Transcriber’s Note:

The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.

Dress and Look Slender

BY

JANE WARREN WELLS

PERSONAL ARTS COMPANY

SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA

Copyright, 1924

By the Personal Arts Company

All Rights Reserved

International Textbook Press

Scranton, Pa.

FOREWORD

The desire to be attractive, to feel the assurance that one is correctly if not beautifully dressed is inherent in every woman. With the advent of the “slim silhouette” the full proportioned woman or girl has had a problem. It is unfashionable to appear over large—and one cannot help feeling conspicuous when out of Fashion’s range. But, fortunately, there is a plan by which the proper selection of dress can actually aid you in overcoming the handicap of weight.

There is magic in the principles of “optical illusion” and rightly applied it is a kind of magic that one can make a permanent reality. But magic is subtle. It requires skill, watchfulness, and a close abiding to the rules if every “trick” is to be a success.

In reading this book you will find many things that you are advised not to do, but always you will find substantial instructions as to what to do. And always principles are provided which you can use and adapt to a great variety of personal needs.

One of the first essentials of teaching is to start a definite line of thinking, and if the rules in this book will arouse in you the desire to compare the points made with illustrations you see of line and color, both in pictures and on people, and to test their correctness or incorrectness for yourself, it will indeed be worth while.

You, who have started diets and failed with them, who have tried exercises and become discouraged, hold to this—read every page of this book, find the reason back of every rule and apply the principles laid down. I guarantee that it will be interesting and that the results will bring you a renewed assurance, confidence and satisfaction with your personal appearance and with yourself. Is that not enough to commend the book in its entirety?

Jane Warren Wells

CONTENTS

DRESS AND LOOK

SLENDER

CHAPTER I
WHY WOMEN WANT TO LOOK SLENDER

If there is any one thing in the world that is not wanted it is too much fat on a woman. In my whole lifetime I have heard only one overweight woman say she would not be thin if she could. I have always regretted that I did not ask her why.

Before I tipped the scales so definitely myself, I paid little attention to the problems of the big woman, for of course I was not vitally interested in weight reduction or size concealment. But when I found my own clothes not meeting and the children in the family saying I was getting fat, I began to take notice. I must have read fifty-odd advertisements on “How To Get Thin,” and I was hopeful of some of the methods. We almost had to move from a duplex house because I did exercises to music and the neighbors could not sleep. I ate “woe-be-gone” bread. I even tried to melt away in reducing corsets but almost took the skin with them when I tried to get them off. I read every book I could find on “What To Eat” and “What Not To Eat,” and I lost three good cooks in my efforts to reduce the menu to a get-thin basis.

A prominent actress gave me a prescription for reducing. Her husband, on finding it out, came rushing to see me to tell me that the prescription was for a drug and that his wife in her eagerness to keep within bounds demanded by the stage had indulged only to become a hopeless addict.

Then I went to my physician and told him I was tired of bruising myself with rolling, my fear would not allow me to take drugs and I would have to leave home if I persisted in the diet. I begged him to give me something to remove the excess of thirty pounds and he promptly refused, pointing out to me the illnesses and other bad effects that could come from abnormal or unnatural reduction. He explained that he could give me something that would take off the fat but that it would age the tissues of the body ten to fifteen years. And youth is something that every woman wants to keep, no matter what her weight.

He explained the thyroid theory but refused to give me an ounce of the preparation for my relief and very frankly told me to forget my weight and enjoy the good health that I evidenced. I left his office crestfallen and disappointed, thinking that if he only knew how much the heavy woman wants to appear thin enough to wear smart clothes, if he could only know how she actually longs for the lovely things that fashion creates for the slender types, he would be more sympathetic. But he is a very sane and sensible man and all my appeals had no effect.

However, when my friends continued to say, “My, I believe you’re getting fat” instead of “How stunning you look,” I realized how necessary it was for me to persist in my determination to dispose of the thirty extra pounds and at the same time indulge my appreciation for pretty things which is the right of every woman, fat or thin.

I found my clothes problem daily growing more serious. Several times I purchased a new dress and after one wearing I would discard it because I looked heavier and older than I wanted to look. The problem was becoming increasingly difficult because each time I stepped upon the scales, I would invariably see recorded two or three pounds more than last time. I am sure that many of you have meekly slipped off the scales, as I have, scarcely waiting long enough to see what weight was actually registered, praying meanwhile that no one saw where the arrow pointed. I simply could not believe the scales were right, because before each weighing I was certain within myself that I had climbed enough stairs, done without enough candy, and touched my hands to the floor often enough to be at least three pounds lighter.

About this time an inspiration came to me. I would “get even” with my slender friends. If I could not safely reduce, I would at least give the appearance of having reduced. If I could not actually take off thirty pounds, I would make myself look thirty pounds lighter in the eyes of others.

And, after all, is that not what we are most concerned about? Plumpness is more often a sign of good health than bad. We could be supremely happy with our extra weight if only we could look slender. I recalled the advice of my physician to “go home and enjoy my good health.”

So I started on my campaign to lose thirty pounds in appearance. I did it and so quickly that my friends were amazed at the sudden change. I was congratulated on my success in reducing. I was told I had never looked so well. Friends persistently asked me what method of reducing I had followed. In fact the success of my plans has been so remarkable that I do want every overweight woman to know about them. And so into this book I am putting the whole story.

WHEN FASHION DEMANDS SLENDERNESS AND YOUTHFULNESS

We are all slaves to fashion. For many, many years it was the fashion to be plump. Venus herself was not slender, but well rounded and full of figure. Our mothers wore bustles, and bust ruffles if they needed them, but as for us, well, it is the fashion to look slender, and since it is, we must strive to keep within the dictates of the mode.

My own work is fashion work. I meet hundreds of fashion folks. The slender silhouette has been promoted, applauded, appreciated for years, and as the days and months went by and the youthful outline grew more important, more prominent, I began to realize what a handicap the stout woman was under in trying to find attractive clothes. I felt like an Eskimo on a summer’s day on Fifth Avenue. To go into a smart shop to buy a new dress only to be looked over and directed to the matron’s department or that of the stylish stouts was too much for my pride. I wasn’t willing to put myself in the out-of-fashion class and appear heavy and elderly wearing fronts and vests that had written all over them, “built especially for a stout.”

Frequently fashion magazines show suggestions for “length lines”—but they seem to assume that all overweight women must look matronly. Two, in particular, that I remember showed the effect of incorrect crosswise lines and of correct lengthwise lines. I studied them carefully for information and decided that I would prefer to look round and thirty, than straight up and down and sixty. Every one of the models, though satisfactory in design, added 20 to 30 years to the apparent age of the wearer, doing nothing to overcome one of the most dangerous things with which the stout has to contend. For although no dignified woman wants to look like a sixteen-year-old overgrown Susie, still she does want to look young, modish, and correctly dressed, and no woman is rightly dressed who by her clothes adds even one year to her age.

However, I now know that it is possible for every woman, whether she is only slightly too plump in certain places, or decidedly overweight, to make herself look smart, slender, and many years younger by studying certain vital rules of dress and adhering to them in planning her wardrobe.

BUSINESS AND SOCIAL LIFE MAKE SLENDERNESS AND YOUTHFULNESS A NECESSITY

Women, young, mature, or elderly, at home or in business, must always try to look their best. They must be so pleasingly and so correctly dressed as always to evidence good taste, for good taste, after all, is the only real authority in dress. Without it, dress loses all its power of charm or influence. Especially is this true for women in public life. The solo singer in the church, the leader of the club or mothers’ meeting, the social worker or politician, all must give evidence of good taste and be modestly and correctly attired if they are to gain favorable criticism. No woman who sings should ever allow it to be said of her, “I adored the song, but the singer’s hat annoyed me so that I could not listen.”

A woman’s clothes should be beautifully alluring and complimentary. This is woman’s heritage, and any woman who allows her lack of knowledge to make her unhappy or unpleasing to see has only herself to blame, for it doesn’t take money. It does take information, ingenuity, and a little energy. But oh, how worth while the result will be!

