Tight-lacing. It has long been recognised that undue compression by the clothes, and particularly by stays, of the waist and lower part of the chest causes disturbance of the relations of the internal organs, and impairs their functions; producing, e.g., distortion of the liver and stomach, breathlessness, impaired digestion, and diminished capacity for exertion. More recently it has been maintained that the tendency to various more definite diseases is caused or much aggravated by this condition. Among these may be mentioned certain displacements of the womb, and other diseases peculiar to women; movable kidney, gall-stones, anaemia, and ulcer of the stomach, which are all more common in the female sex than the male. While it cannot be said that the causal relation is definitely established in any of these cases, there are facts in regard to each which render it at least possible that such a relation may exist.
In a case where an injurious effect of any kind is present or is suspected, it is not sufficient merely to discontinue the use of stays, for that would only bring the constricting bands by which the lower garments are usually supported to bear still more directly on the waist. Some arrangement must be made by which the weight of these garments may be borne by the shoulders and bust, either by having each one made with an upper part fitting the chest and shoulders, or by having them attached by buttons or tapes to a stout but not tightly-fitting bodice. It is much to be desired that more attention were paid to the natural conformation of the body, and less to the unreasonable demands of fashion, in the matter of dress.