Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, April 9, 1916, Page 29

A |ThE Omama SuNpAY BEE MAGAZINE PaGE \ How Science is [Melping Stout People to Look Surprising Ilusion of Le S ’Stout Height and Slenderness e g ol SR on the part of those who see her. That Can Be Given Men and Women of Too Generous Proportions by a Skilful Arrangement of kenerous fijgures and accentuate the This is all @ matter of the selection of the proper lines and their proper application to her clothes, With the right lines rightly applied, she can croato as deceptive an 1llu- slon of helght and slenderness as the architect does with his huge structures of brick and stone, The trouble with the stout woman's clothes in the past Las beon the utter dis- regard which their makers have shown for cortaln well-known sclentific laws, They have insisted that DLecause & woman was stout she could not dress in the prevailing . . i the ““Lines” of Their Cloth ' e i styles without looking ridiculous, They {18 l es 0 el r 0 es made her dresses a serios of broad, perfectly 4 plain stretches of fabric unrelieved by sny (i el lll,v ;Alberl Malsin, M. E. trilin or furbelows; | olytechnlc Institute, Gothen, Anhalt, Germany). Thera could be no greater mistake than $ TO xlrlukn clothing for stout people that ’hum«z nh’mlh-: I. to "urul:v Iwnll-'l‘mnwn this. The plainer & stout woman's :r:l:r:l. “The tendency of the human eye is [ will conceal the defects of their too aws of optics, color and psychology he can th r nrelleved its expanses of fabric, ; ot make her create a pleasing {llusion of hefght I whortar it makes ner look. Always to overestimate the height of unything it sees. A silk hat looks at good points does not require the discovery of any new sclentific principles, Most of the principles Involved are as old as sclence fteclf, and many of them have long been succensfully employed fn painting, musiec, sculpture, architecture and slenderness and at the same time dress her In the helght of fashion, The common habit of referring to a man's sllk hat as a “bigh” hat is as good an {llus- tration as can be found of the tendency of the human eye to overestimate the helght of everything Let me explain briefly what Hnes the stout woman should svold or subdue in her dress, and what lnes she should emphasize, Horizontal lines are never good for the stout woman. It they must be used, they must be broken or relleved in some way. All lines that tend toward the horizontal should have & downward curve {f the stont woman s to look her best, There is nothing least 25 per cent taller than its top is wide, but as a matter of fact the two measurements are precisely the same. The optical illusion explains why silk hats are called ‘high,’ when A and other arts and it sees. As a matter Y &N ' sclences, of fact, a wilk hat fs better to counteract the bad effect of the they are really no higher than most / Wl Fiiias et B0 bisher than most hieavy masses of flesh found over the ther hats.” shoulder blndes of many women than lines other hats. TR sits down to write a lght, graceful plece of music he selects an entirely different type of melody and rhythm from that which he would use if he were writing a ponderous funeral march. In similar fashion the architect knows how to arrange his ma terfals s0 as to give even a very large bullding an effect of alry grace, helght and slenderness, I can think of noth- Ing better for the de- slgner of clothing for stout people to keep constantly in mind than one of the great Gothic cathedrals. As- piration, the reaching for something higher, is the fundamental principal of Gothie architecture, and every line from the cornerstone to the #pire is designed and derbles. In the psychologieal laboratorfes of the University of Tlowa some Interesting ex- periments were con- ducted recently in the effort to find out why it is that a silk hat looks s0 much taller than It really Is. A number of students professors were asked to agres upon the helght to which a sllk hat would correspond A 1t were placed agalnst the wall of the window sill. A point was agreed upon, and when the hat wgs set up it fell short of the mark by fully 26 per cent of its actual height. In oth- er words, every man taking part in the ex- periment had judged the hat to be one- g 1 the “The architects of the great Gothic fovrth higher than it opmost posk of the cathedrals have produced in mason- really was. Those in the labor- constructed with this Ty the same effects which ‘stout’ atory were then asked effect in view. people should strive to produce in to judge individually It s exactly the {hejr clothes—height, slenderness (he ratio of the height same effect which stout women must constantly strive for in thelr clothes, As | explained in this newspaper last Sun- day, science knows that for sume reason not yet thoroughly understood it is natural for the human eye to try to make every- thing that comes within its range of vision look taller than it really 1s, This instinct to overestimate height 1s so universal that it the designer of clothes for the stout woman will give only a half- and airy grace.” to the diameter, the diameter being consid- a8 representing ten units. The judgment of helght ranged from twelve to sixteen units, but actual measure- ment of the hat showed that its helght and dlameter were exactly equal. This tendency of the human eye to over- estimate helght s of the greatest Importance to the stout woman who wis to have her clothes conceal the defects of her figure and emphasize {ts good points, The problem she has to solve {8 how she A Good Example of the Surprising Effects Which Can Be Produced by the Applica- tion of Scientific Principles to the Design of Clothing. In This Gown the Long Row of Buttons Up and Down the Front Creates An Illusion of Added Height and Slender- ness. The Upward Slant of the Converging Lines Below, and the Downward Slant of Those Above the Walst Line, Add to the Hlusion of Helght and Also Emphasize the Smallness of the Waist, curving downward and toward the front, Horlzontal 1ines, of course, cannot be en- tirely avolded, but wherever they sppear they must be broken or softened. The em- phasis must always be placed on the ver tieal The unpleasant effect produced hy undue