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X Women's Fashions Change Shape a * v\ internal organs up into bar rib cage. Once back in the grip of the corset, women clung to it steadfastly In the faoe of constant onslaughts by physicians, humorists and sensible persons of both sexes. In spite of the ob­ viously mutilating effects and the illnesses attributed to tight-lacing, its defenders throughout the century claimed the corset was necessary to support the frail backs /of the weaker sex--a self-fulfilling prophecy since children began wearing "supporters" in infancy. , By dint of rigorous discipline, which sometimes included wearing stays to bed, a young woman might achieve the fashionable waist dimension, which ranged between 16 and 20 inches, by her eighteenth birthday. The silhouette above and below this tiny waist varied considerably. By 1830, Ji/dies, like their grai ~ ^mnthar grand- i, were Honrs Smithsonian News Service Photo courtesy of National Museum of History and Technology Even as the United States was celebrating its first quarter-century of in- ependence in V 1801, American women were winning emancipation from a different sort of bondage. Gone were the layers of petticoats; gone the bustles and devices used to expand skirts during the 18th cen­ tury; gone the tight-laced corsets. Women at la$t were free to display a shape and to wear & little underclothing as their figures, modesty--or mothers-would allow. Yet the novelty of being able to breathe and move normally seems to have anyone who wore a decade ago. The history of fashion and its chronicle of pain, in­ convenience and caprice has challenged sociologists, artists, anthropologists, historians and humorists. Women have gone to drastic lengths, heights, breadths, widths and weights to conform to the dictates of fashion. "Sensible clothing tural ^ does come into style," says Barbara Dickst^n, museum specialist in the division of Costume if) the Smithsonian's Nationa Museum of History and Technology, "but it doesn't always stay around." paled quickly under the -„ One fixed point, however, and rear padded or pushed up; the same features mercilessly suppressed. Skirts have swollen to 10 yards in diameter, narrowed to make a natural step impossible, trailed along the ground and dwindled to a few inches in length. "It would appear," as Harper's Bazaar observed in 1870, "ihat a woman, like a jack-in-the-box,...could swell or collapse at the touch of some hidden spring. Fashion is certainly endowed ̂ rith a e~ mysterious power of sud- denly metamorphosing the tyranny of fashion, and the rest of the 19th century presents a picturesque, if appalling, illustration of the adage that "one must suffer to be beautiful." During , these years, women inexplicably ac­ cepted painful, disfiguring corse try, heavy metal un­ derpinnings and costumes so complicated that the only way to avoid entanglement or collision was to practice moving about in them. The fleeting freedom in the early 1800s, brought about by a vogue for delicate classical dress and oriental fabrics, demanded sacrifices. Although fashionable American women seem to have been generally more sensible than their European counterparts, who dam­ pened their flimsy "Em­ pire" gowns to display their charms-and subsequently succumbed to epidemics of consumption and influenza- it was difficult on both continents to be both elegant and warm at the same time, a dilemma appreciated by fa 'has been the desirability of the relatively slim waist; pot-bellies have not been chic (for ladies) since the 16th century. Every other aspect of the silhouette has changed: bust, hips, thighs human being.' By the mid-1820s, the Grecian goddess had become a delicate, languishing, romantic heroine, her readiness to faint at the drop of a han­ dkerchief due less to spiritual sensitivity than the reality that her stays simply were pushing most of her mothers before them, passing through doorsx sideways-not because of the width of their skirts, but the width of their huge puffed sleeves. An issue of Lady's magazine of 1832 allowed that the ballooning sleeves, although hazardous in other circumstances, might be very useful as buoys in case of shipwreck. As this fashion deflated, Phildelphia social observer, John Watson, recorded his approval: "The day of 5 feet high and 6 feet wide is gone, we trust forever,"-only to cry with disgust in 1856 "Hoops again!" Skirts, supported by stiffened petticoats, crinolines or an assortment of heavy metal contrivances, swelled to fill rooms, aisles and streets, giving birth to cartoons, comic songs, poems and anecdotes that ridiculed this inconvenient and sometimes dangerous fashion. Poets deplored the dif­ ficulty of stealing a kiss; a Memphis newspaper at­ tributed a lady's escape when struck by lightning to the conductive properties of her metal underpinnings, and in San Francisco, one young woman demurely popped her skirt over her unlicensed terrier, to the frustration of the dogcat- chers and cheers, of onlookers. ' More serious stories in­ cluded accounts of smuggling supplier to troops during the Civil war)a&$rell as frequent reports of Stop In & Check Our New Lower Rates Turn to the L-- RENT RMSQnlC the professional do*it-yourself carpet cleaning system First Hour of Rental _ & $1.00 per hour . . . for •vtry hour thereafter. Example 2 hours . . total charge $1 plus tax.) NO MINIMUM Special Rental * Rata Good Monday thru Thursday RlNSENVAC cleans the way professionals do^ at a traction t ot tHa cost nil., sm., A SUM _ MR HOUR OV CRNK2>HT SPKCIALI 8:00 P.M. • 9:00 A.M. 10.00 4400W.RTE. 1?0.