How to Be Graceful..!

The secret of beauty is not confined to the features of the face; the greater part of it goes back to the proportion and harmony among the members that make up what people call the figure. Accordingly, it has been found that the best measure for a lady's height is that which ranges between five feet and six or seven inches. The full measure around the thigh is nineteen and a half (19½) inches; around the leg at the calf, twelve and a half inches; and around the ankle, eight and a half inches.

But despair must not creep into your heart, madam, if these measurements do not apply to you, for athletic exercise, and elegant clothes if you attend to them, will bring you to brilliant results and help you greatly to create a slender figure, harmonious in its parts, as fine as anything you could wish...

Remember, madam, that holding the body erect while walking or sitting is counted among the essentials that help preserve a slim and graceful figure. So beware, while walking, of leaning forward, or of letting your shoulders sag and your chin droop, for this is what fosters stooping and slackness, and gives a lady the look of advancing age. Be, then, erect of figure, chin raised, firm of step, as though you were looking at some fixed point before you.

Athletic games that work toward the harmony of the body's parts are among the most important agents that beautify the figure. Rhythmic dancing, skating, and the various sports — all are beneficial, because they give the limbs vitality, keep the muscles firm, and prevent their sagging and slackening. Nothing so slackens the muscles and gives a lady an air of bodily fatigue as the life of idleness that some of our girls and ladies in society lead. Know, then, madam, the danger of this matter, and guard against falling into such an error...

And if you are short of stature — and perhaps the greater part of us, we women of this country, do not possess tall figures — if you are short, madam, do not let your hair fall loose upon your shoulders, for this only makes your shortness more pronounced; nor should you wear hats with wide brims that all but cover your shoulders... And be assured that hair swept upward helps greatly to lend you an appearance of height — unlike hair let down over the shoulders.

And if your face is round, do not leave your hair loose, for a round face requires the hair drawn smooth and taut toward the back...

And there is no doubt that physical exercise, used with knowledge and wisdom, reduces weight and helps toward gracefulness. On the other hand, if you wish, madam, to keep a slim waist — which is assuredly one of the elements of gracefulness — you must watch your food, and not eat too freely of dishes rich in fatty matter...

And remember always that the mirror is your best judge; so be honest in treating your points of weakness — and treat the weakest points first.