Roxey Ann Caplin

“ It is a matter of little consequence for us to inquire here why the female figure needs support more than that of the male. In a purely natural, or rather savage state, perhaps it does not; but in all times when beauty and comfort are studied, cor­sets will undoubtedly be worn, and there are many reasons why they should be. The delicacy of the intercostal muscles, the falling of the breasts, the spreading of the frame at a certain period of life, all call for support, and call for it too in a manner that must be attended to. ”

“ Any person who has the curiosity to examine the figure of a lady who is in the habit of wearing stays that are ill constructed, will observe that at the back the bones with which they are filled stand prominently out, presenting a very unsightly appearance. The shoulder-straps, which in our corsets are totally unnecessary, fall over the arm, pinioning it to the side; the head pokes forward; the body is bent; and the upper and lower extremities of the busk protrude, being visible even underneath the dress. ”

“ Perfection in the human body is ideal, or rarely met with; and what the artist in dress has to do is to soften the natural excrescences, and give grace and beauty to the homely or imperfect, that they may approximate nearer to that which they ought to be. In a few rare instances this may be done without corsets, but in ninety-nine cases out of every hundred the well-adapted corset is indispensable.
It is hardly possible to say at what particular period stays or corsets were first worn. Tight Lacing is condemned by writers soon after the Conquest—indeed, in the reign of William Rufus ”

“ Against tight lacing we, in common with all who have paid attention to the subject, earnestly protest. By a perseverance in this habit the health is injured and the symmetry of the figure entirely destroyed. The stays in ordinary use are ill constructed, and cannot be effectual in the promotion of the objects for which they are professedly designed, whether tightly laced or not. ”

“ The information thus obtained gave rise to the formation of the Hygienic Corset, which has from time to time been improved upon, until it is brought to a state of absolute perfection. The experience of years, and the reports or the scientific world, speak louder in its praise than it would become us to do, and we content ourselves with saying that they are made either plain, for ordinary use ”

“ In her admirable work on "Female Beauty," she says, "Every young woman knows that one of the most conspicuous dif­ferences between the young and the old consists in the less or the greater dimensions of the waist. Is it, then, unaccountable or unnatural that she should prefer seeming young to seeming old? Every young woman knows that one of the most conspicuous differences between the maiden and the matron consists in the same less or greater dimen­sions of the waist. ”

“ The first thing that occurred to us in the construction of our corset was, that, to secure the full and healthy development of the bosom, the prominent parts of the body should support the weaker, and the vital organs be subjected to no more pres­sure than was consistent with their free and healthy action. ”

“ Well, so be it; the only thing that we desire is, that those who use it will use it properly, and have the good taste and honesty to award the credit of the invention to the parties to whom it is due. ”

“ In an illuminated MS., made soon after the Conquest, there is a representation of Christ's Temptation, in which the artist has satirically dressed his Infernal Majesty in the full costume of a lady of the period. His waist is most charmingly slender, and its shape admirably preserved by tight lacing from the waist upwards, the ornamental tag depending from the last hole of the bodice. But the first real figure that we have met with, in which the corset may be fairly detected, is that of Constance, Queen of Castle, who, in 1372, married John of Gaunt, Duke of Lan­caster. ”

“ OF all articles of human attire there is none, perhaps, that has survived so much abuse as the corset. Introduced into common wear many centuries ago, it was met with the rebuke of the sober and the satire of the vivacious ”

“ Stiff stays with busks are an undoubted product of the middle ages, although the precise period of their introduction is uncertain. Singularly enough Satan is the first figure that we have seen in which the use of the article is undoubted. ”

“ Is it unnatural, then, that she should prefer seeming maidenly to seeming ma­tronly? Men who write so ignorantly or injudi­ciously, as many medical authors do, do not promote the interest of truth. It is the use of force and excessive compression that are alone blameable. ”

“ In all our corsets and adaptations we employ different kinds of fastenings according to the require­ments of the case. It is sometimes asked why, in those which fasten in front, we employ a counter-­lacing at the back. ”