Femina, A Work for Every Woman

by John A. Miller

This strikes at most of the evils in dress that pave the way for diseases of women. It comprises the evil effects of tight lacing and compressing the abdominal organs by improper support for the skirts. A corset should never be worn so tight that the hand cannot be passed through the waist line. In the absence of a waist or shoulder straps for the support of the skirts from the shoulders, shoulder straps should be fastened directly to the corset, so as to relieve the hips and abdomen from the weight of the clothing.

The corset waist is not only a perfect substitute for a corset, in supporting the bosom and preserving the form so as to give a handsome figure, but it supports the skirts without restricting the circulation and respiration, or compressing the abdominal organs. In buying or making a waist or bodice, particular attention must be paid to the shoulder bands, so that these bands are short enough to give the waist or bodice support from the shoulders. If, then, the skirts are buttoned to the waist, the weight is taken from the hips, where it injuriously depresses the abdominal organs, and falls on the shoulders, where it cannot do any harm. There is a good deal of humbuggery about these new devices, and those who make it a business to sell them, never take the pains, or are incompetent, to properly fit the waist. If one only bears in mind that, if the waist does not support the skirts from the shoulders, there is nothing gained over wearing an old-style corset, imposition is impossible.

The dressing for the feet should be warm and comfortable. Women who go to balls and parties should always wear overshoes in going to and coming from an entertainment. Thin and light shoes must be avoided in cold and damp weather; in fact, there is nothing that women should be more careful about than too light and low shoes which do not keep the feet warm. For comfort and keeping the feet warm, there is nothing like a loosely-fitting leather shoe, with wide and thick soles, and a low, flat, English heel. It is also the best “corn remedy” I know of.

When the weather is wet and cold, rubber overshoes should be worn, and these should be removed when entering the house. Women who have a tendency to cold feet, will find the cork or felt soles worn inside of the shoes, a great source of warmth and comfort. The coldest stratum of air is invariably on the floor of the room, and there is, perhaps, no easier or more unsuspected way to take a cold than to exchange a pair of high, warm shoes that fit closely around the ankles, for a pair of light, low slippers. If you desire to rest your feet in a pair of light slippers, then add a pair of heavy woolen socks over the stockings, this will greatly lessen the chances of taking cold.

Women who are suffering from pelvic or womb diseases, and who are anxious to get well, and those who are troubled with painful menstruation, and menstrual irregularities, should wear woolen hose. Thin cotton, silk-mixed, or silk hose are not sufficiently warm, nor do they retain the natural heat of the body like woolen stockings.

Those who have once accustomed themselves to woolen hose, should not discard them in the summer months for cotton, linen or silk goods, and this is to be particularly observed on this coast, but the hose should be exchanged for thinner and lighter goods of the same material, corresponding to the demands of the season. It would not be wise or prudent to wear the same quality and amount of clothing in warm weather as in cold; otherwise the excessive clothing in the summer months will induce perspiration on the slightest exertion, and thus the system becomes most susceptible to cold when the weather changes or becomes cooler.

Elastic garters to maintain the tops of the stockings in position should be avoided. Rubber bands make a continuous compression on the vessels and nerves, although almost every woman claims that she does not wear her garters tight, yet at night when she removes the elastics there are deep furrows marking the constriction of the garters. The spring-wire garters are just as injurious, for they also exert a continuous pressure.

The veins of the legs are, for the most part, superficial, and this steady and gradual compression is very injurious to the venous circulation, so that the blood is prevented from returning from the limbs as readily as it should; this induces cold feet, and when the circulation is already weak, it often imparts a feeling of heaviness to the limbs, for which women doctor but without getting any relief. The only proper support for the hose is elastic straps that are supported from the waist; they are now so well known and for sale in every dry goods store that a description of them is unnecessary.

To keep the legs and body warm is not a question of quality or quantity of skirts or wraps. If the limbs under them are not separately enveloped and are only covered with thin cotton or silk hose and open cotton drawers, women are continuously exposed to the cold, damp emanations from the ground and to the drafts caused by the motion of the skirts, and blasts of wind.

The most intelligent suggestions for Dress Reform are those that are directed towards reducing the weight or displacing the heavy, stiff, and unwieldy skirts and clothing the extremities of the female in divided garments, so that they are no longer exposed to the dangers of cold and drafts. The divided skirt is in the direct line of a modest and desirable improvement of woman’s dress, and it is growing in popularity among the most intelligent of reading and thinking women. If the specialists of female diseases were to study the interests of their patients with the same ardor that they study the methods how best to fill their offices with patients, on whom they perform useless and dangerous operations, they would be of some actual benefit to our wives, mothers, and sisters, and our women could be dressed as gracefully as at present with less than half the underclothes to pack around with them.