Part 5
The first time my eyes met these words so coupled, I was seized with that honest shuddering which every delicate woman ought to feel at seeing the parts and situations of her person which modesty bids her conceal, thus dragged before the imagination of the opposite sex. The pure must read it with the frown of disgust--the impure with the smile of ridicule. To this moment, though I find that nothing disrespectful to modesty was _meant_ by the advertisement, I cannot approve of the terms in which it is written; for it is my opinion, (and I am so happy as to be supported in it by the sanction of the wisest moralists,) that, rob woman of her delicate reserves, and you take from her one of the best strong holds of her chastity. You deprive her of her sweet attractive mysteries; you lay open to the eye of love the arcana of her toilet, the infirmities of her nature; the enchantment is broken, and “the bloom of young desire, the purple light of the soul’s enthusiasm,” expire at the disclosure.
To please my still curious readers, I will still further displease myself, and enter more circumstantially into a detail of these strange appendages to a female wardrobe.
But before I proceed with my remarks on the _long stay_, (the ringleader of the rest,) I will so far rescue the intention of its constructors from any _design_ to excite improper ideas by the words of their advertisement, as to explain to you the proposed usefulness of the inventions denominated _pregnant stay_, and _divorces_.
The first is a _corset_ or _stay_ of dimity, or jean, or silk, reaching from the shoulders down to the waist, and over the hips, to the complete envelopement of the body. It is rendered of more than ordinary power by elastic bones, &c. which, introduced between the lining and covering of the _stay_, bring it into something of the consistency and shape of an ancient warrior’s hauberk. This new-fashioned coat of mail for the fair sex is so constructed, as to compress and reduce to the shape desired the natural prominence of the female figure in a state of fruitfulness. Some women, who are bold enough to wear this Procrustean garb during every stage of their pregnancy, affirm that it preserves their shape without injury to their state of increase. However this may be with a few hardy individuals, I profess myself no proselyte to the innovation, as it must necessarily put a degree of restraint upon the operations of nature, very likely to produce bad effects both on the mother and the child.
Support and confinement to an overstrained part are two different things; the one is beneficial, the other destructive. And this I can assure my readers, that I ever have remarked those married women who have longest maintained their virgin forms were those who, in a state of maternal increase, observed a proper medium between a too relaxed and a too contracted boddice.
Nature in these concerns is our best guide; and when she dictates to us to provide against the possible disagreeable consequences of any of her operations, it is well to obey her; but when a fastidious, and, allow me to say, an indelicate, regard to personal charms would excite you to brace with ribs of whalebone the soft mould of your unborn infant; or when it has, in spite of these arts, burst its prison-house alive, you seek to deprive it of the nourishment your breast prepares--then remember you perform not the duty of a mother, but show yourself rather egregiously guilty of wantonness and unpardonable cruelty.
No person living can feel a more lively admiration than that which animates me at the sight of a beautiful form,
--“rife With all we can imagine of the sky.”
I behold in it the work of the most perfect being--the accomplishment of one of his fairest designs. He seems to show in earthy mould the lovely transcript of the angels of heaven: she looks, she breathes, of innocence and sweet unconscious beauty. But when I cast my eyes on women issuing from the house of a modern manufacturer of shapes; when I see the functions of nature impeded by bands and ligatures; when I behold the abode of virgin modesty thrust forward to the gaze of the libertine; when I observe the pains taken to attract his eye,--I turn away disgusted, and blush for my sex.
Vile as these meretricious arts are, they are not less dangerous to health than to morals. The constant pressure of such hard substances as whalebone, steel, &c. upon so susceptible a part as the bosom, is very likely, in the course of a very short time, to produce all the horrid consequences of abscesses, cancers, &c.: on their miseries I need not to descant.
On the _long stay_ I shall now make a few remarks, arising from the observations I have been enabled to make on the ladies of various ages and figures whom I have known wear it. To the woman whose waning charms set in an exuberance of flesh, perhaps the support of this adventitious aid is an advantage. But in that case its stiffening should rather be cord quilted in the lining, or very thin whalebone, than either steel or iron. In all situations, the boddice should be flexible to the motion of the body and the undulations in the shape; and it should never be _felt_ to _press_ upon any part.
Thus far we may tolerate the adoption of this buckram suit for elderly, or excessively _embonpoint_ ladies; but for the _growing_ girl (whom, I am sorry to say, mothers not unfrequently imprison in these machines,) it is both unrequired and mischievous.
Before nature has completed her work in the perfection of the youthful figure, she is checked in her progress by the impediment which the valves, bands, &c. of the _long stay_ throw in her way. Those finely-rounded points which mark the distinction and the grace of the female form, and which the artist, enamored of beauty, delights to delineate with the nicest accuracy, are, by the constant pressure of these _stays_, rendered indistinct, and in a short time are entirely destroyed.
