WOMEN WAR WORKERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 December 1939, Page 8

WOMEN WAR WORKERS

ANOTHER CORSETLESS ERA? British women war-workers will not toss aside their foundation garments this time, as they did in the last war. At least, that is the general consensus of opinion among thos<p who should be able to jiidge. In the last war. women could not undertake any additional physical activities while . they were wearing heavy front-laced corsets, made from rigid materials and heavily boned. So the corsets went west, and women grinned and put up with the fatigue and strain of unaccustomed physical work. Back and abdominal muscles used to adequate support, objected strenuously when that support was snatched away. This time things will be very different. Work on farms and in canteens, which entails lifting heavy weights, bending and standing for long hours, will again cause muscular strain to which women are unused. But today's stretchable foundations, giving absolute freedom as well as adequate support, will prove themselves a boon to the w6men in uniform. There should be no question whatever of women discarding their corsets—they are far more likely to need them more than ever. Manufacturers are co-operating by concentrating on the problem of producing garments that will meet every requirement of service life. Pantie garments promise to be most popular for wear with slacks and breeches, while it is expected that one-piece garments and light-weight front-lacing styles will be asked for by women in the services, i