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR GOOD POINTS

Sometimes we women of over 36 bust become discouraged. There is really no reason for this because most of us have a great many good points that we simply do not use to the best of our advantage. We worry so unnecessarily about our bad points that we forget about the good ones, but there is much that we can do with little or no effort and the improvement in our appearance is its own reward. For instance, most big people have nice hair, and they should keep it. Any big woman who bobs her hair and leaves it that way hasn’t eyed herself sufficiently in her mirror. From her neck up she may look ten years younger, but from the neck down she probably looks ridiculous. For one of the chief rules for good looks is right balance, poise, and dignity. So why do anything to hinder these? You have one handicap—too many pounds. You must do everything you can, therefore, to retain every possible attraction, and your hair is one of them for it suggests womanliness.

We don’t want our friends to say that we have a great “mother lap” or a shoulder of Gibraltar to weep on, but we must set out to be substantial in thought, act, and deed to be attractive. A little slim girl can giggle and be silly if she wants to—she can even wear mussed up dresses—but a big girl must be modest, and always immaculate in every particular. And why not? It’s an effort, yes, to be always striving for perfection, but it can be made a real hobby. Study the attractive slender girl who looks well and dresses well. Adapt what you can of her attire. Oftentimes, you can learn more of the “trick” from the slim looking girl than from the stout.

As you go through fashion books, don’t discredit all the styles and say they are planned only for the slim. Study them carefully, find a collar from one and waist line from another, fabric suggestions from another. Dress to be fashionable, but learn to discriminate so that you can find the best for you in the new.

Sometimes I have thought what fun it would be if we big folks could dress up and reach a point of perfection—so much so that the artist would have to get a more flexible pencil to express the varying grace of line that would be manifest. And why not? Isn’t it our own fault if fashion forgets us? We deserve to be dowdy if we haven’t enough pride, ingenuity, and perseverance to conceal intelligently and comfortably a few extra pounds.

If you are tall and large but not fat, consider yourself a full well-proportioned figure and dress correctly but in plain good quality fabrics so that neither height nor width will be accentuated.

Don’t try to fool yourself by wearing clothes that are too small for you. It is said that fat men need the best tailors, and surely all large women should strive to have perfect fitting clothes.

When I was fourteen I wore on a special Sunday a long skirt and a bustle, thinking that it was better to look eighteen and “ladylike” than fourteen and overgrown. Don’t look overgrown in your clothes, but don’t ever make yourself any older than you are.

If your ankles are large, have your dresses a wee bit longer than fashion calls for. If your ankles are small and the legs large above the ankle, have your dress slightly long for the same reason. If the legs and ankles are correctly proportioned for the rest of the body, remember that even you need to have the skirt just a little bit longer because when you sit down you take up some of the skirt length. A fat woman sitting down with a dress that is too short is not pleasing to see—and we big women do love to sit down.

And in speaking of sitting down, a sanitary apron is a real protection to the backs of big folks’ dresses as it prevents wrinkling. Buy one, try it, and you will realize that the back of your dress looks much better after you get up from a two-hour sitting. And, besides, you can console yourself with the fact that if perspiration really reduces, your apron is serving you twofold—melting the fat and preventing skirt wrinkles all at the same time.

Don’t ever be tempted to wear frills, ruffles, tassels, or ornaments that go forward or wave about as you walk. They double your size every time and must be avoided.

A good plan for those of us who like ruffles, frills, and bright colors is to put them on our night clothes where no one but our very own selves can see.

The house, too, lends opportunity for our color appetites and there we may use color freely and safely. But because we love red, orange, or King’s blue is no sign we must wear it on our backs for all to see. Buy a little piece of fabric with just the colors you revel in; put it in the dresser drawer, or let it ornament a chair back, look at it every day, and thus satisfy your longing for color. Then wear those very simple things that you know will be becoming.

One woman whom I know and who looks like a fashion plate in the day time and like a dream lady at night, always gets everything together on the bed before she starts to dress. She insists that it takes only a little longer to do this, that it saves time when she does get ready to dress, and that she is always better satisfied with the results. She says, “I know then that I have the right slip, the right stockings, that my gloves are suitable, and that there are no holes that need attention. In putting them on the bed, I always make all the little repairs that are necessary and do all the brushing or freshening that is needed; then when I am ready to dress I feel a sense of satisfaction that I can find in no other way.”

And so, why don’t you, who are striving to express yourself more beautifully, to dress with more satisfaction and peace of mind, try this simple little plan of thinking about what you are going to wear and getting it ready before you start to dress? Then, watching always what you see in your mirror, your fashion books, on the streets, and in the shops, you will find that which is appropriate, becoming, and wholly lovely for you.

And to these material fundamentals, add your own wholesome pride. Don’t cheat yourself or those who must see you. Don’t be dowdy. Life is too short and too real for that. Learn to be proud of yourself and dress so that even you will feel a sense of security and assurance. After all, we can be rather selfish about just looking right. Other folks are glad to see us in pretty clothes—looking our best. A right hat, a right dress, correctly worn, can really do wonders as a tonic. Try it. It really is a good prescription.

CHAPTER II
THE REAL SECRET OF DRESSING TO LOOK SLENDER

“Reducing”—by no matter what method—is too often a snare and a delusion; for even if, after all your efforts, you do lose some weight, a little indiscretion in your clothes will make you look as stout as ever.

How to select clothes that are certain to make you look slender is the most important knowledge a modern woman can have. Surely it is the most important art in the whole field of fashion. And yet, many designers of clothes for stout women do not understand its very cardinal principles. Of course, they do design so-called “slenderizing stouts”—but you know, perhaps all too well, what they look like. Their long surplice effects and drab colors say as plainly as words, “I am designed for a stout” and nine times out of ten they simply call attention to your stoutness. Besides they are for matronly women—not for those who want to look young and smart. It seems practically impossible to get youthful and appropriate clothes for women who wear sizes over 38. Yet it may be only necessary to change a neckline or remove an ornament or alter the line of a sleeve in order to transform a “dumpy fat woman’s dress” into a model of slender grace and youthful charm.

The whole art rests upon a certain scientific principle known to artists and a few expert designers. It is called the Principle of Optical Illusion, by which things appear to the eye to be different than they really are. By understanding and properly using this principle, objects may be made to appear larger or smaller, taller or shorter. And by employing this principle in dress any woman can be made to look older or younger, shorter or taller, stouter or slenderer than she actually is.

For example, just as white shoes make large feet look much larger, so do certain lines and colors make a large figure look a great deal larger, while correct lines and colors and subtle touches give the effect of slenderness, youth and grace.

Every stout woman has, some time in her experience, come by chance upon a dress which seemed to make her look more slender and younger, and she has worn and worn that dress almost to shreds, hating to part with it because there was no telling when she would find another one to give that same effect.

But there is no reason why you should trust to chance in selecting becoming clothes. For if you know this simple yet all important principle of optical illusion, you can plan or make or select every item of your wardrobe with the certain knowledge that it will have a slenderizing effect on your appearance.

You can know beforehand that every dress, every coat, every hat, every garment you wear will be designed to give you height instead of width, youth instead of matronliness, slenderness and grace instead of heaviness. It doesn’t matter whether you buy your clothes ready made, have them made by a dressmaker, or make them yourself—you can always know just what to select to make your particular type of figure look as slim and well proportioned as possible.

The two vertical lines are exactly the same length—measure them and see. Short lines turned back at either end make one seem short; extended lines make the other seem longer.

These two illusions are almost duplicated in the dresses above. As a result one woman looks shorter and heavier, the other taller and slenderer than she really is.

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS—SEEING IS BELIEVING

You yourself are familiar with many optical illusions, although you may never have thought of them as such. When you look down the railroad tracks the rails appear to come together in the distance. No matter how much you tell yourself that the rails do not actually come together, the fact remains that they appear to do so. If you put the end of a stick in water it appears broken, although you know that in fact it is not broken.

The eyes in a certain portrait seem to follow you, no matter where you may go in the room in which it is hung. This illusion persists, no matter how much you may tell yourself that the eyes do not actually move. When you are on a moving train it is only by the constant succession of passing trees, posts, and landscape that you realize you are going forward. When these objects are shut off from your view by a train going in the opposite direction, you seem to be going backward. Or if you look at a moving picture taken from the front of a rapidly moving train or motor launch, it is difficult not to get the impression that you are rushing forward.

All of these are optical illusions, yet we do not think of them as illusions. They represent the natural and the normal and we make allowances for them.

The laws of illusion are more easily understood, perhaps, by means of simple lines than any other way. You will grasp them quickly by studying the various figures which illustrate this chapter.