Let, then, the _long stay_ be restricted to the too abundant mass of fattening matronhood; so may art restrain the excesses, not of nature, but of disease. Unwieldly flesh was never yet seen in a perfectly healthy person. It generally arises either from intemperance overloading the functions of life, or dissipation decomposing them.
Let the _padded corset_ rectify the defects of the deformed; but where nature has given the outline of a well-constructed form, forbear to traverse her designs. Youth should be left to spring up, unconfined, like the young cedar; and when the hand of man, or accident, does not distort the pliant stem, it will grow erect and firm, spreading its beautiful and cheerful shade over the heads of its planters.
OF THE DETAIL OF DRESS.
“We have run Through every change, that fancy at the loom Exhausted has had genius to supply; And, studious of mutation still, discard A real elegance a little used For monstrous novelty and strange disguise.”
COWPER.
There are few things in which our sex can discover more taste than in the choice of the apparel which may best accord with their several styles of figures and features; but we frequently see the direct opposite of good judgment in their selections, and behold between the person and the attire a complete and laughable incongruity.
Some women will actually disguise and disfigure themselves, rather than not appear in the prevailing fashion, which, though advantageous to one character of face, may have the direct contrary effect with another. I hinted at this in the earlier part of this dissertation; now I come closer to my subject, intending to enter into a minute detail of what ought or ought not to be worn by women of different moulds and complexions.
If Daphne have the features of a Siddons, and Amaryllis those of a Jordan, the style which agrees with the one must ill accord with the other. The like harmony must be maintained between the complexion and the colors we wear; for it is in these minutiæ which, like the nice and almost imperceptible touches of the ingenious artist, produce a complete and faultless whole. That a handsome woman may disfigure herself by an injudicious choice or disposition of her attire; and a plain one counteract the errors of nature, so as to render herself at least agreeable, almost every experienced observer has witnessed. We may therefore conclude, that beauty with a bad taste is far less desirable than a good taste without beauty.
“What an awkward creature is that!” said a gentleman to me the other evening at a supper, and pointing to a _slatternly_ beauty who sat opposite, with her chin nearly reposing on her bosom, and her shoulders drawn up almost to her ears. “Yonder is a very elegant woman!” observed he, directing my attention to a lady who, critically considered, was rather ordinary; but by her judicious style of dress, her unstudied graces of deportment, claimed universal admiration.
To support my arguments with those of a lady whose taste is best evinced by her own personal elegance, I shall give you a short extract from a little tract of her’s, which, like the divine Psyché of Mrs. Tighe, has been only permitted to meet the eyes of a favored few.
“Who is there among us that has not witnessed a beautiful woman so apparelled as to render her rather an object of pity and ridicule than of admiration? How often do we see simplicity and youthful loveliness obscured by a redundancy of ornaments! How often do the robust and healthy, the majestic and the gay, the pensive and the sportive, follow the same mode; marring, mingling and mangling without mercy, and without taste; regardless of discrimination, appropriation, or judgment; to the total overthrow of the attractions which nature liberally bestowed! Do not these ladies perceive that each style of personal beauty has a distinct character to support? That a tasteful adaptation will enforce the stamp which nature has impressed? Let us then admonish the female whose beauty is of the fair, pale, and interesting cast, not to render her appearance insipid by the overpowering hues of robes, mantles, pelisses, &c. of amber, orange, grass-green, crimson, or rose-color. This soft style of beauty makes its appeal to our most delicate perceptions; all grossness of color displeases them, and therefore should not be admitted in the articles of her dress.
“Grass-green, though a color exceedingly pleasing and refreshing in itself, jaundices the complexion of the pale woman to such a degree, as to excite little other sensations in the beholder than compassion for the poor invalid. Such females should, in general, choose their robes of an _entire color_; and when they wear white garments, they should animate them with draperies, mantles, scarfs, ribbons, &c. of pale pink, blossom-color, celestial blue, lilac, dove-color, and primrose; leaving full green, deep blue, and purple, to the florid; and amber, scarlet, orange, flame-color, and deep rose, to the brunette.
“Thus much we offer in the suitable appropriations of colors. We shall now proceed to say something on the prevailing fashions of the day; and though we may fairly congratulate our countrywomen on their taste and improvement in this particular, yet here also the regulating hand of judgment, the nice and discriminating effects of genius, and the directing influence of a delicate and just taste, become most importantly necessary.
