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CHAPTER XI.
A NEW SYSTEM OF DRESS FOR WOMEN.
WHEN stays are not worn, it becomes a matter of some difficulty how to fasten the clothes so that their weight shall not fall unduly on any particular part of the body, and so that they shall not press tightly on any part; the figures of most young girls are so slight that their garments have a strong tendency to slip down over the narrow hips. To counteract this tendency it is necessary either that union garments should be worn, or that all separate skirts and drawers should be fastened to a bodice.[1] Only recently a correspondent of the Queen re-
- ↑ The plan proposed by many so-called dress reformers of supporting women's clothes by braces is most objectionable. In this case, as when the clothes are supported entirely from the shoulders, the weight of the clothing drags the shoulders forward, and inclines to curvature of the spine. Moreover, the friction of the braces would hinder the development of the breasts in young girls, and chafe those delicate organs in adults. Men would stoop less, and have better-developed chests if they managed without braces; why then should women be urged to adopt these injurious articles of dress?
