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viii There is one distinction between ours and all other books on dress that have come under our observation, and that is, that we are dealing with the necessary and not the ornamental part of clothing. Most authors have written upon the history of costume, or the absurdity or elegance of some particular fashion, or of the harmony of the colours and relation of the dress to the figure of the individual—have dealt only with the exterior. We, on the contrary, have commenced from within, have analysed the wants and noted the structure of all the internal organs, and then adapted the clothing that envelopes them in such a manner as not only to preserve the health but to impart the greatest benefit to the wearer.

The principal writers upon the subject of corsets have been medical men, who, great as is their knowledge of their part of the question, certainly know nothing of ours; and hence what they have written has been almost entirely without practical utility. If a corset maker wrote an essay upon any medical contrivance—say, for instance, the lancet or blister—we expect that she would meet with the derision of the whole faculty; and the medical practitioner must not be angry if he also should excite a smile when he speaks of things with which he also is unacquainted. That our readers may perfectly comprehend what we mean we insert here an extract from a medical work of the very highest authority, which contains at one view all the merits and demerits of this class of writers. The evils are all portrayed by a master hand, but there is not one hint that can be of the least service to the world by way of remedying it.

"In connection with the use of stays the usual mode of their con­struction requires some notice, whilst they are so made as to press down­wards and together the lower ribs; to reduce the cavity of the chest, especially at its base; to press injuriously upon the heart, lungs, liver, stomach, and colon, and even partially to displace those vital organs;