A BOOK OF MODES AND COSTUMES FROM REMOTE PERIODS TO THE PRESENT TIME. By W. B. L. WITH 54 FULL-PAGE AND OTHER ENGRAVINGS. Fair Annie of Lochroyan. LONDON: WARD, LOCK, AND TYLER. WARWICK HOUSE, PATERNOSTER ROW. LONDON PRINTED BY JAS. WADE, TAVISTOCK STREET, COVENT GARDEN...

The subject which we have here treated is a sort of figurative battle-field, where fierce contests have for ages been from time to time waged; and, notwithstanding the determined assaults of the attacking hosts, the contention and its cause remain pretty much as they were at the commencement of the war. We in the matter remain strictly neutral, merely performing the part of the public's "own correspondent," making it our duty to gather together such extracts from despatches, both ancient and mod

The origin of the Corset—The Indian hunting-belt—Reduction of the figure by the ancient inhabitants of Polenqui—Use of the Corset by the natives of the Eastern Archipelago—Improvements in construction brought about by the advance of civilisation—Slenderness of waist esteemed a great beauty in the East—Earth-eating in Java—Figure-training in Ceylon—The beauties of Circassia, their slender waists and Corsets—Elegant princesses of Crim Tartary—Hindoo belles—Hindoo ideas of beauty—Elegance of figure

Homer the first ethnic writer who speaks of an article of dress allied to the Corset—The cestus or girdle of Venus—Terentius, the Roman dramatist, and his remarks on the practice of tight-lacing—The use of the strophium by the ladies of Rome, and the mitra of the Grecian belles—The peplus as worn by the ancients—Toilet of a Roman lady of fashion—Roman baths—Fashionable promenades of Ancient Rome—Boundless luxury and extravagance—Cleopatra and her jewels—The taper waists and tight-lacing of the a

The ladies of Old France—Their fashions during the reign of King Pepin—Revival of the taste for small waists—Introduction of " cottes hardies "—Monkish satire on the Corset in England in the year 1043, curious MS. relating to—The small waists of the thirteenth century—The ancient poem of Launfal —The Lady Triamore, daughter of the King of the Fairies—Curious entry in the household register of Eleanor, Countess of Leicester, date 1265—Corsets worn by gentlemen at that period—The kirtle as worn in

The bonnet à canon and sugarloaf headdress—Headdress of the women of Normandy at the present day—Odd dress of King Louis XI.—Return of Charles VIII. from Naples—A golden time for tailors and milliners—General change of fashion—Costumes of the time of Francis I. of France and Maximilian of Germany—General use of pins in France and England—Masks worn in France—Establishment of the empire of Fashion in France—The puffed or bouffant sleeves of the reign of Henry II.—The Bernaise dress—Costume of the

Strange freaks of Louise de Lorraine—One of her adventures—Her dress at a royal fête —Marie de Medici—The distended dresses of her time—Hair-powder—Costume à la enfant —Escapade of the young Louis—Low dresses of the period—The court of Louis XIV. of France—High heels, slender waists, and fancy costumes—The Siamese dress—Charles I. of England—Patches introduced—Elaborate costumes of the period—Puritanism, its effect on the fashions—Fashions in Cromwell's time, and the general prevalence of the pr

Fashion during the reign of Louis XV.—Costumes à la Watteau—An army of barbers—The fashions of England during the reign of Queen Anne—The diminutive waist and enormous hoop of her day—The farthingale: letters in the Guardian protesting against its use—Fashion in 1713—Low dresses, tight stays, and short skirts: letters relating to—Correspondence touching the fashions of that period from the Guardian —Accomplishments of a lady's-maid—Writings of Gay and Ben Jonson—Their remarks on the " bodice " a

General use of the word "stays" after 1600 in England—Costume of the court of Louis XVI.—Dress in 1776—The formidable stays and severe constriction then had recourse to—The stays drawn by Hogarth—Dress during the French revolutionary period—Short waists and long trains—Writings of Buchan— Jumpers and " Garibaldis "—Return to the old practice of tight-lacing—Training of figures: backboards and stocks—Medical evidence in favour of stays—Fashion in the reign of George III.—Stays worn habitually by

The elegant figure of the Empress of Austria—Slender waists the fashion in Vienna—The small size of Corsets frequently made in London—Letter from the Queen on small waists—Remarks on the portrait of the Empress of Austria in the Exhibition—Diminutive waist of Lady Morton—General remarks on the figure—Remarks on figure-training by the use of stays—Mode of constructing Corsets for growing girls—Tight-lacing abolished by the early use of well-constructed Corsets—Boarding-school discipline and extre

The elegance of dress mainly dependent on the Corset—Fashion and dress of 1865—The short-waisted dresses and trains of 1867—Tight Corsets needed for short waists—Letter on the figure—Description of a peculiar form of Corset worn by some ladies of fashion in France—Proportions of the figure and size of the waist considered—The point at which the waist should be formed—Remarks of the older writers on stays—Corsets and high-heeled shoes denounced—Alarming diseases said to be produced by wearing hig

Remarks on front-fastening stays—Thomson's glove-fitting Corsets—Plan for adding stability to the front-fastening Corset—De la Garde's French Corset—System of self-measurement—The Redresseur Corset of Vienna and its influence on the figures of young persons—Remarks on the flimsy materials used in the manufacture of Corsets—Hints as to proper materials—The "Minet Back" Corset described—Elastic Corsets condemned—The narrow bands used as substitutes for Corsets injurious to the figure—Remarks on th