A stylish girl has good poise. This means that she stands well, walks well, carries her head high, her shoulders back, and looks the world in the face. The clothes worn by this girl will take the correct swing.
[Illustration: ENVELOPE AND KNICKERBOCKER CHEMISE]
[Illustration: "Shoes and Feet" showing an image of "Good unspoiled American feet," and "A bunion is in the bone."]
All organizations and publications keenly interested in the welfare of young women are making a strenuous effort to produce better American feet, and this is to be done directly through the shoes worn by our girls. The Y. W. C. A. during the war discovered that lack of endurance among girls could be traced back directly to misshapen feet, flattened arches, weak backs and abdominal muscles. In almost every case these had been caused by wearing high-heel shoes.
The human body is built and strung so that a person may walk and stand with natural grace and ease. When the equilibrium of this delicate mechanism is disturbed by inserting a spindle heel directly under that point responsible for most of the human weight, it is not surprising that physical ails result that must be carried through life.
A French or spindle heel is absolutely inconsistent for any occasion when walking or standing is to be done and is certainly not artistic when worn with a tailored dress or suit. Vanity, gratified by a foot that seemingly is a bit smaller, should not compensate for the loss of good health, good sense, natural grace and efficiency. An elaborate evening dress may call for a higher heel than the one worn on the street, but it will not excuse the wabbly spindle heels sold girls by many ruthless concerns.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Appropriate Clothes for the High School Girl, by Virginia M. Alexander