hfulness to the costume of the Scottish Highlanders.

In feminine apparel corsets are perhaps productive of more injury than
any other part of the costume. The injury wrought by tight lacing is
now everywhere understood, and in recent years large waists have become
stylish. This tendency of the times will ultimately mean the elimination
of the corset.

When fully clothed we should have the same freedom of movement as when
unclothed. The most perfect costume is our "birthday clothing,"
the clothing with which we came into the world, the human skin. To be
sure, in cold climates bodily covering is necessary for warmth a part
of the year, though in warm climates, or warm seasons, the more nearly
we avoid restrictive apparel, the more happy and more healthy we are.
The ideal costume in warm weather, therefore, would be no costume, but
conventions demand that we cover our nakedness, and this command should
be followed in a manner that will restrain our movements as little as
possible.

The question of color is an important factor in clothing. This is
especially true in summer when exposure to the sun makes it
especially necessary to consider our comfort. All dark-colored clothing
absorbs the heat and the sun becomes very oppressive to the wearer.
Then, too, black and dark-colored coverings shut out the light, another
objectionable feature. In my reference to sun baths in the preceding
chapter on Blood Purification I placed special emphasis upon the value
of light as a vitalizing and stimulating factor in life and health.
Ordinarily we not only smother our skins so far as the air is
concerned, but we also shut out the light, hiding our bodies in a
cellar, so to speak. Our bodies need light as well as air and for
this reason dark colored clothing cannot be recommended. For warmth when
in the sunshine during the winter, black is very effective. When out
of the sunshine black is cooler in winter than light-colored fabrics
because it quickly radiates the body heat. It is well known that a
black stove radiates the heat much faster than a nickel-plated or
brightly polished stove.

White or light-colored garments are advised in summer, both because they
are cooler and because they permit the light to reach the skin. The
Arabs, Bedouins and others who live in unforested countries where they
are much exposed to the tropical sun use turbans and flowing robes
of white as a means of keeping coo