Dorothy was Different

by O.Y. Dalziel

 

Chapter Nineteen

Last Orders.

    

That reminiscence about extreme tight lacing has prompted me to insert some of my own hints about the general art of tight lacing, because it is a subject that has often been abused both by the Cinema and by inexperienced authors. I feel qualified to write about tight lacing because Dorothy and I both gained considerable experience over a great many years of lacing our different customers.

If you carefully study the old films containing tight lacing scenes, you will notice that the person who is responsible for the lacing invariably stands directly behind the person who is being laced, and pulls the laces out backwards. A short period of consideration will serve to show that this is not the most efficient method. The laces at the waist have to be turned through an angle of approximately ninety degrees, and this only increases the amount of friction as they run through the lace holes, and this in turn reduces the mechanical efficiency. Additionally, this action usually pulls the corset away from the wearer's body and distorts it at the rear.

Let us take, for example, a conventional front lacing garment. In this case it will usually be the wearer who is tightening his or her own laces, and the recognised method is to cross the laces over, hold one in each hand, and then pull each lace out to either side, rather than to the front. If you attempt to pull the laces out to the front, you will see the point I am making, because the front of the corset will be pulled outwards and away from your body. It will also be much harder to fully close the laces, because of the opposing forces. There is much less friction through the eyelet holes if the laces are pulled out to either side in a straight line, rather than at a sharp angle, as they would be if they were pulled outwards and to the front or rear.

If you are wearing a back lacing garment, and lacing yourself, it will be much easier if you pull the laces out to either side, and it is, in fact, very difficult to pull them out to the rear on your own, particularly if you are wearing a new and stiff garment.

Dorothy made me hold on to the handles on the wall when she first laced me, for the sole purpose of steadying me and preventing me swaying around. The laces had slipped quickly and easily through the lace holes at first, while she was taking in the slack lace, and she had moved in closer as they became tighter. The final tightening had been done with repeated short and hard wrist movements. On the second occasion, she crossed the laces over and passed them to me, so that I could pull them out to either side and draw the two corset edges together with little effort.

We never went into the realms of cinematography, but I have had the privilege of watching several private films that were made by extreme tight lacers, and it was interesting to note that their lacing methods were precisely the same as mine; and were completely different from those usually portrayed by Hollywood. There is certainly no need for any of the shouting, straining and grimacing that professional film directors usually find necessary to associate with tight lacing as it is portrayed on the Silver Screen. If the garment is correctly measured and fitted, the whole procedure can be very pleasant and enjoyable.

**

We began to see some satisfactory results from our hard work, and had cause for a mild celebration when the Bank Statement told us we had managed to clear all Dorothy's outstanding liabilities. We continued to 'Pull together,' and did eventually establish ourselves on the 'Firm foundation' that I had always wanted. What had started as a childhood interest, and had developed into an obsession, had now become my whole life's work and I thought of myself as one of a select body of men who were able to make a very profitable career from their hobby. I was now busily engaged in trying to 'Put a girdle round about the Earth,' and was enjoying every minute of it!

I was rather surprised to find that I had become regarded as something of an expert on corsetry. Enquiries came from numerous sources, usually asking for advice or information about historical or design features. I gave careful attention to each genuine enquiry, sending detailed replies where possible.

We followed a progressive business policy and were constantly seeking new ways of improving our service to customers. Few changes had been made to the layout of the shop since Dorothy's mother first started her corsetry business, and there had been little attempt at improvement. Mother spent most of her time behind the counter, or helping ladies in the fitting cubicle, and Father did his fittings inside the small stock room that adjoined the shop.

There was not enough space for two people to work in the stock room in comfort, and the only advantage was that the room had a lockable door, and this gave some semblance of privacy to the male customers. The room was later enlarged by removing the shelving, and adding to the shelved area within the shop.

Dorothy's parents tried to retain the upstairs rooms for their own use and separate from the shop, but a new fitting room became essential and this could only be done by utilising one of the upstairs rooms. They had made some initial moves by having the large mirrors installed in the bedroom, but it was shortly after this that Dorothy's father began to have the first signs of heart trouble. The Doctor insisted that he cut down on his work and he had to rest in the flat for long periods, so the proposed alterations were never completed.