Let us take a simple example to begin with having directly to do with the use of straight lines in dress. You have probably read a thousand times and heard a hundred times more that stout people must work for straight line effects and the straight line silhouette. But it is one thing to know this fact and another actually to accomplish it in your clothes. You can’t just hang a straight line down from the shoulder like a carpenter’s plumb on a door sill. You must know just where and just how to apply the straight line. You must learn to use straight lines so that they blend in with your costume—so that they give the desired effect without calling attention to the means by which it is achieved.

These unbroken parallel vertical lines give the definite impression of height. This principle, used in the design of the dress above, lends it a pleasing slender appearance because no other lines interfere with the straight line effect.

Here, also, are two vertical parallel lines. They are straight—test them—but the other lines radiating from the center, make them appear “bowed.” In the dress above a similar design makes the wearer appear stouter and heavier than she really is.

LINES THAT SLENDERIZE AND LINES THAT DON’T

It is a popular theory among folks who would dress to look slender that stripes running up-and-down are the thing to wear, while stripes running across are to be avoided. This belief, like many another old-fashioned one, is only half true. For instance, it is true that if the up-and-down stripes in your material are very fine and unobtrusive they will have the effect of making you look taller and slimmer. This, however, is not at all true of broad stripes or of stripes in a definitely contrasting color—quite the contrary, in fact. Pronounced stripes merely call attention to themselves and do not create the illusion of slenderness which is desired.

But this is only one of many points to be taken into consideration when you plan a dress with stripes or with straight up-and-down lines of any kind. For instance, the illustrations on pages [18] and [19] show two up-and-down lines of exactly the same length. Take your ruler and measure them to convince yourself. Now note the effect on these lines of the shorter lines added to each end. The inverted arrows added to the line at the left make it appear shorter than it really is. The extended lines added to the one at the right make it appear longer than it really is. Now note the two costumes on these same pages in which these principles have been applied. In the one shown on the left the figure looks shorter and stouter than it really is, while in designing the dress on the right the correct use of the optical illusion has been observed and the result is a slender, graceful appearance. You can readily see from these pictures how a straight line effect can be either accentuated or shortened by the lines that run out from it.

There are many ways in which a stout woman who does not know this principle can easily ruin the effect of a costume. For instance, a woman who wears a perfectly straight up-and-down dress of quite correct lines may put a large mushroom shape hat on her head and perhaps a band of fur around the bottom of her skirt. This has precisely the same effect as the arrows which are turned the wrong way and therefore shorten and widen the straight line.

“I cannot understand why I look so short and dumpy,” she wails despairingly. “My dress is made on perfectly straight up-and-down lines and yet I look fatter than ever.” Of course she does, because instead of extending the straight up-and-down line by a small upturned hat of some sort and an unobtrusive skirt hem, she has broken the line at the top and bottom and thereby shortened and widened her appearance.

These two diamond-shaped figures are exactly the same size. The crosswise line makes one seem wider, the vertical line makes the other seem narrower.

Now note how these same principles used in the dresses above effect the apparent size and weight of those wearing them, making one seem much stouter than the other.

A SIMPLE TRICK THAT TAKES OFF TWENTY POUNDS

Another point to be very careful about is the matter of uninterrupted straight lines. For instance, the small diagrams on pages [22] and [23] show two pairs of perfectly straight up-and-down parallel lines. This is probably hard for you to believe, since the lines in the right-hand figure seem to definitely bulge outwards. However, careful measurement with your ruler or a pencil will prove to you that the lines actually are as straight as those in the figure on the left. These latter, however, appear straight because they are uninterrupted and unbroken. Those at the right appear to bulge outwards merely because there are so many radiating lines running through them.

Applying this principle to clothes, you can easily see that the tall, slender effect you hoped to gain by the straight up-and-down lines of your costume may be entirely ruined if you apply trimmings of any kind which radiate outwards toward these lines. The dresses shown on pages [22] and [23] will prove this to you. The woman at the left with her uninterrupted, harmonious, gracefully flowing up-and-down lines looks taller, slenderer, more dignified and in every way more pleasing than the woman at the right, the radiating lines of whose gown make her figure seem to bulge outwards in a most discouraging manner.

Another striking example of optical illusion showing one reason why some look stouter than they really are is shown in the illustrations on pages [26] and [27]. As in the previous examples, the two figures (diamond shape figures in this case) are, by actual measurement, exactly the same size. The horizontal line across the one at the left, however, makes it appear much wider than the one at the right with the vertical line through the center.

Now study the clothes of the two women which illustrate these illusions. Both women are holding their arms so as to give their figures a sort of diamond shape. The one at the left, however, by her broad, drooping hat, her large, bulky fur stole, the large-figured material of her tunic, and especially by the horizontal, or nearly horizontal lines of her neck, her girdle, and the band of fur on her skirt, gives herself the appearance of conspicuous stoutness.

The middle lines in the two small diagrams are the same length. But on the left, shorter accompanying lines seem to shorten the one between. On the right longer accompanying lines seem to lengthen the one between.

Now see how the woman at the left has unknowingly emphasized her stoutness while the one at the right has properly gained a slender effect by using trimming in accordance with the principles of these optical illusions.

On the other hand, the woman at the right has designed her costume entirely on the principles of vertical lines. The tall hat with its appropriate trimming, the long, simple lines of her collar, her neck-piece, the row of tiny buttons down the front of her dress, and indeed the lines of the dress itself all conspire to give her the appearance of height, smartness, and slenderness.

MAKING YOURSELF TALLER THAN YOU ARE

By the illustrations on pages [30] and [31] you may learn the value of emphasizing a long line by the trick of placing it between two longer lines rather than between two shorter ones. As in the previous examples, the middle line in each figure is identically the same length. The one at the left, however, appears much shorter than the one at the right, because of a suggestion contained in the parallel lines which surround it.

In the dresses illustrated here, this principle is strikingly applied. The short vertical bands of trimming in the figure at the left make the center band seem shorter than it really is, whereas, the long vertical bands in the figure at the right make the center band seem longer than it really is. Thus, by the application of this seemingly unimportant trifle, the woman at the right seems slenderer, taller, and smarter than the one at the left.

LINES THAT SLENDERIZE TUNICS

Just one more example. The figures on pages [34] and [35] show how a longer, slimmer effect may be created by parallel lines emphasizing an oblique or slanting line. In the figure on the left the plain oblique line seems much more horizontal and wider than it does in the figure on the right where the same line, actually on the same slant, seems much longer and more graceful because of the parallel lines which break it and thereby emphasize its length.

This effect is gained by using the simple principle of optical illusion shown in the small diagram on page [35]. The line running down from upper left to lower right is actually straight—test it and see. But the two perpendicular lines which break it cause it to seem to drop faster than it really does. This gives the effect of greater height and less width to the entire figure.

Note the diagonal line in the opposite diagram. It is actually straight, but the vertical lines which break it give it a “going-down-steps” appearance. This principle is used in the dress at the right—the two vertical panels of trimming break the line of the tunic and give the whole figure a more slender appearance than in the figure above.

Dresses planned with this principle in mind will surely be more successful in their slenderizing effect, as you will see by these contrasting illustrations. The oblique line at the bottom of the tunic in the dress at the left seems almost horizontal and much wider than the same line in the figure at the right which is made to seem longer and more graceful by the parallel vertical lines of embroidery which intersect it and so emphasize its appearance of length and grace.

APPLY THESE RULES TO EVERY ITEM OF YOUR ATTIRE

There are dozens of other tricks which our eyes play on us which must be taken into account by women who want to look slender. A very careful study, therefore, of the optical illusions in this chapter will repay you many times in the matter of line, cut and pattern of every dress, wrap, hat, and pair of shoes that you buy. You must see that the facts of illusion may either work to produce an appearance of bigness or one of smallness. Every suggestion in this book is written with the idea of applying these essential principles of optical illusion to your dress—of producing in every case the slenderest possible effects.

SECRETS EVEN THE SLENDER WOMAN MUST KNOW

Not only very stout women, but moderately stout women, and even slender women should also bear these principles in mind, for even the slender woman can lose all the advantage of her slender silhouette and may actually appear stout by failing to dress in accordance with these optical illusions. An ill-chosen or badly-designed gown or wrap may easily give her the appearance of being many pounds heavier than she really is.