^ Mchenry, lu. NaTioisiaL BaiMKOF lVFHGNKY For Your Next Auto Loan. One good turn deserves another. If you are planning on buying a new car, finance it at the 1st. Our low interest bank rates will save you money. Whether or not you have an account with us, visit ou r loan department and arrange for an auto loan to suit your budget. Shop around for the car of your choice assured that the money will be available when you need it. When you come to the 1st, you will know you made the right turn. LOAN OFFICE HOURS Mon.-Tues.-Thurs 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Wed. & Sat !... 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM . Friday. . 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM Serving the banking needs of the McHenry area. trm ' ' Member FDIC MuaTIONaL BaiMKOF IVFHeiMKY 3814 WEST ELM STREET P. O. BOX 338 McHENRY. ILLINOIS 60050 r , 815-395^5400 "crinoline accidents," usually tagic fires where rescue was hampered by the huge skirts of the victimor her would-be rescuers. Watson qpnsidered the fashion not only ridiculous but indecent. Certainly any sudden gust of wind or bending movement set it swinging. Young ladies practicedachieving a gentle, bell-like motion when walking, in addition to the ancient art of lifting the skirt to display just the right portion of ankle. Pantalettes solved the problem of warmth and modesty, but English and American women who" adopted the style drew the line at the "rational dress" proposed by Amelia Bloomer, suffragette and temperance advocate, in the early 1850s. Although this costume, a three-quarter- length gown over full trousers gathered at the ankles, was overwhelmed by a storm of ridicule and in­ dignation, it immortalised its inventor in American slang. The technological achievements of the 19th century revolutionised fashion; the textile Industry produced an unprecedented volume and variety of fabric and trimming!, al high speed and low cosl, All H?« had to go somewhere u>Y.t women ended up literally bearing the burden of con­ spicuous consumption. The belle of the 1870s, now trailing her burden behind her in the shape of a floun­ ced, ribboned, fringed, ruffled, tassled bustle, may have been dressed in the aptly named mode "a la tapissier'-upholstery-style. A favorite schoolboy's prank was to deposit a mouse, frog or perhaps the dictionary in the schoolteacher's bustle and enjoy his hapless prey's confusion. ine industrial revolution also saw the development of magazines published especially for women. With the same ^neutrality that today places recipes next to the latest diet and sun- bronzed models next to articles on skin cancer, magazines like Godey's Lady's book and Harper's Bazaar published both sides of the corset, hoopskirt and bustle controversies. Advertisements, mean­ while, proclaimed the benefits of tortuous-looking garments, solemnly en­ dorsed by physicians and persuasively labeied "patented," an adjective that seems to have carried sll the psychological weight lhat "natural" does today. The bustle, and the "Gibson Girl" silhouette lhat followed it, went the way of all styles; the early dwades of Ihs 10th century uahered In dramatic change. Women who had celebrated lit" turn of the century iruaaed up, with trains draped over their arms, sent I heir daughters off to parties . nub * - r uAiniibALU! . TumsUAY ,^(JLY 1, II Well Child July Date ' *The Well Child clinic which is routinely scheduled for the second Tuesday will be changed to July 22 because the pediatrician will be on vacation. The clinic which is regularly scheduled for the third Wednesday will be held July 16 as originally Clinic / Changed • ' r scheduled. The regular schedule of the second Tuesday and the third Wednesday of each month will be resumed in August. The clinics are held in Room 101 of the cour­ thouse for children from birth through 8 years of age. in the abbreviated tlhic- style dress of the 1920s flapper. The memory of Christian Dior's "^lew Look" of 1047, which brought back femininity with a vengeance in the shape of long skirts, layers of petticoats, un- derwired bustlines and "Merry Widow" corsets, should prevent women from being too complacent, But it does seem reasonable to assume that they have achieved a permanent victory over that particular form of bondage. Or does it? "You can't really make predictions," says Ms. Dickstein of the Smithsonian. "We know the eye gets bored...there's a psychological need for change. And you never know who--or what--is going to influence it." And, it might be added, women have no way of knowing whether this year's styles will eventually be labeled quaint, outlandish, risque or intriguing nostalgia. One thing is certain, though: Their grandchildren will consider these fashions "old fashioned*." UNSAFE BEACHES Water samples collected from swimming beaches by the McHenry County Department of Health June 23 and 24 were obtained from Several beaches on the fox river and from some of the lakes in the county. Those beaches at which there has been two consecutive un- satisfactory samples and which the department will be posting as unsafe for swimming include West Shore Beach, McCullom Lake; Pistakee Bay and Pistakee Terrace. m«IIBHRV ItOltMC "tin D'tm firWHtisltilffiS "USE OUR LAYAWAY PUN" EVERYTHING MUST WEEK LONG SUPER SALE!! SAVINGS UP TO 50% OFF On Furniture Must Sell At Sacraf ice Prices!!! NEED TO HAKE ROOM FOR NEW FURNITURE \ WE'RE MAKING DEALS THAI YOU CAN'T PASS UP EZZSi II II O 71 FKE SET# t KUVEIY ALL OUR FURNITURE IS WOOD. NO PLASTICS OR SIMULATIONS. ""T" ISHMI ittciicnttY fri NN*M • Mttt. MM mm H#mr •• 0'tB Heme (Furnishings The Stor* That Carot To Sovo You Money