Father confined his activities to bookkeeping and other administrative work, but his condition did not improve, and it became obvious that he could no longer continue his bedding and linen rounds so he had to let this valuable connection lapse. Dorothy and her mother combined the daily running of the shop with the necessary nursing attention, and this allowed her father to relax as much as possible. When summer came, he would walk slowly down to the promenade and rest on a convenient seat until it was time to return to the shop. He eventually died from another heart attack.

Dorothy had taken me upstairs for my first fitting, and I had naturally assumed that all fittings were done in the sitting room. I took our first 'Mr Smith' upstairs, and by a combination of miracles that fitting had been a success. However, I still had the feeling that the building was in need of complete re-designing if I was to be able to give the sort of service I had in mind.

The words: "Established 1900," were printed on our letterheads, and this was just about right, in my opinion; judging by the fittings in the shop. As an example; the counter was a massive mahogany affair running the full length of one side of the shop. It had a polished brass measuring rule embedded in its upper surface which nobody ever seemed to use, and it was fitted with a large number of drawers. I went 'Drawer looking,' and was surprised to discover that most of the lower drawers were empty.

Dorothy told me that her mother found it easier to keep her stock of corsets in their original boxes on the shelves behind the counter. All the boxes had clearly printed descriptions and sizes on both ends, so it was easy to select an individual box without the need to bend and open a drawer. The drawers were originally used to stock the bedding, and had become disused as the orders had declined. Only a few of the upper drawers now contained miscellaneous items of underwear. The counter remained as an impressive example of Edwardian cabinet making, but I thought it was a total waste of valuable space.

The shop had only one other item of furniture, and this was an old chair with a curved back; curly legs; and velvet upholstery. I once sat on it and found it to be very lumpy and uncomfortable. None of the customers ever seemed to use it, and it was just another item that took up badly needed space, so I decided it was time to survey the whole premises, and see what improvements could be made. I had taken little notice of the layout during my first visit, and my only concern had been to ensure that I could beat a speedy retreat if this was necessary!

I was full of enthusiasm and good intentions when I first began work; doing my fittings upstairs; or going out in the van on my rounds, and spending very little of my time actually in the shop. My evenings were taken up with helping Dorothy to pack any mail orders, unless I happened to be exhausted after a particularly long day's work, so a survey had never been possible.

I decided to go 'Back to the Drawing Board,' and look at the building as a whole. The street door was a substantial construction of wood, with an oval glass panel in its top half; and an assortment of trade logos were stuck on the glass; effectively obscuring most of the view of the interior of the shop. The shop window filled the remainder of our frontage, and usually displayed several conventional corsets on stands. There were banks of glass shelves at each side of the window, bearing orderly displays of underwear. Some net curtains covered the rear of the window, further reinforced by a white painted hardboard screen. The screen rose to about average head height, and it was possible to see the shop lights from the road, but the counter and the other internal details could not be seen.

A bell rang sharply when the door was opened, and as you entered the shop the long counter was on your left. There were two wooden steps almost facing you, and a door, marked 'Private' closed across the second step, giving access to the residential area. The space under the stairs was taken up by three dummy figures; each adorned with a popular pink corset.

The ladies changing cubicle was set in the top right hand corner, near to another door which led to a small washroom and toilet. A further door, beyond the toilet, opened on to the back yard, which was two steps below the level of the shop. The yard was separated from the back street by two high wooden gates with metal spikes set into their curved tops. A small brick built outhouse stood against one wall of the yard, and had been used as a linen store by Dorothy's father. The yard was just large enough to accommodate a medium sized van, but reversing into the yard from the narrow back street was a tricky procedure and allowed no room for error.