“The mantle, or cottage-cloak, should never be worn by females exceeding a moderate _embonpoint_; and we should recommend their winter garbs, such as Russian pelisses and Turkish wraps, to be formed of double sarsnet, or fine Merino cloth, rather than velvets, which (except black) give an appearance of increased size to the wearer. In the adoption of furs, flat-ermine or fringe fur is better suited to the full-formed woman that swan’s-down, fox, chinchilla, or sable; these are graceful for the more slender. Women of a spare habit, and of a tall and elegant height, will derive considerable advantage from the full-flowing robe, mantle, and Roman tunic. The fur-trimming, too, gives to them an appearance of roundness which nature has denied; and to this description of person we can scarcely recommend an evening dress more chaste, elegant, and advantageous, than robes of white satin, trimmed with swan’s-down, with draperies of silver or gossamer net. The antique head-dress, or queen Mary _coif_, is best adapted to the Roman and Grecian line of feature. The Chinese hat and Highland helmet are becoming to countenances of a rounder and more playful contour.
“We have frequently, in our observations, found occasion to lament, in the present style of female dress, a want of that proper distinction which should ever be attended to in the several degrees of _costume_. For instance, the short gown, so appropriate and convenient for walking, and pursuing morning avocations or exercises, intrudes beyond its sphere when seen in the evening or full dress. It is in the splendid drawing-room that the train robe appears with all that superiority which gives pre-eminence to grace, and dignity to beauty.
“Why should these pleasingly-varying distinctions be neglected? The long sleeve, too, (now so universal in almost every order of dress,) belongs with strict propriety only to the domestic habit. These are inattentions or faults which a correct taste will quickly discover, and easily rectify. It is dangerous to level distinctions in one case, and disadvantageous in the other. There should be a just and reasonable discipline in trifles, as well as in matters of higher import. There is a vast deal more in things of seeming insignificance than is commonly imagined. Subjects of importance, high achievements, and glorious examples, strike every beholder; but there are few who reflect that it is by perseverance, and attention to comparative trifles, that mighty deeds are performed, and that great consequences are ultimately produced.
“A correct taste is ever the concomitant of a chaste mind; for, as a celebrated author has justly observed, _our taste commonly declines with our merit_. A correct taste is the offspring of all that is delicate in sentiment and just in conception; it softens the inflexibility of truth, and decks reason in the most persuasive garments.
“A walking-dress cannot be constructed too simply. All attractive and fancy articles should be confined to the carriage-dress, or dinner and evening apparel. We shall here particularly address the order of females who may not have the luxury of a carriage, and yet be within the rank of gentlewomen. This class composes treble the number of those to whom fortune has bestowed the appendages of equipages and retinue. We shall, in our observations, particularly aim at increasing their respectability, by leading them to adopt a style of adornment, which, while it combines fashion and elegance, shall be remarkable only for its neatness and simplicity.
“It has been said that the love of dress is natural to the sex; and we see no reason why any female should be offended with the assertion. ‘Dress,’ says an author on the subject, ‘is the natural finish of beauty. Without dress a handsome person is a gem, but a gem that is not set.’ Dress, however, must be subject to certain rules; be consistent with the graces, and with nature. By attention to these particulars, is produced that agreeable exterior which pleases, we know not why,--which charms, even without that first and powerful attraction, beauty.
“Fashion, in her various flights, frequently soars beyond the reach of propriety. Good sense, taste, and delicacy, then make their appeal in vain. Her despotic and arbitrary sway levels and confounds. Where is delicacy? where is policy? we mentally exclaim, when we see the fair inconsiderate votary of fashion exposing, unseemly, that bosom which good men delight to imagine the abode of innocence and truth. Can the gaze of the voluptuous, the unlicensed admiration of the profligate, compensate to the woman of sentiment and purity for what she loses in the estimation of the moral and the just?
“But, delicacy apart, what shall we say to the blind conceit of the robust, the coarse, the waning fair one, who thus obtrude the ravages of time upon the public eye? Let us not offend. We wish to lead to conviction, not to awaken resentment.--Fashion must, in these instances, have borrowed the bondage of fortune, and so blinded her votaries against the sober dictates of reason, the mild dignity of self-respect.
“There is a mediocrity which bounds all things, and even fixes the standard which divides virtue from bombast. Let us, therefore, in every concern, endeavor to observe this happy temperature. Let the youthful female exhibit, without shade, as much of her bust as shall come within the limits of fashion, without infringing on the borders of immodesty. Let the fair of riper years appear less exposed. To sensible and tasteful women a hint is merely required. They need not very close instructions; for at once they perceive, combine, and adopt, with judgment and delicacy. The rules of propriety are followed, as it were, instinctively by them; and their example is so impressed on the generality of our lovely countrywomen, (who, too often and inconsiderately, follow the vagaries of fashion with, perhaps, ridiculous avidity,) that we must take upon us to correct the irregularities of the many, in hopes that the judicious few will embrace grace, and make it universal.
