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CHAP. X.] wearer finds her skin has been marked by them, she may know that they have been laced too tightly. The skin will then look red at the points of greatest pressure, and will irritate, these phenomena being caused by the reflux of the blood to those parts through which its progress was previously hindered. The custom of buying ready made stays very much at random, and because they look nice, is most strongly to be condemned as in them the figure is made to fit the corset, not the corset to fit the body, as it invariably should. The idea that corsets can be bought ready made to fit properly is quite erroneous, for no two figures are exactly alike, and a garment moulded to the shape of one person can never absolutely fit another.

Good staymakers should be employed, preferably those who possess a knowledge of anatomy, a knowledge which is now, unfortunately, as rare as it should be common among this class. The "Girton stays," sold by the Rational Dress Society, are to be recommended for ladies who are not inclined to corpulence, but women who are fat, or have a tendency to become so, need to wear stiffer and tighter stays than other people, as a little pressure will be rather beneficial to them than otherwise, by checking the increase of fat. Hence no hard-and-fast rule can be made as to stays to be worn by everybody, for they should be suited to the peculiarities of each individual. Some need none at all, some only very light stays, and others those of a more substantial kind. But, generally