When you opened the Private door and went up the flight of stairs, you arrived at one end of a narrow passageway, with several doors leading from it. The first door on the right opened on to a small bathroom and toilet, and the second door led to an even smaller kitchen. There was one door on the left, leading into the larger bedroom. This room had obviously been partitioned off at some time, because a door in the partition was the only means of access to the small bedroom. This alteration was presumably done when Dorothy was born, and I had occupied this small bedroom until we were married,

A turn to the left, at the top of the stairs took you straight into the sitting room; a good sized room; nearly as big as the shop area. This illusion had been created by the inclusion of a large, square bay window, that projected out over the pavement and considerably increased the size of the room. The window gave a good view along Church Street, and allowed a glimpse of the sea front. The overhang of the window served to protect any window shoppers from the rain.

The shop was small and compact, and occupied a prime position in a busy shopping street; with a bus stop nearby and a large car park not far away. I knew nothing about shops when I first met Dorothy, but as I became more and more involved I formed the opinion that it should be possible to make a good living out of the shop, if only Lady Luck would give us a chance! All the place needed was some re-organisation and a certain amount of modernisation.

I roughed out several plans and proposals for the improvements and took these along to a firm of shop fitting consultants. They submitted some ideas of their own, but theirs were much more grandiose than mine and were not at all what I had in mind. I could not afford to lay out the sort of money that their scheme required so I decided to do the work myself, a little at a time, calling on professional help when necessary.

The enormous counter was the first thing to go. I tried to sell it as a complete unit, but nobody was interested. The local joiner pointed out that it had been built in, and the only way to get it out would be to dismantle it. I engaged him to do this work, and purchased a small glass fronted counter with different sized drawers at the back. This was installed to stand across the shop, and facing the door. There was enough space to pass at one side to enter the existing ladies changing cubicle, which was my next objective. It was just a curtained off corner beneath the stairs, and was barely adequate for its purpose.

I carefully measured the newly created space behind the glass fronted counter, and then divided it up by having a partition wall built across the shop. A door in this partition would lead into the new ladies changing room, and shelves were then mounted on the shop side of the wall, in accordance with Dorothy's specification. The newly designed shop area was repainted in light pastel colours so that it all looked much brighter and gave more of a welcome to customers.

The new Ladies Fitting Room had no windows, so full privacy was assured. Concealed strip lighting was installed, so that there would be plenty of light. The room was freshly painted, and I fitted a good quality carpet, and provided a comfortable chair to replace the old Victorian horror. A wide shelf along one wall was meant to serve as display area; writing desk; or general purpose flat surface. A 'Vacant' and 'Engaged' lock was fitted to the door, and the whole room was then ideally suited for its purpose. I finally had the space underneath the stairs cleared, and the old fitting cubicle removed. The complete area was then fully shelved in, and this provided Dorothy with adequate storage space for her comprehensive range of corsets.

Dorothy was very impressed with the alterations and gave them her full approval, using the fitting room as an office or as her rest room in between serving her customers. We gave it a short test run, making a few minor changes and modifications, and it was finally declared perfect. I could now turn my attention to designing my own Men's Fitting Room, although it was to be a considerable time before I could afford to have all the work done.

I wanted everything to be perfect for my male customers, and thought back to my own early shopping days, asking myself what it was that I had been expecting when I had gone into a strange corset shop for the first time. Most importantly, there should be an understanding welcome. I had to endure a mixture of frustration and ridicule until I met Dorothy. She had shown me how it should be done, and she was good at her job; dealing with ladies in a practised and efficient manner, and greeting men with a nicely balanced mixture of sympathy and understanding. She was a good corset fitter, and her wealth of experience meant that she could help those ladies who had 'Problem Figures.'

The bulk of our work was the straightforward supplying of standard garments from stock, and we carried a wide range of styles and sizes. I had aimed my adverts at men, but we were surprised and delighted to discover that the Victorian tight laced garment was still favoured by a number of women. We assembled an extensive selection of these models, and Dorothy was kept busy helping the ladies with lacing up. We also supplied a high proportion of all types of made to measure corsetry, and regularly had to send a stack of orders to Gerald.

We noticed that male customers always took great care to make sure the shop was empty, and Dorothy was able to manage a male stock sale over the counter without any difficulty. If there was a request for a fitting she would make an appointment for the man to see me, or she would call me if I happened to be at home and I immediately took the customer upstairs. I eventually set aside one day a week as my fitting and book keeping day, and this was a much better arrangement.