When you yourself begin planning your clothes according to these simple, though magically effective rules, you will very soon begin to find real artistic pleasure in your clothes, to say nothing of the improvement in your appearance. I am certain that you will feel about it as I did, that here at last is the only real and permanent way to look slender. For even though by strenuous efforts you are able actually to reduce your weight, it is not pounds, but appearance, that counts. You may know what the scales say, but other people will weigh you with the eye. Dress so you look slender and you can stop worrying about your size and weight and be as healthy, happy, and attractive as any of your slender friends.

CHAPTER III
THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE THE BIG DIFFERENCES

As I told you in Chapter I, the stout woman has a great many good points which she sometimes neglects in worrying about her main problem. This is a great mistake because after all the little things do make the big differences and there are so many little things that you can do with scarcely any effort at all which help so tremendously in gaining the effect that you want.

WATCH YOUR STEP

For instance, there is the matter of walking. I am not going to give you any definite exercises, but it is a very easy and splendid practice to try to walk with a “slipping up” step, that is, practice walking easily so that you won’t appear to weigh a thousand pounds. If you are light on your feet people will forget to guess your weight. Don’t let your body slump down, if you have this tendency. Find some exercises that you can do happily and comfortably, not to reduce, but to cultivate grace and ease of motion. When you are all alone in the house and nobody is looking, trip around lightly and exaggerate a light, easy step. Turn on the victrola and do your dusting to music. It will help you wonderfully in gaining that ease of motion which is attractive and pleasing and encourages youth. Always endeavor to overcome heaviness in step and movement, for it adds years both to your appearance and to your feelings. Remember that your attitude has so much to do with your good looks.

Don’t ever stand with your feet apart or your hands limp at your sides. One foot a little in front of the other gives an easier appearance and makes you seem less weighty. Make a practice of keeping your hands comfortably in front of you, never rest them on your hips wash woman fashion. Such positions broaden the silhouette and give a “set” look that is most unbecoming. A large woman with her feet spread apart and arms hanging like burdens always at her sides makes a very heavy and unattractive picture.

Don’t cross your arms. Two fat arms can look like four, if you are not careful.

Stretch and keep yourself limber. Bend so that you are continually used to it, then your face won’t get red every time you drop your handkerchief. And right here it may be well to say that most women use up more energy than they need to and look much more undignified than they need to when they stoop to pick things up. It is neither necessary nor graceful to bend so that your back almost breaks in the middle. It is a much easier and pleasanter gesture to bend at the knees and go straight down until you can reach the object you want to pick up. In doing this you can keep your head straight up all the while and need not get red in the face at all.

WHAT YOUR POSTURE CAN DO FOR YOU

Learn to stand up straight like a soldier. Most fat women seem to have the idea that they ought to “scrooch” down and disguise their size in that way. But in this campaign to dress and be thin the back-bone must be definitely straight. Don’t hunch yourself up and look like a pillow tied in the middle. Sit straight on your chair and stand straight when you are up. Hold your head high. A constant practice of chin up makes you appear taller and erases in the easiest possible way any tendency towards a double chin.

Dressing up to your weight is good psychology for it keeps you alert. You hold your head a little higher and grow naturally to observe that essential rule of standing always just as tall as you possibly can. Also, your mental alertness is a safeguard against additional fat. I never knew it to fail—a definite interest in clothes, in looking one’s best, keeps the fat away. It has a sort of a rabbit-foot charm about it that really does work.

Remember continually that it isn’t the dress alone that you need watch, but every detail, for the little things can destroy the big, you know, and the principles of optical illusion must be adhered to as strictly in the little things as in the big. For instance, eyeglasses can accentuate a round face or slenderize it, depending upon their prominence and shape. Buttons can stick out and look bulky; shirtwaists when worn with different color skirts can cut you in two; and belts of different color than skirt or blouse can prove even more treacherous. Gloves or shoes that are too small give your size away. Lacy stockings emphasize where they shouldn’t and are as faulty as they are expensive. Before we get through with this book I hope that I can restore your pride and self-assurance and that by making the most of these little pointers you will find your back-bone right where it ought to be. You will then be able to meet the world with a smile, knowing that at last you not only feel but look better than you ever have before.

SHOES AND STOCKINGS MUST BE SELECTED WITH CARE

What kind of shoes and stockings do you wear? Not pumps, I hope, because your

Above—Neatly shod feet.
Left—Low cut pumps and single strap emphasize fat. Heavy shoes have too much decoration.
Stockings must always be on straight and well held up, and shoes must fit. Straps that hold firmly are more effective than those that are narrow and less restraining. Heavy shoes should be plain in design. Skirts should always be long enough to cover the largest part of the leg below the knee.

weight is too great to be comfortable in them, and besides if you have studied the principles of optical illusion as carefully as you should have, you will realize that pumps will not give you the harmonious effect that you want to achieve in your costume. A bulge is sure to show at the top which is not only uncomfortable for you but shows in itself that you are fat. Wear a strap or laced slipper—any kind that is in good taste, big enough, and not too heavy. Heavy shoes on a stout woman interfere with lightness of movement which is something for which you must continually strive.

Unless you have very attractive, well-proportioned feet, do not attempt to decorate the bottom of your dress, for it will not only shorten you but will call attention to your feet. If they are very small they make the body appear larger and if the ankles are large they give an undesirable heaviness, so that the very best way, in any event, is not to call attention to them.

Many authorities say that a black sheer stocking is the very best that a stout woman can wear, that a heavy black or dark colored stocking is conspicuous, and a light stocking is “taboo” because it breaks the height and interferes with the straight line effect. So choose sheer stockings, but don’t hesitate to buy “out” sizes if you need them. If they are big enough over the knees they will fit better around the ankles. I know some big women who refuse to buy “out” size stockings because they are ashamed to go in and ask for them, and I know some medium slender women who buy them because they think they last longer. So pretend that you are medium slender and buy them if they are more comfortable.

Round necklines emphasize width. Even though tempting, they are taboo for those who would slenderize. Long necklines are always pleasing and are of many variations. A close study of current fashion books will give ideas that can always be accentuated in length without outstepping Fashion dictation.

NECKLINES ARE SLENDERIZED BY CORRECT JEWELRY AND COLLARS

We big women usually have some one who loves us enough to give us jewelry and we in turn love them enough to want to wear it on every occasion. If it doesn’t express slenderness—if it’s a big cameo or a heavy pair of earrings or a string of round marble beads, especially in dog collar arrangement—put it away and forget where you put it. Wear such jewelry some morning when no one is looking; have your own little “revelry” and have it over with, for such jewelry puts on more pounds than entire boxes of candy and makes us look like jeweled couch cushions, which we can never afford to do.

A necklace that is slender, well made, and with a tendency to plainness is a real asset to a stout woman as it helps the collar line, slenderizes the face, and gives the appearance of length over the front that is pleasing, but avoid by all means heavy crystals and don’t ever wear beads unless they give a definitely desirable lengthening effect.

Watch your collars closely. Work for slenderness and becomingness. Avoid all neck lines that go around or that are conspicuously colored. A cream collar is always better than a snow white one and a soft piqué or linen collar is better than a starched one. Remember that long string ribbon ties can be real friends if you will let them. Tailor your collars or use soft lace that is not baby looking. We big folks must always keep away from babyishness, must learn to stand on our own two feet and look straight ahead toward the goal of slenderness.

Gloves, purses and necklaces need to be chosen with infinite care to aid in slenderizing. Link chains, cords, fine pearls or small oblong beads are best as necklaces. Slender flat purses are desirable and neat, well-fitting gloves necessary.

PURSES, FANS AND OTHER ACCESSORIES

Pocketbooks and purse bags must be slender, never round or bulky looking, and must always harmonize with the dress and never be conspicuously colored. Remember too, not to let your bag dangle awkwardly from your hand or add to your width by the way you carry it. Let it be a part of the line of your costume just as it is in harmony with the color.

Graceful fans of subdued colors often aid in a pleasing gracefulness, but little fans allow of an uncomplimentary comparison, just as do small, gay parasols.

Fat fingers are shortened and made more fat by heavy rings.

Earrings widen the face. Sometimes a slender face accompanies a broad body. In such a case, earrings are an advantage if they are appropriate and graceful.

