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CHAP. XI.] as these materials are heavy without being particularly warm.

It is quite possible to dress in a perfectly healthy way, and yet retain the semblance of fashion.

The best form of dress is the Princess robe, the weight of which is equally distributed, as, being cut all in one, the weight of the skirt depends entirely from the bodice. Dresses cut in this way may be trimmed in any style, so that they may look fashionable, even when the Princess robe is not in vogue. If this form is not adopted, the dress skirt should be fastened either to the dress bodice or the under bodice, but never hooked round the waist with a narrow band, according to the prevalent mode. For those whose figures are formed, dress skirts may be made with shaped bands to fit over the hips, as in this case the weight falls properly on to the bones of the pelvis. (See the shaded portion on Plate 5, E, F, a, b, c, d.) Fancy belts should never be worn outside the dress, as they are too apt to be tightened.

A word now about the fitting of dresses, and these remarks will apply equally to the bodice, of which I have already spoken. The great difficulty in fitting garments is to prevent the movements of the body being cramped. This difficulty is entirely obviated if jerseys are worn, and I therefore strongly recommend them. Their adoption in the case of growing girls is beneficial, not only from the point of view of health, but also from that of economy; for, if ordinary dress bodices are worn and fit as they should, they are very soon