The sitting room was divided into two parts by the installation of a folding partition. Several full length mirrors were mounted on the walls of what would be my fitting room, and the carpet was taken up, and replaced with washable plastic tiles. This made it easier to clean the floor, should any of the customers become over excited. I had the original lacing bar strengthened, and moved to a different position, and some substantial handles were screwed to the wall to prevent the customers swaying about when I was tightening their laces.

I found the room to be ideal for its purpose. Some of the customers seemed to think that the walls should have been adorned with a selection of erotic corset photographs, but I was unable to share this view. I limited the extra fittings to two popular corsets mounted on stands, and a general purpose display cabinet containing a selection of laces, suspenders, and some special items of a similar nature which the customers might find useful.

The folding partition remained closed by day, and could be either open or closed at night, which gave us a twofold advantage as we found that the smaller sitting room was more cosy, and easier to heat in the winter. I finally removed the partition between the two bedrooms, and this gave us much more space. Dorothy added a feminine touch by decorating and re-furnishing the enlarged room, and making it very pleasant and intimate.

Both fitting rooms were soon in regular use, and it was often difficult to keep up with the demand. One of us would always have to look after the shop counter, and we occasionally had to sacrifice our Early Closing Days to squeeze in a few more customers. I insisted that our Sundays should be kept free, because it was essential for us to have some rest. I enjoyed my chosen profession, and was happy to work late if it would help another customer. I sometimes felt that Dorothy was being asked to do too much, but she never complained. Through our combined efforts, and a lot of hard work, we became well known nationwide, and even received a number of enquiries from abroad.

**

We always ran the shop as a clean and decent business. I became a prominent member of our local Trade Association, and was most careful about my book keeping, tax returns, and other legal requirements. I found that after my marriage to Dorothy I had become accepted as a member of a well established and respected business in a close knit community of small shopkeepers, and I took great care to continue our pleasant working relationship with all the other retailers in our busy street. Several of them had shown considerable kindness to Dorothy after the death of her mother, and following my accident. This is the kindness of true friendship, and friendship is a valuable commodity.

We worked really hard to build up the business, our custom continued to improve, and the door bell rang out with ever increasing frequency. Corsetry is an intimate and personal subject, which in some people's eyes can have unpleasant erotic connotations. We tried to keep well clear of this aspect when dealing with our customers, but over the years we received some quite disgusting suggestions! I was interested in all the facets of corsetry, and liked being tightly laced, so I was aware of the many pleasures that could be enjoyed whilst in a tightly corseted condition, but even I had to recoil from some of the ideas that were proposed by several of our more imaginative customers.

We tried to avoid becoming involved in any extremes of fantasy, and limited our activities to supplying a customers precise needs, however unusual - as long as they related solely to corsetry. We both became accustomed to lacing customers of either sex, as long as they observed a reasonable level of decorum and behaviour. It was never necessary to resort to violence or calling the Police, but I occasionally had to express myself quite forcefully, in order to get rid of a customer who was becoming an offensive and persistent nuisance.

Several of our customers had asked if they could be photographed after they had been laced into a new garment, and, although I saw no harm in it, I felt it might be difficult for me to have all the films processed and still preserve the confidentiality of the customer. I did not want to add film processing to my already excessive workload; and it would have been unfair to ask Gerald to do it for me; but he was the only other person I knew who could do this kind of photographic work. The invention of the 'Instant' camera meant that I could offer the customers a confidential photo service, although I always treated it as a special request and placed a high price tag on it. To my great surprise the money rolled in, and it proved to be yet another of my successful ventures.

Talking of films and photographs takes me back a few years. You will recall my description of our first visit to Gerald's factory, and my surprise when it had such an adverse effect on Dorothy. This may perhaps be a suitable time for me to fill in some of the background detail. I was full of enthusiasm and bright ideas when I first started to help Dorothy, but I was also totally inexperienced about a lot of things. Oh, yes; I knew all there was to know about the corset, and was a regular 'Mastermind' on the subject, but when it came to the everyday things of life, such as buying flowers, and handling women, then I was little more than a bungling amateur.