Jeweled belts, conspicuous in ornamentation, must all be given away to willowy friends, because they could prove helpful to them and a menace to you.

NEATNESS AND CLEANLINESS ARE ESSENTIAL

Once when I was writing a book on dress, a fashion authority and personal friend insisted that I should not put in a chapter on cleanliness, which I wanted very much to use, saying that it “put an ugly frame on an otherwise beautiful picture.” But personal cleanliness and careful grooming to my mind are so necessary that no book on dress would be complete without them.

We may not have beautiful clothes, and may grieve that we are not willowy enough to wear the smart extremes in dress, but our grieving is totally unnecessary. We can learn truly to be as attractive, as admirable as our slender sisters if we set out with the will and determination to express perfection so far as our ability and intelligence will allow. A fresh bath, some bath talcum, clean, well-fitting underthings, neat, good-looking shoes, and modest stockings can give an enhancing foundation for the dress we have so carefully planned. And when we are spic and span from the inside out we are sure to dress with more dignity, more poise, than we possibly could otherwise.

COSMETICS EITHER ADD OR DETRACT

Thick lips should never wear rouge, and black eyebrows should never be blackened; neither should a pale, grayed face be surrounded by a dull gray or black hat. This is all out of key and attracts unnecessary attention. We must express some color tone, just as we do personality, but it must be subtle or vivacious, discreet or bold, and in both cases must be individually becoming.

If the eyes are dull in color, do not wear bright colors on your hats for the eyes lose in comparison, and eyes can always express friendly happiness and individuality if we surround them properly.

Avoid a shiny nose as you would the Plague.

Beware of oily creams. Remember an astringent reduces and controls and that 99 cases out of a hundred need oilless creams rather than oily ones. Beware of rouge. Your face usually will have color enough. If it hasn’t, use it, oh, so wisely.

Study your face carefully, experiment with color in front of an honest mirror that is placed in full day light. Rouge and powder rightly applied can narrow the face and prove very advantageous, so experiment and put the color just where you need it, but don’t put on any until you have picked up a couple of things from the floor and walked around the room quickly at least twice. Work to look immaculate. It is so much more becoming. Baby faces and full proportioned bodies don’t go well together, and harmony we must have throughout this program.

If your forehead is low, powder the forehead generously and comb the hair back as much as becomingness will allow. This will tend to add height to the body and length to the face.

It is said that a large woman is usually very dainty in her habits just as a large man invariably has a very tiny, neat signature, so let it be an asset, and be dainty about your use of cosmetics. It is so much more pleasing than an extravagant use could ever be.

THINK OF THESE LITTLE THINGS BEFOREHAND

Buy a few things and have everything right. Think of all of your wardrobe at one time. Be sure that everything goes together agreeably. Take care to keep every part of your clothing in good repair and immaculately clean. Every woman can gain a reputation for being well dressed if she remembers not to be haphazard in buying, wearing, and caring for her clothes. If you have any of these habits, come, let us talk them over confidentially, because I, too, have had to learn by sheer necessity to overcome, one by one, these very expensive, annoying tendencies, and the only way I succeeded was to learn, as a matter of habit, to hang things up carefully when I took them off, to make sure that dress shields were in place, and to take special care to have everything in right shape when it was time to dress.

Take very special pains to have all supporters securely fastened, stockings on straight, and each garment rightly in place, for neatness in dress is more essential for us than almost any other thing. In fact, fastidious care of person and clothes is one feature which requires constant vigilance.

Avoid every tendency toward over dress. Don’t trim yourself too much. Modesty, simplicity—intricate simplicity perhaps, but a beautiful simplicity—is a definite part of our program and must be followed out religiously to conceal at all times an extra 30 or 40 pounds.

Be sure that the brassiere and corset overlap at their joining. The brassiere should come over the corset a good 2 inches to insure its holding. If the abdomen is full or stomach high, supporters fastened to the brassiere at the front are an advantage.

Never allow your shoes to squeak or your gloves to pinch in their tightness. Never allow a spot to show on any garment. Be immaculate, work at it, keep at it, for you, you know, have a definite purpose that must be achieved.

CHAPTER IV
FOUNDATIONS THAT SLENDERIZE

Although this is termed the corsetless era, the best dressed women are still wearing corsets and will continue to wear them because they realize the necessity of retaining lovely curves and lines. When the slender woman is careful about her corset, what must the responsibility be of the large woman? It is just this—that she must wear a corset—that she must select it with such care and have it fitted with such perfection that even she can forget it once it is on. No evidence of a corset is ever seen on a correctly dressed woman.

THE ART OF SELECTING YOUR CORSET

Wear corsets for comfort and perfection in dress, not with the thought that they will reduce. Remember that you always need your wits and all the alacrity of thought you can master and a too tight corset paralyzes both.

Read with me through this section because here you will get some real help and be able to apparently reduce your hip measure two inches and your bust possibly six.

Do you know that when your corset is a 28 waist or over you are counted by the corset manufacturers in the stout class? That seems absurd. One would think they would wait at least until the measurement was 30 or 32 before calling one stout, but since this is so, no one need be sensitive about ordering a size that is right. That means large enough usually, for you have a long range—26 to 46 waist measurement—so buy a corset that is big enough, that allows the flesh to rest comfortably yet be properly controlled. Tight corsets are a menace as are tight brassieres, and by packing the flesh in a fixed position, grace of movement is destroyed and you are made to appear actually larger than you are.

HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOUR CORSET FITS EXACTLY

Don’t ever let your modesty or your pride keep you from being fitted properly. All merchants and corsetieres expect to fit the corsets they sell. They know their stock better than you do, and realize that a proper corset can definitely and permanently help in correcting line, moulding it easily and gracefully, making a satisfied customer for them. A full proportioned figure is ugly only when it runs over. Graceful, even curves are pleasing to see, and we big folk can make our own curves graceful if we will.

Your corset should be long enough to hold the flesh securely and evenly. But the front stays must be short enough to allow you to sit and bend comfortably.

Always sit down in your corset when it is being fitted to make sure that the stays in the front are not too long. They may be shortened easily and are much better, because you cannot comfortably sit rared back as you must when the stays are too long.

“A” illustrates a corset long over the hips and with elastic inserts at the waistline, suitable for a medium figure.
“B” shows a heavier type suitable for short figures that require considerable support.
“C” shows a very comfortable and practical corset suitable to medium large figures.
“D” shows the front and back of a girdle corset with elastic inserts. This gives a youthful line, particularly suited to the athletic type.

Rubber, or silk and rubber corsets or combination corsets and brassieres give a smooth outline and often are graceful and becoming. When new they reduce the hips two to three inches. Be sure to have them fitted properly. If too small, they are very uncomfortable; if too large, useless.
Corsets that lace or fasten in the front give a smoother back and are more easy to adjust than are back lace corsets. Their height, length, elasticity and weight must be considered in buying and fitting, so that your corset when on is in nowise evident to you in feeling or to the eye. A corset does not fit correctly if the line of either top or bottom is visible when the dress is on. Corsets should be kept in perfect repair and discarded when their line is lost.

WHICH IS YOUR TYPE OF CORSET?

Some corset folks say there are eleven types of women to fit, others nine, others six. But, in general, these are the usual types:

Mrs. Brown is big in the hips and small in the bust. For her type of figure a corset low above the waist, long in the hips—front laced, is best. Supple corsets, long in the back, are a preventative against a large back and help to slenderize. They should, therefore, be worn as long as grace and comfort will allow. If they are too short, a roll of fat will form around where they terminate and cause you to lose the easy curve that even big folks can be proud of. Mrs. Brown should also have a slip to wear over the corset in preference to a brassiere. The slip should be semifitted, shaped over the hips so that not a wrinkle or line will show.

Mrs. Jones—another stout type—is normal size but large in the abdomen. She should have a corset fitted close over the hips, but not tight in the waist, allowing the fat to drop down in the top of the corset and find a comfortable resting place. A brassiere that is long in the front should be worn.

A square shoulder, broad hip type of figure needs a deep girdle—an elastic one is best—one that is low in the waist, snug and straight over the hips with an easy fitting boyish form brassiere.

