downwards which really at this time require to be supported. The proper support can best be given by an abdominal belt made for the purpose, which may be worn with or without stays. See Fig. 18, p. 215, which belt may be made for use during pregnancy or after confinement.
Grown-up girls, unless they are very thin, usually require some support for their bosoms; this may be given by some such article of dress as the Grecian and Roman ladies wore of old, a sort of band shaped to preserve the spherical form of the breast, and fastening at the back between the shoulder-blades. If, however, corsets are worn, they should be moulded to the natural figure, and the less stiff they are the better.
I have already laid sufficient stress upon the fact that corsets are not needed by everybody, and should only be worn when they are needed. For slight girls and women they are quite unnecessary, but when there is an inclination to embonpoint they are, if not necessary, desirable so far as appearance is concerned, for in such cases the figure is apt to obtrude itself through the dress, and attract attention, which is unpleasant to a delicately-minded girl. A stout girl without stays looks very much like a shapeless and quivering mass of fat, and is by no means a charming spectacle; but if attention is paid to secure corsets properly made on sanitary principles, if these are changed as the figure changes, and are never laced too tightly, they will do no harm, and may safely be recommended. If on removing her stays at night the