Our meeting with Gerald's team of executives had exposed several of my weaknesses. I was anxious to impress people by airing my knowledge, but I found it difficult to keep up with the thought processes of the executives. The photographer described in glowing terms the glossy brochure he would produce from my designs, and the executives discussed the designs, and the best methods of presentation. I became carried away by the combined enthusiasm, and happily agreed with each of the proposals that were put forward.

I became more and more euphoric as the talk flowed around me, and was quite happy to carry on listening while they were talking about my favourite subject. The photographer suggested that live models should be used, and it was a very good idea, with many obvious advantages over the using of lay figures. I had automatically assumed that he would provide a suitable team of good looking ladies who were all ready and willing to be laced into one of my creations, and to be photographed in a variety of artistic poses.

It never occurred to me that he was proposing to use Dorothy as his model, and that was why it had seemed so odd when the poor girl, who had seen what was coming long before me, had suddenly withdrawn inside her shell.

Poor Dorothy - and Stupid, Stupid me!

I was convinced that a photo brochure would help to increase our business, and I continued doggedly working away at the problem whenever possible. It was essential to find a suitable lady to model my garments, and it ought to have been a simple enough task, but it became more and more insurmountable the further I went. I telephoned several local modelling agencies and was surprised at their reaction, because they seemed to think I was some sort of pervert!

As soon as I mentioned corsetry, the person on the other end of the telephone would become very stiff and abrupt; and, in one case openly abusive. It was quite obviously going to be a complete waste of time pursuing this line, so, as usual, when I had a problem, I talked it over with Dorothy. I remember that we were sitting in our favourite position, one night; feet up; the shop shut; holding hands by the fire, and chatting about the day.

"Dorothy, love." I ventured, and she gave her usual "mm?" of acknowledgement.

"I still want to do something about this new photo brochure. Have you had any idea who could be a model for us?"

Her reply staggered me!

"I'd be happy to do it for you." she said, simply.

"But, Dearest," I protested, "it upset you so much before; that's why I've hesitated about it for so long. Even now I'm only trying to do it because I'm convinced that it will help the business."

She looked at me in her special sidelong way, and said:

"It's different, now. For a start, we're married, and that makes us a part of each other." There was a pause, before she continued, coyly: "Besides; I know how much I can please you, now."

I felt faint stirrings within me, but suppressed them, because this was an altogether new line of reasoning, and I urged her to go on.

"You see, love," she continued, "I've always tried to keep my promise to Mummy, about my body - you know! It seemed wrong for me to undress in front of you before we were married; and I was always afraid something might happen. But; now it's different, and in fact I'd be very disappointed if something didn't happen! And I'll tell you another thing; I didn't like that photographer at the factory; he had, sort of, slimy eyes! I felt as if he was stripping all my clothes off, in public." She shivered slightly at the recollection.

So that was one more little misunderstanding cleared up. I asked Gerald for some hints about photographic equipment, and the best poses to adopt, and as usual he was full of good advice. I used my large Instant camera, and bought some other items of basic equipment; adapted Dorothy's fitting room for use as a photographic studio, and we were all ready to go. Dorothy entered enthusiastically into the spirit of things, and suggested ways that she could alter her appearance for the different shots. She used a variety of wigs with different hairstyles, and managed to create the illusion that we had used our own team of different models.

We spent several happy evenings working on the project over the next three months, with me lacing Dorothy into a selected garment while endeavouring to keep my mind on the job, (If you know what I mean!) and then photographing her in a number of different poses. Then we enjoyed a pleasant period of 'Free Expression' and mutual enjoyment. It was all highly satisfactory - and the photographs were extremely good as well!

I tried something quite different, with two of our most popular models, recalling a lovely spot in the Lake District where we had been able to enjoy a long and pleasant spell all alone. It was 'Beside the lake; beneath the trees' and had been the venue for an idyllic interlude on our honeymoon. I had taken a few snapshots of Dorothy at that time, with some trees and the lake in the background, and I reasoned that if she could be photographed in a similar situation, but wearing only her corset, then we would surely be on to a winner.