THE BEST KIND OF BRASSIERE FOR YOU

“And what is a boyish form brassiere?” you ask. A straight piece of material with the darts coming down from the top in the front. You can make one for yourself in a few minutes. For a fashionable line across the bust don’t ever dart from the waistline up, as we have been doing in the past. For when you do, the fullness is pushed up under the chin, as it were, and actually will add six inches to the bust measure. If you are small in the waist and large in the hips, you can, by right corseting and “brassiering” cause some of the fat of the hips and abdomen to come up slightly, thus acquiring a more slender and better balanced effect. But as a general rule, let your watchword be: Distribute the fat comfortably and correctly. Don’t crowd it or push it here and there. Your face, your disposition, and your figure as well will show it if you do. You can’t be uncomfortable and be well poised.

Brassieres are as necessary as corsets. They should never be so tight as to bind, but always close enough to give a smooth outer line. They must always be high enough to confine the bust perfectly and long enough to come down well over the corset so that an unbroken waistline is attained.
Darts at the tops of brassieres give good bust control and hold the garment in correct position on the figure.

Hunt for the “large above the waist” figure. If the bust is very low, be sure to wear a brassiere that lifts up slightly and confines comfortably. Youth in its greatest perfection can have unconfined busts; older women, especially large women, should take care that no shaping of the bust is discernible. If V necks are becoming and the bust is full, provide a band of ribbon or a double fold of Georgette and wear it over the brassiere, pinning it tight and high around the figure. This will conceal the crease between the busts.

Finally, don’t fail, when you are being fitted in your corset, to stand up in front of a mirror, walk right up and “shoulder arms” and survey yourself. The corsetiere is sure to be stout. Who ever saw a thin one? She will sympathize with you and be patient. Try on her best models—not her silkiest ones, but her best designed ones. Sit down, stand up, bend over. Buy the one that shows the least red in your face when you bend. Be sure it has plenty of supporters.

Left—Corselettes may be worn by large women having firm flesh, the “athletic type,” but exercise must go with them to prevent an accumulation of flesh that is sure to occur when the body is unconfined.
Right—Brassieres for evening wear may have a firm band of ribbon sewed tight to the top and this brought around and pinned securely at the center back. Drawing this close will insure the garments staying up properly.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SMOOTH, PERFECT FITTING UNDERTHINGS

Put your corset under your arm, stop and buy 2½ yards of 40–inch nainsook or crêpe de Chine, go home and make yourself a combination slip. This is to be worn over your corset and brassiere and will give a perfectly smooth foundation for your dresses. Remember that your corset, brassiere, and slip must be so well fitted that no bumps or hangovers will be evident.

We fat women—and I don’t know why—have a natural hankering for lacy underwear, and that hankering is just as uncontrollable as our appetite for luscious bonbons. I do not intend to tell you that you can’t have lovely undergarments, but you must make sure that the lace or trimming is put where it cannot bulge out.

Knitted underwear fits best, but you needn’t wear just the most ordinary kind, because with a little ingenuity a plain, inexpensive piece can be bought and trimmed attractively with bands or strips of lace, straight line fashion, so that they will have a dainty, handmade look and yet be as smooth and straight on the body as can be. Combination suits similar to those illustrated are suggested for slenderness. If you have ruffles on any that you have in the dresser drawer, take them off. Press out the ruffles and stitch the bands on plain. Don’t indulge in ruffles!

A variety of slips are shown. The one at the left has a 2–inch band of fine net at top and bottom. This as a substitute for lace is quite as dainty and less bulky.
For a full bust, the diagonal darts at the right are advantageous, as they make possible a straight slim skirt.

For your slips remember that stripes partially concealed are effective yet unobtrusive, as for example, a striped slip under a plain voile or georgette dress. If you are broad through the shoulders, shape the slip to reduce the width. Deep hems make extra petticoats unnecessary. Fulness in a slip is essential, otherwise the garment will pull up when you sit down, making you seem stouter than you are. An inverted plait at the center back or at the sides is the best way to add fulness.

In selecting underwear, choose light-weight, smooth, close-fitting garments—fine knitted ones or those of softest muslin.
A shirt and bloomers are preferred by some—others, the straight combination. Select that which suits you best, but keep in mind the essentials of slenderness.

Omit all draw ribbons at the top of lingerie. Use tiny lengthwise darts to fit the garments close and smooth.

For the same reasons, omit all gathers at the waistline. Fit the garment so smooth that not a wrinkle or line is visible when the dress is on.

By following these really simple rules in regard to your underthings you are ready to give your attention to the part of your costume which shows; namely, dress, wrap, and hat, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that these are the only things that show. For without smooth, perfectly fitting underwear, corset, brassiere and slip, your outer garments cannot possibly give you that appearance of sylph-like slenderness which is your goal.

CHAPTER V
CARDINAL RULES FOR DRESSES THAT CAMOUFLAGE SIZE

We will now assume that right corsets and slips have been acquired, that you see and realize the possibilities of optical illusions and that a keen desire is evident to avoid, overcome, and correct every fault that hinders a right expression of clothes. I use the word “right” in a broad sense, because in working to look slender in dress you will necessarily achieve a happy degree of perfection that will prove quite as much of an asset as the appearance of slenderness.

I know you are eager for the start to actual rules and formulas, but first we must acquire enough “feeling” for line, color, and fabric to use the three wisely. The most economical way to do this is to start with what you have on hand.

REMODELING YOUR PRESENT WARDROBE

To the closet now.

Take out your big-figured dress. Every large woman owns a figured dress of some kind. There is something different about you if you haven’t one. I don’t know why, but evidently we all have felt that we might get lost in the expanse of the pattern and become less conspicuous.

Take time to put this figured dress on so that you won’t get red in the face doing it. Yes, you will find it is too short waisted; the sleeves are too short, the neck is too high, the skirt too full. You hated to admit that you needed a 44 pattern so used a 42 and allowed a little extra room across the hips. (I know just how you felt, for I have done the same thing myself).

Now survey yourself in front of the mirror.

You haven’t any goods like the dress, so you must add something to it. For a figured dress of Georgette or silk, plain color Georgette is suggested. See on page [73] how the sleeves are lengthened by a deep cuff, the collar effect lowered by a scarf, the waist let down and made looser by means of the excess material in the skirt.

Here is a large-figured dress remodeled to give it length lines and a more slender appearance. The neckline has been changed, the heavy prominent girdle removed and a narrow belt substituted, the waistline dropped, the sleeves lengthened and a scarf of plain material added.

Next, try on that plain tailored dress that you have been planning to rip up or give away. If it has an out of style waistline or heavily braided revers, make up your mind to sacrifice them now—to rip apart and to take off the revers. Consider some black satin if the dress is dark blue, or some white piqué if white is becoming, and think of the improvement some long, slim revers and some dainty turn-back cuffs will make.

Take the belts or waistlines off the separate skirts that you own and visualize how some plain boyish form brassieres as camisole tops for these skirts will improve them, joined as shown on page [75] in either one of the ways suggested. Your blouses may be worn over these. By this method you may not be able to camouflage the size so readily but you can decrease the appearance of years by a considerable amount. Isn’t it easy to see that on page [77] the silhouette on the right is years younger than that on the left?

Try on all the dresses you have. Consider the tightness of the waist and the length of it. Look once again at the little figures in Chapter II that illustrate so well the laws of optical illusion. Remember that if you are fat in the back your dress must have some kind of a neckline trimming or scarf collar, long and slim as on page [79]. This makes a lovely addition to any dress.

Camisole tops are advantageous and will allow a skirt to appear easy on the figure.
For wrap-around skirts always allow fulness by panels or concealed plaits so that your skirt will not stretch unshapely when you sit.

After you have had this little seance with yourself in the fittings, get out your dress form, wrap it with cotton, cloth or soft tissue paper until it is as big as you are, put a straight line lining over it that fits you easily and yet perfectly, then put your dresses on it. Loosen them at the waist, ease the sleeves if necessary and work to add a little youth, a little smartness, a little trimness by means of additional materials used in a wholly intelligent way.

SELECTING NEW CLOTHES THAT WILL SLENDERIZE YOU

Now that we have improved the clothes on hand, let us think about the purchase or making of new ones.

If you make your own clothes you can work out the points for yourself as you adopt them. If you have a dressmaker, gain her cooperation. She may not understand the principles of “optical illusion,” but she will be delighted to have suggestions that tend to slenderize, and I am sure she will work with you happily in carrying out the ideas and instructions given.