“Far be it from us to lead the female mind from its solemn engagements to the pursuit of comparative nothings. But there is a time and place for all things, and for every innocent purpose under heaven; and on these grounds we do not see why a female should not blend the agreeable with the estimable.
“There are persons who neglect their dress from pride, and a desire to attract by a careless singularity; but wherever this is the case, depend on it something is wrong in the mind. Lavater has observed, that persons habitually attentive to their attire display the same regularity in their domestic affairs. ‘Young women,’ he continues, ‘who neglect their toilet, and manifest little concern about dress, indicate a general disregard of order; a mind but ill adapted to the detail of house-keeping; a deficiency of taste, and of the qualities that inspire love:--they will be careless in everything. The girl of eighteen who desires not to please, will be a slut, or a shrew, at twentyfive. Pay attention, young men, to this sign; it never yet was known to deceive.’
“Hence we see that the desire of exhibiting an amiable exterior is essentially requisite in woman. It is to be received as an unequivocal symbol of those qualities which we seek in a wife; it indicates cleanliness, sweetness, a love of order, and of universal propriety. What, then, is there to censure in a moderate consideration of dress?--Nothing. We may blame when we find extravagance, profusion, misappropriation; the tyranny of fashion; slavery to vanity; in short, bad taste!
“Let us then urge the British fair to that elegant simplicity, that discriminating selection, which combines fashion, utility, and grace. Thus shall the inventive faculty of genius be honored and encouraged, and industry receive the reward of its ingenuity and labors.
“We shall now proceed to notice the present articles which claim fashionable pre-eminence, and give some useful hints on their application.
“As a walking habit, we know of none in summer which is more graceful than the lightly flowing shade of lace or finest muslin. And in winter no invention can exceed the Trans-Baltic coat or Lapland-wrap. These comfortable shields from the cold are usually formed of cloth or velvet, with deep collars and cuffs of sable, or other well-contrasted fur. Ladies of the first nobility usually have them lined throughout with the same costly skins. These garments wrap over the figure in front; sometimes they have them without other ornament than their bordering furs; and at others, fasten them with magnificent clasps and buckles. We have seen one of these coats (or, as northern travellers denominate them, _shoubs_,) on a female of high rank, composed of crimson-velvet, with deep cuffs, cape and collar of spotted ermine, and a deep border of the same down the sides. It had a superb effect; and, with the imperial helmet-hat of the same material, exhibited one of the most sumptuous carriage costumes that can be imagined.
“When this dress is adopted by the pedestrian fair, we recommend it to be of a more sober hue, and that the bonnet should be of the provincial poke or cottage form.
“Short women destroy the symmetry of their forms, and encumber their charms, with redundancy of ornament, either in their morning or evening attires. A little woman, befeathered and furbelowed, looks like a queen of the Bantam tribe; and we dare not approach her for fear of ruffling her plumes. Feathers are much in vogue; and though formerly a symbol of full dress, are now often a mark of graceful negligence, and are seen falling carelessly, and floating with ease; they kiss the rosy cheek of youth and health; or, less courteous, steal the vermilion from the painted face of fading maturity, as, fanned by the spiteful breeze, they wave from her bonneted head in the gay promenade.
“We love to see our countrywomen remarkable for elegance and modesty, as well as beauty. Englishmen, accustomed to objects of undisputed loveliness, aim at something beyond the surface of external charms; they require that all should be fair within.
“Hear what a male writer has observed on the fashion of exposing the bosom! ‘A woman, proud of her beauty,’ says he, ‘may possibly be nothing but a coquette; one who makes a public display of her _bosom_, is something worse.’ This writer insinuates too much; for we believe that so far from our females being actuated in this case by any unbecoming motive, they too commonly act from no motive at all, save that blind and mistaken one which we have so much condemned--_the heedless adoption of an absurdity because it is the fashion_! But let the inconsiderate beauty remember, that where two motives can be assigned to an action, the world will generally adopt that which is least favorable!”
Though I have made this extract, which enters so intimately into the secrets of the toilet, and descants so engagingly on its attractive subject, I must desire that it may not be supposed I would seek to create an inordinate degree of care respecting that which is comparatively of no account, when placed in competition with the indispensable qualities and acquirements which ought to adorn the Christian maid. I would have my fair friends be fully impressed with the truth, that it is not she who spends the most time at her toilet that is usually the best dressed; a too zealous care generally subverts the effect it was meant to produce. It is very easy to “varnish till the painting disappears.” A multiplicity of ornaments ever distracts the attention, and detracts from feminine loveliness. They are regarded as a sort of _make weights_ in a scale, where nature must have been a niggard to render them necessary.