She was quite willing to co-operate, so we put some curtains over the windows of the van, to enable us to use it as a changing room, or as a place of refuge in case we were surprised when we were at work. It was as well that we had taken these precautions because some other people had discovered our lonely spot, and this increased our difficulties. They would insist on coming over to see what we were doing once we had all our equipment set out, and at other times the light was all wrong for our purpose. Poor Dorothy had to spend long periods in the back of the van in a state of undress. I could have found this quite enjoyable had we been back at home, but doing it outdoors made it a different experience altogether.

We completed the work after much persistence, and although I say it myself, the results were truly magnificent! In one of the shots Dorothy had quite unconsciously adopted the pose of the lady on the old 'Elfrida' corset box; with a demure look on her face; head tilted on one side, and one hand upon her bosom, beckoning me. I took a lovely picture of her in that instant, and then I very nearly.........but with a great effort managed to restrain myself! I can remember thinking at the time: "If I ever write a book; that picture will have pride of place." In due course, I had the photograph greatly enlarged and framed, and hung it in a place of honour, in my museum.

Gerald and the Printers made a first class job of printing and compilation, and we were highly delighted with the finished brochure. I inserted the details of the 'New Photo Brochure' in all our advertisements, and debated between imposing a small charge to cover our expenses, or a larger charge, which could be 'Refunded with First Order.' I chose the latter course, and was to be glad that I had done so because the result was 'Phenomenal!'

We had to immediately rush off another order to the Printers, and found as time progressed that the brochure had become a highly prized collectors item, like the earlier one for which Dorothy's mother had modelled. We kept on ordering batches of re-prints, and it eventually paid for itself several times over. It certainly did much to increase the level of business, and if I was to be asked for the secret of our success that brochure would feature highly in the ratings. That, and a great deal of very hard work!

**

Looking back, I think it fair to say that I was well satisfied with my efforts. My initial desire to help a lonely girl overcome her problems had resulted in my marrying her, and living happily ever after in the true romantic story book fashion. It had not all been easy, but it had been worthwhile. We built up a virtually moribund business into one of the best and well known corset shops in the whole of the North of England; and I challenge anyone to dispute my words. I had always been firmly convinced that there were other men who shared my interest in corsetry, but in spite of this it was something of a surprise to discover how many men there were who enjoyed the regular wearing of a tightly laced corset.

We met many special enthusiasts; I might almost call them fanatics. The majority of them had been life long corset wearers; often disappointed with the quality of work turned out by our competitors, and they came to our shop with precise requirements. We developed a special circle of friends, and always made a point of taking a great deal of time and trouble to please them. Some of them would call in for a chat or check-up, and a few took their annual holidays in our town as a way of keeping in touch.

We received enough written testimonials to fill a book, and most of these amounted to descriptions of the many pleasures they had enjoyed from the 'Lift and Hold' of their well fitting garments. We were able to use a number of useful suggestions and ideas, and circulated them in a short newsletter for the benefit of others. We kept precise records of the measurements of our regular customers, and these were of considerable help when they wrote in with repeat orders for garments.

We gained a wide experience of fitting customers, and as time passed we became skilled at our instant appraisals of the human body. I was able to classify all the main groups, and prove my point that no two people were a truly identical shape. Even so called 'Identical' twins had some slight differences in their measurements. Our comprehensive range of stock models ensured that we could always guarantee anyone a 'Reasonable' fit, but experience proved that there were considerable advantages to be gained by wearing a properly fitted and made to measure garment, and we always tried to recommend this to our customers.

We received a few complaints in the early days, and these inevitably fell into the same category. The customer sent us a completed self measurement form, full of the dimensions that he or she would instantly wish to attain. We sent out our warning letter with every order, but our warning was usually ignored. The customer would put on the new garment, and then lace, or be laced as tightly as possible, often fully closing the laces. His experience would then be the same as my first one, with frustration; discomfort, and finally, Pain! I had been prepared to accept that I was wrong, but our customers were much more intolerant and would often try to blame us for selling them an ill-fitting garment!