A shirt waist dress, when all of one color, is often becoming, but the lines must all point downward and the waist line must be straight and easy.
In remodeling, as you see, a new collar has been provided, the shoulder shortened, fulness cut out at the shoulder, cuff narrowed to allow the sleeves to be lifted, the belt opened and lined to give ease and width.
The skirt was shortened at the top and attached to a camisole brassiere. The fulness of the skirt was brought around and tucked to give desired length line.

Before buying a new dress, suit, or wrap, study fashion pictures, dozens of them, and try to determine how your type should express the “new” in fashions. Choose what you like best in the new mode, cut out the pictures from the magazines and fashion publications, go over them carefully again and again, and determine by study and elimination what dress and wrap will give the best result for the money spent.

As an aid in obtaining other valuable pointers, when you go into the shops to try on new dresses, observe the saleswoman very closely.

She may not understand either what you mean by “optical illusion,” but if you understand the principles you can get a great deal of help from her for she will let you know at once what is out of proportion in your figure, what there is about your shape that doesn’t correspond to their models. She will invariably say, “I am afraid your hips are too big for that dress,” or “We have only a few dresses that will fit you. You are too large in the bust for that,” etc. Now, keep your disposition and listen, then determine to go home and concentrate upon making less conspicuous the part that strikes her as being out of proportion. Remarkable improvements may be made in this way and the “hardened” saleswoman can truly be of service, for she, unlike your friends, is not inclined to flattery unless she has visions of a sale.

Even in a surplice waist, length can be attained, as the illustration shows. Sleeve trimmings should be avoided that come even with the waist line. As you see, they give width where length is needed. Heavy stiff trimmings are difficult and must be very smart to be attractive. The softer, more slender the trimming, the better usually. Skirts should be designed to be free of flare.

Current fashions are always whimsical but back of every dress or underneath it is a foundation that makes the skeleton of the dress. This you must observe in every pattern you use or dress you buy. The trimming you can vary to suit your needs in slenderness, but your foundation lines must be suitable if you use trimming.
A variety of dresses are given, shown on the opposite page—the waist line dress, the narrow panel front, the wide panel front, the draped side line, and the tunic line. These represent good foundations and are in themselves slenderizing, providing you adhere to the code of long lines and simplicity in decoration and ornament.

Only careless persons can afford to buy clothes haphazardly. Even the slender woman thinks about them and plans about them. And just consider what a corps of helpers she has! A thousand hands to work to make modish clothes for the perfect 36, while only a dozen in proportion are working for us big folk! So it is easy to see why we must learn for ourselves what we can and cannot wear, what to emphasize and subdue. “We cannot eat our cake and have it too,” is a line familiar to us all. We can’t enjoy our pounds unless we work to dress them so that their number is not even surmised, let alone accurately guessed.

One clever woman I know, capable of making her own frocks and coats as well, visits the exclusive shops, buys the most becoming, simple dress that she finds, often paying as much as $200 for it. This she copies in other shades and materials, developing three or four distinctly becoming dresses at far less cost than the original gown. By averaging up she has modestly priced frocks, all smart, in good taste, and wearable.

I have always said that if I should ever go into the dress business, it would be to make slender dresses for big folks, and I would employ all big women to sell them, because, as I said about our jolly big friend, the corsetiere, she has an understanding heart, knows how difficult it is to find dresses that have enough youth, enough value in line, and are sufficiently becoming to us who tip the scales to any great degree. And she would lend aid to the discouraged soul that needs to seek and try, experiment and insist until she finds that which is becoming.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SURPLICE FRONTS

When the bust is full and the skirt length is short it is wise to use a panel effect in the front and let the belt or waistline finish extend around from side to side across the back, thus leaving an unbroken front line. As a rule, the large figure looks best in a very long waistline, but this does not apply to such proportions as these.

It is always wise for this type to beware of surplice front dresses. The mature figure, flat in front, can wear a surplice very well and often it serves to relieve an undesirable plainness. Many fashion artists, when they draw full bust figures, take special pains to put in surplice fronts, but experience will teach that it is very difficult to duplicate in fabric the easy, smooth curve indicated by the pencil.

A panel front is always more desirable than a surplice for figures full in the bust. The seams provide a good fitting line and make darts unnecessary.

Surplice fronts are as difficult for a very full bust as are plain backs on fat shoulders. If your back is full and round, remember to use tucks, bands, folds, plaits, or something that will definitely break the width. Panels also help, so don’t be afraid to use them. Big backs broken in width are far more pleasing than broad expanses that know no termination. Remember the panel can befriend you, so keep it close but only when it can compliment you. If your back is fat and wide looking after you finish with this book, it is your own fault, for on page [87] you can see six simple ways of creating an optical illusion by lines that make the back less wide in appearance.

SLEEVES FOR LARGE ARMS

If your arms are fat, don’t wear long shoulder dresses or kimono sleeves. They just aren’t meant for you. From point of style, becomingness, service, they will fail you all the way. On the other hand, don’t overdo narrow shoulders. Strike a happy medium.

Upper arms that are larger than the armhole are quite common, and the mistake is often made of fitting the armhole to the sleeve rather than the sleeve to the armhole. Have the armhole comfortable and smooth and set a gusset in the sleeves or increase the seams in cutting from the armhole to the elbow.

We can smile and aid our front, our back must always protect us by being at least inoffensive and pleasing.
Here are six ways to slenderize backs of dresses. Study them, find that which becomes you best. Once you have found your line, hold to it, but trim or effect it differently so that there is interest and variety. Observe Fashion illustrations carefully for backs with interesting length lines, and don’t allow yourself to forget that they are just as important as the front in achieving slenderness.
Remember that fulness at the hips is advisable, both as a protection to the dress and to insure more grace in sitting. A dress that draws up on the figure is always to be avoided.

I know a woman who was wearing size 44 dresses that hung on her unattractively and heavily. She said that she couldn’t get her arms into the sleeves of size 40 or 42 models. A wise saleswoman ripped the sleeve seams, inserted gussets and moulded her beautifully into a tailored frock size 40. Since then she looks 20 pounds lighter, all because of this little adjustment.

A bias sleeve is sometimes a distinct advantage for a stout arm. Take flannel or the heavy crêpes. A “tight as the skin” sleeve may be fitted that has “give” enough for comfort, yet not a quarter of an inch surplus. This type of sleeve is not suitable to flimsy materials, but very good for the firmer fabrics and is sometimes economical for cutting, as often the sleeve pattern can be placed on a true bias grain to advantage.

There are many details in sleeves to consider when you want to appear smaller than you actually are. Your success is due largely to your knowledge and its right application. So watch, look, and listen for every hint that will aid you in expressing perfection. It is attainable, and every achievement will stimulate greater desire and effort.

Years ago, in fitting a well-to-do woman, who was very “heavy set” in mind as well as in body, I remember that she would insist upon drawing her arms up, crossing them over her ample bosom and saying that the armhole was too tight and that more and more must be trimmed out until her waist was unbalanced—narrower across the front than it should be, wholly deforming the dress. No dress can be beautiful if it is out of balance; it is contrary to every rule of right design.

(Left)—A gusset at the under arm (left) is advisable when the arm is larger than the armhole.
(Center)—Sleeves cut on the true bias, as shown, are often advantageous when very close-fitting sleeves are desired.
(Right)—Beware of dresses that are too narrow across the chest. They always make the bust appear larger.

I know one clever designer who makes for her larger customers a very firm net foundation waist with low square neck in front and back and close-fitting sleeves that extend almost to the elbow. In this she puts the dress shields. This net foundation, especially the sleeve part, protects the dress, makes it last a third longer, and has the advantage of confining the arms slightly.

Measure and find out if it is your arms or your body you “need to treat” in slenderizing. Sometimes very large arms accompany medium bust measurements and vice versa. Knowing this makes for a wiser use of line.
If your arms are small in proportion to the bust, as in “A,” use a normal shoulder line.
If they are large in proportion to your bust, as in “B,” cut the shoulder high.
If arms and bust are large, use a length line on the sleeves, as in “C.”

A foundation lining of net that holds the sleeve is often advisable for sheer dresses. Elastic should hold it at the waist. The bottom of the sleeves and the neck may be bound or picoted.

