The Spirella Company

“ The modern Spirella corset excels all others in its healthful control of the body because the peculiar qualities of its boning permit such freedom of motion; this aids in retaining the life of the muscles themselves. A woman wearing a Spirella corset can cultivate a much larger range of physical movements than her sister who is held up by the stiffer forms of boning, as these must necessarily limit the range of her activities. ”

“ The body is a wonderful organism, and in order that the spirit and will of the woman who occupies it may have the freest play, the true relations between the different parts of the organism must be main­tained at all times. The body's continued prosperity depends largely upon how to do the innumerable and unavoidable little acts of daily life. ”

“ If the long corset is properly selected and put on with care, it will be a valuable adjunct to the health of the average woman of mature years.
The life of the average woman does not afford sufficient general physical activity to keep the muscles of the waist in perfect condition. This fact, in addi­tion to the change of the tissues due to child-bearing, weakens the abdominal muscles to such an extent that they are not able to counteract the force of gravity which drags them downwards, and the use of an arti­ficial support is necessary. ”

“ The modern corset, which is designed to afford pressure upward from the abdomen and freedom at the waist line, tends to hold the body in the correct posi­tion throughout the various activities of life, and if properly fitted and properly worn, will preserve the muscles in their harmonious relations, and prevent the development of bad habits of movement. ”

“ The back-wires should be moulded in towards the wearer's body at the top and the bottom but should not be moulded at the waist line. The Spirella stays along the top of the corset should be bent inward about one inch from the top of the stays, towards the wearer's body, giving them a decided little "nip" so that they will remain as moulded. Spirella will not take a permanent bend outward, but can be made to take a permanent shaping towards the body. ”

“ The normal poise is that in which the body is deli­cately adjusted around its center of gravity so as to move easily in any direction, with the least expenditure of nerve and muscular force and in its perfection is expressive of a balanced, self-controlled mental and physical make-up. ”

“ For, whatever the nature of one's occupation—domestic, manual, clerical, business or professional—the bodily activity necessitated by it is almost invariably limited, so that it tends to under­mine, rather than to upbuild one's energies. ”

“ The third bad adjustment of the body is one in which there is an over-correction of the bad poise previously described. This results in the upper part of the body being thrown forward beyond its correct position, the hips thrown back unnaturally, and a deep back curve produced. ”

“ This harmonious adjustment constitutes poise, stand­ing or sitting. This makes possible the most econom­ical movement and use of the body at all times and for all purposes, and it is the poise that is absolutely essen­tial in order that the processes of respiration, circula­tion, and digestion have an opportunity to proceed in an unrestricted and natural manner. Many physical ills can be traced back step by step to bad poise as the original cause. To illustrate: A person is suffering from an impoverished condition of the blood ”

“ The ease with which we stand is largely dependent upon the way in which the head is nearly balanced on the top of the vertebral column, so that but little muscular effort is needed to keep it upright. ”

“ The expression of such women is that of aggressiveness, self-assertion, or self-satisfaction. The oppo­site extreme to this rigid position is the stooped one where the back is bowed, the chest sunken, the head and hip joints thrust forward. This results in the abdomen becoming prominent and the waist is short­ened in front and lengthened behind. In such a case the stomach is often pushed downward from one to three inches. Such a woman is literally hung upon her ligaments and many of the muscles are useless. ”

“ For such poises as these, any change of bodily position is an effort, attended by a lengthy and compli­cated rearrangement of the muscles; this is because most of them are asleep and have to be given a special stimulus to secure their attention instead of being ready and on the alert for action when the telegram comes from the brain. ”

“ Such a figure cannot ex­press anything but dignity and elegance. The poise may change somewhat from season to season, accord­ing to the prevailing styles of gowns and footwear, but certain fundamental laws of correct and healthful cor­seting will always be the same.
Moulding the stays
Before adjusting the corset it is necessary to take care of the ends of the Spirella stays and the flat bones which the corset contains, including the back-wire and front clasp, so that none of the ends may protrude in an ugly line which will show through the outer cloth­ing. ”

“ Copyright, 1913, by The Spirella Company Inc.
This booklet is furnished by The Spirella Company Inc. for the sole use of its corsetieres, and must be considered as confidential information by them.
Body poise and its relation to the corset
One has only to look about him at the mental, nervous and physical states of most adults, to see that the activity which daily living calls forth is not ade­quate to keep one's mind and body at their highest level for any number of years. ”

“ Fasten side supporters to maintain a straight pull on the cloth, as far back under the knee as possi­ble. [Illustration shows twelfth and thirteenth steps finished.]
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Incorrect spacing and disposal of lacer ends tend to produce bad poise, destroy abdominal control and make the corset wear out rapidly. [See page 30 for side view.]
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Bad poise and entire lack of abdominal control due to incorrect adjustment. Note oblique wrinkles due to unequal strain, which also causes the back stays to turn on edge. These conditions will wear out the corset very rapidly. ”

“ This extra weight drags the pelvic organs from their moorings, puts a strain upon their controlling ligaments, some­times causes the organs to fold over upon themselves and seriously interferes with their functions. ”