Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 November 1896 — CORSETS IN STYLE FOR MEN. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CORSETS IN STYLE FOR MEN.

I A •* - jHto- Fortunes tb« •? WUw Baid to Have B*t the Fashion. r Lats<<news from London indicate* that men of the smart set there are going la for corsets on *“ scale naY even approached by the dandies of 1835. The haberdashers patronized by the swells carry an extensive stock of men's corsets, and, while the sale of them Is limited to a comparatively small number the demand Is steadily Increasing, and* the indications are that a large proportion of the men in swelldom will soon be wearing them. People who make a business of studying the motives of change in the fashions say that the wearing of corset* by men is the natural consequence of the edict which went forth a couple of months ago, to the effect that women’s waists were to be larger by several inches. A sudden Jump from twen-ty-three Inches waist measurement to the more mellow figure of twentyeight Inches on the feminine side of fashion required a complete change In the apparel of the other sex. It only requires a glance at old fashion plates to note the fact that the styles of men and of women have always gone In opposite directions. Thir-ty-five years ago,* whan women wore immensely large hoop skirts and an endless variety of bulging frills and furbelows, the attire of men was sleek and close-fitting. At an earlier period, when masculine fashion required very wide trousers, gaudy waistcoats and loose coats, the mode for women was excessively plain. So, If women are to glory in the freedom and healthfulness of large and ample waists the curious laws of fashion demand that

men must gird on the burdensome yoke of the corset and endure the new agony of pinching In their waists to the minimum figure. The fashion has not yet progressed sufficiently for any standard to be set regarding the proper waist measurement for men. Aud It is not very probable that such a thing will happen, for the reason that some people attribute the new style to the Prince of Walea nnd his growing corpulency. If the waist measure of the prince were taken as the correct thing most men could face the fashion with an easy grace, as the girth of hl* royal highness Is said to be fqrty-two Inches. There Is little doubt,ithat the prince baa i taken up the corset habit not for tho < purpose of setting a new style, but as a matter of necessity. He is very vain of his appearance, and within the last year his rapid tendency to Increased weight has given him a world of trouble.

WREN CORSETS BECOME STYLISH.