven cotton or linen
fabrics must be substituted. In the choice of woolen undergarments
the touch is the best guide; there should be smoothness and great
softness of texture.
In very cold weather the combination undersuit worn in the house
should be reinforced by “equestrian tights” for outdoor wear. These
come in black and can be drawn on over the shoes. They are a much
greater protection against the cold and wind than a flannel skirt,
and do not possess the grave objection of winding about the legs in
walking in the wind.
Lack of proper clothing of the lower part of the body is beyond
question one of the chief causes of the great prevalence of pelvic
inflammation and of Bright’s disease in women.
But not only is there to be considered the danger of laying the
seeds of disease from going out into the cold air while the body is
too lightly clad, but also that, in order to maintain the normal
temperature of the body in winter without the aid of warm clothing,
requires a greater expenditure of nervous energy, which in turn
is the equivalent of a large amount of life force. It is not only
imprudent, but most injurious, to exhaust unnecessarily the powers,
of the body, when mere mechanical appliances, like clothing, will
obviate this continuous expenditure of vital energy.
Another way in which clothes save the wear and tear of the body is
by diminishing the amount of heat the system must produce by the
oxidation of the elements of food. When properly clad, there is less
loss to the body of its heat, and consequently there is less food
needed to supply this loss.
=The Length of the Walking Skirt.=—The present vogue of having the
walking skirt five inches from the ground is an excellent one, as
it not only considerably diminishes the weight of the skirt, but it
interferes much less with the forward swing of the leg in walking,
which otherwise has to be overcome by the muscular force of the leg.
In walking, the length of the step should be proportionate to the
length of the limb; the leg is carried forward by the unconscious
swing at the hip.
The chief exertion in walking is caused by the raising of the foot
and leg to the point at which it goes forward and downward. By any
artificial shortening of the step, such as is caused, for instance,
by long skirts, it requires much more muscular effort to walk the
same distance. Besides which, there is the additional friction of
the skirts, which is increased by the slightest wind; this has been
likened to the process of eternally walking through a field of long
grass.
Another most important reason for not wearing long dresses on the
street is that they stir up the dust and collect microbes, and thus
contribute materially to the dissemination of the germs of disease
and subject the wearer and her family to the risk of infection.
The question of clothing takes an important place in the hygiene of
the lungs. All clothing may be approved which is sufficiently warm,
and which allows of modifications according to the variations in
the temperature, and does not hinder the movements of the body, and
particularly those which are carried out by the respiratory muscles.
In the first place, it is very important that the muscles about the
shoulders should have perfect freedom of motion, in order that the
expansion of the apices of the lungs should not be interfered with.
Clothes which hang heavily on the shoulders, and especially those
which grasp the neck tightly, are unsuitable. Special attention must
be given to this point in the selection of winter clothing.
In going up long flights of stairs furs and heavy top coats should be
taken off and carried over the arm; this will prevent much shortness
of breath and gasping when one reaches the top of many flights.
=The Winter Street Dress.=—The street dress for winter should be warm
enough to prevent a feeling of chilliness, and yet be light enough to
prevent the wearer from becoming overheated while walking, or from
feeling a sense of weight of the clothing, which is always a sign of
being too warmly clad.
For outside coats impregnated woolen materials, waterproof, but at
the same time porous, are the best, except in very heavy rains. A
storm coat of some kind should complete the costume for rain or
snow. The woman should never stay indoors on account of very cold
or inclement weather, as being housed up and the lack of sufficient
exercise make one very susceptible to the very sudden changes for
which our climate is so notable.
FOOTNOTES:
[7] See pages 337 and 339.