fullness through the back, an effect very common smong American women, is success- fully overcoms by & iihernl use of panel pleats and broken belt effects, Panel seams ars excellent for making the bust sppear smaller than 1t really is, and so are revers it long and pointed The sclentifie designer of clothes for stout women uses buttons liberally. No other simple mode of trimming & dress will do more to make its wearer look tall and slender. They are employed in various ways to relleve the belt, and a long line of them down the front of a skirt will often make & woman look six fnches taller and Aifty pounds Hghter, The large hipped woman should shun plain tight-Hiting skirts as she would the plague, Let her try soft pointed pleats over the hips and she will be pleasantly surprised to #seo that instend of thelr making her figure larger, they seem to reduce its size, Home of the more elaborate draperies which are now so popular may be worn without hesitation by the large hipped woman, provided they are chosen in se- ecordance with the principles which 1 am outlining In this weries of articles. But these draperies should always be carried helow the hip line and thelr effect will be greatly enbanced by the skilful use of pointed panels. Hach and every part of & gown must be made to assist in creating the desired 1l luston. Kven the pockets can be. made to play an fmportant part in producing the de- sired effect If they are glven the proper curve or angle It 18 surpriding to see how much can be: accomplished by a proper handling of the most trivial details about a dress. Cascade revers will work wonders in giving & soft line to the walst and in socentuating its length, Just & touch of soft white mate- rial 1s often all that is needed to make & gown that would otherwise be quite un- suitable, just the thing for the stout woman, Volnted effects are employed everywhers, Just as they are in Gothio architecture. Pointed panels in the back reduce its width. ry when drap- bips, Until recently it wonld have been thought absurd for any stout woman to attempt to wear ruffies, Thess, however, are well within the bounds of possibility for her if they are broken by curves, which give them an up and down instead of a horizontal ef- fect. Kven horizontal stripes can be safely worn by the stout woman when skilfully treatod in panei effects. Lot me repeat that the secret of good dressing for the stout woman lies in the cholee of the proper lines and their applics tion to her gowns in accordance with scien- tific principles. To attain the proper lines a good corset s the first essential. And the stout woman must never forget that the function of the corset is not merely to sup- port the figure but to give it harmony, The lines of the stout woman's clothes should always taper toward that part of her figure which she wishes to make appear smaller, Th lines, remember, do not necesparily h to complete themselves in the garment, They may be only carried a little distance, but In even that short length they furnish a suggestion which the eye is able to complete so that It gets the desired llusion, In this Magazine Bection next SBunday Mr, Malsin will explain what colors and me terials the stout woman should select, and how she should combine them In her gowns, e On the left, a “stout” woman appearing ““stouier” than ever in a plain, unadorned gown, On the right, the same woman in gowns constructed on scientifie principles, Note what a pleas- ing effect of height and slenderness is created in each of the four gowns on the right by the Wew the Additlon of Selentifieally Correct " o it W s Walst wnd » Graoetully Cursing Flounes to Her Skive Add Many Iuches (o Hor Apparent Helght and Subienct Many oltunds from Mer Apparent skilful use of vertical and slanting lines, pointed panels, broken belt line, curved bodices, ete, y— Veeh Lo o - ~ ] Just What Makes a *“100 Per C fficient"” ic \'4 , - ¢ ‘ er Luen 1¢1€n 1C€ DO h ) -. . v educat or \ pply to all canes, Yol In standardising the qualifieations an offies hoy must have to mall, on which, of course, the entire the (maglaation to trace a connection b A 4 2 1 . 1 of work done by emp the it he was (o ba ¢ dered offielent 1 ! R miways rests tween the uneducated office boy and 4 : 8 e Yes are not portant as o qualifications were ola od, and ' w0 of ¢ It prises were satistles which show that out of every p , intelliment outllne ¢ parcenisge accorded 1o sach, » nwardod it every lad hundred men who reach the age of - " ] 4\ follow In W boy - s 1) - 1 [l educational Afty five only seven have 4 o Wy ratore, & . | Per Cont I ro now real It 1s logleal to belleve that from the ‘ : " p wey musi \ Pasctualits \ \ fulte way what was oy rauks of boys whose ut has ‘ X ! ] ailed for " ; \ " 1 ! it o him bee sunted ¥y lack many o . 2y o \ by et ey | |’...“ ve linport of all L » Hionoss ' up o the r Iallures and wishis are recrulted chure! ' i sonkl Appears tard Four yoars 18 loug enough for any i . . f e 1 3 N o ad . Atls ura ) . K nowrn w employs one k L youlh 1o remain In the eapacily I, boye . ne N | i\ Nioe * has beon of offlen boy, If he stays thers i r : ‘ by ! ‘.‘. ‘ p oy AL { . & hes oulha o be o oW " Al 1t Is elther throu fault of his s \ " . | " A y . v 1 P Employers are . ‘ ‘ . ; ) ! le y utalned wu you' sohool fue his than the boy 4 " & iolie w o . ) your it 1 was ouly e s o all - ] il appes | ' : Lo Wt e Aisle aftiox . WS 0N ¥y thay wive i y ‘ d ! N | wua e puplle. When Invited 0 1 o al A J . = ¢ -2 : i . . I . | e y b A he foree ' ’ f » [ . ' - X oL e ] . .‘- - ‘n - ‘¢ x..-:.:. l;,’,i | \ . ’ “ A . ; marily, Wal \ praves \hat ! the present \ | r ¢ ot . 17 Uhe olties boy had | oA tuplaring o larse fo A -y oy rimas : Alf & chunos the alfion boy will aeneration of ofles hays are waking hay Mch 10 na . - . . S gama 9 12 SHLE e & pE ensiant ¥ — -~ j y wivaniage of ry oppertunity e whils the sun shines, and from th avers goen 10 work ard of work re o of | " ye il omployes, The contest snabled the wid thin s g “ mdingly s boos by e S b4 ey M oo P TS g L AAnL S Sy Ay A il { B B B : » N vl high . whase diploma s sealed with the stamyp \ . o4 allenbion Ay BOnt business wan recontly had of "efMiclaney Coprright, 104 by | Aar Company. Uires Haln Righta Neserve