SLENDERIZING FLESHY SHOULDERS

Large shoulders are a problem because they can appear quite as full as the bust and by the roundness add years, which, of course, nobody wants. A collar that is just right in depth, not too deep or too short in the back, is the first essential. For your individual type, you must make experiments. Take a piece of muslin or paper and cut out modish collars that you think would be becoming to you. Then try them on with two mirrors and view the back, front, and sides, examining well down past the waistline, because the collar line and belt line must always agree. Turn under the collar edge, add to it, and after careful observation, do what your eye tells you is best. Never let your collar be so long as to look like a cape unless it is a cape; and don’t let it be of a length or size to lie up on your back like a doily on a table. Attach it—have it there for a purpose, that of giving a correct and becoming line.

Let your collar aid you. Beware of collars (like those at the left) that widen the shoulders or that cushion the back.
Fashion often allows of back collar trimmings that are both slenderizing and becoming, such as those at the right. Hunt for them, then use them wisely.

If you are full in the back, don’t wear shoulder capes or bertha collars. Never wear heavy collars or babyish lace or ribbon, and avoid collars of vivid color that contrast definitely in color with that of your dress.

DISGUISING WEIGHT FROM THE WAISTLINE DOWN

The first importance for a figure with most of the weight below the waist is the design and trimming of the sleeves. It is a weakness in which we must never indulge to plan for what should be graceful flowing sleeves, but which usually turn out to be a tragedy of adding pounds to pounds. In summer time and for evening wear, the sleeve may fit easily but without flare and reach to a point just above the elbow, provided there is no trimming feature or cuff. For all other types of dresses the long, close-fitting sleeve is wisest. By adding to or taking from the length of sleeves, emphasis may be given to any part of the body from the hip line up, as the bottom of a sleeve is naturally a line which will attract the eye, so that if this is in the wrong position it is easy to imagine the result. Experiment with this feature, and convince yourself of the truth of the statement.

Some big women have a full abdomen like a man, which causes their skirts to hike out at the bottom like ill-fitting maternity clothes. For this type, correct maternity line dresses are best. A bodice waist that is long in the front should be used. The skirt is attached to this quite low in front, then side panels are applied to give a correct balance and to widen the figure at the side.

A variation of this figure has the full diaphragm but a flat appearance just at the front of the hip bones. This type is recognized as difficult to fit, although it is easily possible to conceal both points satisfactorily.

First, the full front figure must mask its size by long collars, panels, plaits, or some flat trimming, bringing these down so that, if possible, they may aid the hollow sides. Here again a thorough knowledge of the laws of optical illusion will stand you in good stead. If your skirt still pokes out at the hem in the center front, follow the suggestion given previously and provide a corset that laces in front and that laces up so that the abdomen is held in, also one that is loose enough at the waist line to allow the flesh to rest up in it. A few suggestions are illustrated that may be applied in making a new dress or in correcting one that you have—or in perfecting a plain dress that you might purchase.

Oftentimes, a full abdomen has as an accomplice a sway back. For this, a panel in the back that hangs from the shoulder and that is caught at or below the belt line in the back is advantageous. A slightly low belt line is also desirable.

When the bust is large and the hips are small, lines as shown at the left are becoming. A V-line in the vest may also be used if the bust is not too high.
If the figure is large and evenly proportioned, a definite centered lengthwise line, as shown in the second design, will break the width.
If the waist is short and the skirt long, length lines, as at the right, carried down on the skirt will balance better and detract from the short waist. The neck line of this dress allows for a small brooch or bar pin.

Frequently, large figures—though this is also common to slender folk—find that the back skirt length measure is shorter than the front. Elderly folk, especially, find this trouble where the bust has shrunken or is small in proportion to the hips. For such types straight line dresses with a belt line across the back, or a narrow sash belt that ties at the side, are advisable. Long collars are also efficacious, and scarf collars particularly so.

NECKLINES MAKE A TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE

In order to counteract the roundness of the face, and provide some contrast for its fullness, it is usually best to decide upon a neckline emphasizing angles, not curves. Always have the dress cut well up at the back but dropping down with straight lines to a deep V or square. It is wise to have the neckline cut low and fill in the opening with sheer Georgette, batiste or lace in an inconspicuous color, such as delicate flesh or deep cream.

The short stout figure with a short neck and medium small head is one type of stout that can wear a U neck or a slightly rounding neck line becomingly. Such a neck makes the head and neck appear larger and gives a good balance.

For sway backs or figures that curve in definitely at the back waistline, a broken panel, as at left, is often advisable. It is especially desirable if the figure is tall or very large.
An interesting lengthwise trimming is shown in the central figure. Such a line can be attained in contrasting or harmonizing fabric or with embroidery tucking or plain stitching, and is adaptable to tailored or sports clothes. Full front figures will find this line especially advantageous.
Very wide or large figures will see merit in side panels that divide the front in three, as shown at the right. Such a design allows for a close-fitting foundation dress and is especially suited to older women.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE SLENDERIZING TRIMMINGS

Think long and carefully about trimmings because a misuse of decoration can mar the lines of an otherwise becoming gown.

Trimming, judiciously placed, will add to the appearance of smartness and may by its position break a wide plain surface into two or perhaps three spaces, adding with each line another point to our illusion of slenderness.

It is essential that trimming be placed so as to emphasize length, but do not make the mistake of applying it indiscriminately, but rather, to draw attention to a closing, or to finish the edge of a panel or for some similar useful purpose.

Never use a large figured trimming or a bright colored banding. Plaids, big polka dots, pronounced stripes, heavily embroidered fabrics or “gew gaws” are not for the big woman. Strive for distinctive line which is, in itself, simple. Wear as good quality fabric as your purse can buy, but be modest about your size and any decoration you employ. Quantities of string beads are to be avoided, too, as should anything which will make the wearer conspicuous.

Self fabrics, that is, the material of which the dress is made, is always good. It may be tucked or plaited and inserted between cut edges, applied as a band, or it may be used to form a cord, which in turn forms ornament of various sizes and shapes.

Small patterned laces in the wider widths are appropriate too, and add richness and dignity to clothes intended for dress up occasions. Lace should never be shirred because, as I have already told you, the stout woman can never afford to be frivolous in her dress, and ruffled lace would certainly make her so.

Plaited panels are good, but these should always be held close to the dress by the use of a French tuck from two to three inches long.

The groups of vertical lines are always an effective means of increasing height while the long tab will help to keep the panel from flying out as one walks.

Ribbon banding is effective both when stretched flat and when used to form sash ends or ties. Such finishes must be generous in length, otherwise they will add to, rather than detract from width.

If foundation linings are used, plan them as carefully as the dress itself. They must be easy yet fitted to perfection. They must also be designed especially for the dress so that they will support but not hinder the outer line at any point.

HELPFUL HINTS FROM A LEADING NEW YORK DESIGNER

A designer in one of the big New York houses when asked as to her success in designing becoming dresses for large women gave these few valuable rules:

“I never use sheer flimsy material. If I must use lace, I weight it so that it is as heavy as any fabric.

“I never use coarse stiff material—the softer and weightier the better.

“I rarely use fabrics with luster or with big design.

“I never use pure colors. I use shades chiefly, very seldom a tint, unless it is a cream tint. I avoid all white for my large customers. We see enough big men dressed up in white to know how much it increases size.

“I always make a foundation slip, smooth, sleek and close fitting. In this I sew the sleeves. My dress is made separate and hangs easier and straighter than it possibly could if it had the sleeves to hamper it. Then, too, the dress lasts longer, which is a distinct advantage.

“I give special attention to my customer’s hats, shoes and corsets. All must be right for her or my dress cannot be a success.

“Often if I find a model that is definitely becoming, I vary it in different materials and colors, often making madam a half dozen beautiful gowns from the one block. Why not, if it is most becoming to her?”

CHAPTER VI
ESSENTIAL POINTS IN CUTTING AND FITTING

There are many skilful tricks in dressmaking that are advantageous to the overweight figure. For instance, the shoulder dart allows ease over the bust, makes a more comfortable shoulder, and permits of a close fitting sleeve. It also prevents sagging of the dress at the underarm, giving a neat good fitting effect. Don’t avoid or “detest” darts; learn to use them so that you get the greatest possible advantage from them. Watch an adept dressmaker smooth the material around and slip out the dart in a line over the bust that fits smoothly and easily. Only carelessly fitted and stitched darts are unattractive.