I devised a way of overcoming this difficulty, and would make a point of supplying a corset made to the precise waist measurement that the customer had ordered. But; (and this is the most important point) I knew that the displaced and compressed flesh would have to move somewhere! I made it a regular practice to enlarge the chest or bust section to greater dimensions than those specified, and this allowed ample room for the displacement. The resultant advantage was twofold, and meant that the customer could now achieve the desired waist size, and the larger upper section gave a greater contrast, or 'Spring,' which made the waist look even smaller and kept everybody happy.

I made a study of the various different methods of lacing that had been devised by the Victorians. Most were rejected; a few were adapted, and one or two were adopted. One of my specialities was the 'Variant' lacing method; so called because the lace holes nearest the waist were more closely spaced than the rest. This gave much better control and shape, and avoided any wrinkling of the fabric at the waist. Without fear of boasting, I think I can claim that we were both good at our work; gave full value for money and provided a service that was second to none.

**

I was knocked completely unconscious at the time of my road accident; waking up stark naked in a hospital bed; and to this day I have absolutely no recollection of the event. I had never accepted the condition known as 'Loss of Memory,' but it is as though that part of the record of my life has been totally erased. Dorothy was quick to tell me that I was in no way to blame for the accident, and I could say a lot more; but this is not the proper place to write about it because I want the general tone of this closing section to be cheerful.

I might perhaps write a hospital story one day, as a sequel to this one, because there were some short moments of humour, even in the depths of my suffering. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that the accident changed a number of things, principally because my multiple broken bones meant that I could no longer wear a tight corset with the same degree of enjoyment. Medical opinion was sharply divided, with one faction maintaining that my strong corset should have strengthened my skeletal frame, and may have protected me from even more serious injury. The opposition alleged that the crushing nature of the impact, together with the tightness of my corset, could have resulted in some of my internal organs suffering irreparable damage.

There is no doubt that I caused a sensation in the casualty department when they undressed my inert body, and discovered my secret. They had to cut my corset off me, and it was returned to Dorothy, torn, broken, and bloodstained, along with the rest of my clothes. I had to tolerate the jokes that were made at my expense by the nursing staff, and one of the night nurses said that they had a nickname for me, and then to my annoyance refused to tell me what it was!

I was only able to be of limited help to Dorothy for a considerable time following the accident, and she bravely did her best to manage on her own, in spite of the fact that she was now having problems of her own; because her legs were starting to give trouble due to the long periods that she had spent standing at the shop counter for so many years.

A number of additional factors began to emerge, and we found that fashion was going through yet another of its changes, and the trend towards tights and jeans was becoming well established. Our inner circle of special enthusiasts remained faithful to us, but there could be no doubt that the demand for tight lacing and well boned corsets was declining. Our mainstay had always been the sales of table linen and bedding to hotels, but without my corset I was unable to do the amount of heavy lifting and loading involved, so I sub-contracted, and then sold off the connection.

We had another of our long discussions, and spent some time calculating the value of our assets; eventually coming to the conclusion that we could afford to take early retirement. We both shared the opinion that we had worked hard for long enough, and it seemed to be a good idea to try and take life at a more leisurely pace; so I began to make a few tentative enquiries among the local house and business agents, with a view to selling the shop.

**

So, there it is; the story of my life. I have tried to set it down just as it happened, and it all took much longer than I expected. If it should sound like another attempt at 'Giving a message to the World,' then perhaps that is precisely what it is, and I make no apology!

Various customers readily gave permission for me to publish their photographs, and it is only a pity that the high costs of printing have prevented me including some quite spectacular exhibits, although I have enclosed a few illustrations that seem relevant to events of special significance.

The contents of my library have been lodged with the local Municipal Museum, and will be made readily available to any genuine students of corsetry who may find them to be useful. We also offered the full contents of our private museum on permanent loan, but our offer was politely declined. We had no space to spare in our new home so we reluctantly had to dispose of everything, although I still retain my big scrapbook, with all its pleasant memories. We now live in comfortable retirement, and Dorothy is always pleased to welcome visits from the many 'Firm' friends we have made over the years.

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