A Short History of the Corset1

Definition:
A corset is a close-fitting piece of clothing that has been stiffened by various means in
order to shape a woman's (also a man's, but rarely) torso to conform to the fashionable
silhouette of the time. he term "corset" only came into use during the 19th century;
before that, such a garment was usually referred to as a pair of bodies, a stiff bodice, a
pair of stays or, simply, stays. In French 18th century texts (e.g. Garsault, Diderot), you
can find the term corset as referring to a lightly stiffened bodice with tie-on sleeves,
whereas proper stays are called corps.
Further reading
Waugh, Nora. Corsets and Crinolines. New York: Routledge, 1996.
Fontanel, Batrice: Support and Seduction: A history of corsets and bras. New York: Harry N.
Adams, 1997.
Junker, Almut, und Eva Stille. Dessous : Zur Geschichte der Unterwsche 1700-1960. Frankfurt:
Historisches Museum, 1991
Some men wore corsets in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Especially in the late 1700s and early 1800s, high
fashion for men called for form-fitting trousers and jackets.
Some men wore corsets to create the required smooth
silhouette. By the mid-1800s, however, the few men who
wore fashion corsets were more commonly subjects of
ridicule.
Mens Corset. Source: Wikimedia Commons (public
domain).
http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/clothes/mens_corset/

Not only that, corsets historically helped support heavy outer garments, so they were used more for
support and for making the wearer's waist tiny. The more likely reason for what little fainting occurred
resulted from a combination of the shallow breathing and mediocre nutrition
Another myth that still gets tossed around is that people in the Victorian era removed ribs or
intentionally broke them to fit into a corset. Looking at how narrow some corseted waists become, it's
not hard to see where this whopper came from.

Haggit, Craig. "How Corsets Work" 24 May 2011. HowStuffWorks.com.

<http://people.howstuffworks.com/corset.htm> 17 August 2015.

The Corset Family Tree

-The earliest ancestor of the corset could be the first rope a woman tied around her waist to
accentuate her waistline. (covering just the waist and hips, more than 3,000 years ago [source:
Thomas].)
- In the Middle Ages (more than a few years before Madonna wore fashion corsets), it
became fashionable for women in the royal courts to wear what they called decorated heavy stays
as outerwear,
- The 18th century saw these heavy stays gradually replaced with the supposedly lighter corset.
Apart from small changes in accessories, corsets didn't really evolve again until the 19th
century when the hourglass figure became the epitome of fashion.
- Less restrictive health corsets, made by brothers Ira DeVer and Lucien Warner, began to take
off in popularity in the United States beginning around 1874.
- Charles Dana Gibson, a Victorian artist, earned eternal fame (or infamy) in the 1890s for
popularizing the S-shaped Gibson Girl with his stylized paintings of society women. .
This shape altered the hourglass silhouette by pushing the rear back and the bust forward
-- a very unnatural position for the spine.
- World War I's carnage and increased industrialization caused major social upheaval,
which in turn revolutionized undergarments once again. Women became more active and
many discarded their willingness to let society dictate what they wore. Desperate
corsetieres tried to stay relevant by making flexible dance corsets during the Roaring '20s.
- Unwilling to give up their newfound freedom of movement, and sparked by huge societal
changes stemming from two world wars and the Great Depression, most women abandoned
restrictive corsets entirely. Bras, girdles and (eventually) elastic bodysuits filled the
supporting roles that corsets once did.

Extreme Corset
- . Corsets were developed to support the body and provide a good base for outer garments, but
some corset devotees throughout history have taken their practice of wearing this article of
clothing far beyond those original purposes.
(The deformation of the internal organs caused by this practice in the 18th century deeply
concerned Dr. Samuel Thomas von Sommering, who often spoke out about the potential dangers of
constricting the body for fashion. His legacy: A type of hiatus hernia caused by tight-lacing was
eventually named in his honor.)
(The ideal posture of a perfect corset)- Straight posture, bust forward and a slight thrust backward
below the waist. In the illustrations, at least, the famous S-shape struck quite the pose. [issues:
The only problem was that the human body wasn't really made to do that. In their rush to fit the
image, some women chose corsets that unnaturally bent their spine and often caused permanent
damage to their frame.]

How Corset Works

This illustration of a Victorian-era corset shows the boned
structure and the busk closure at the front of the
garment.
High-quality corsets from the heyday of the late 19th and
early 20th centuries screamed femininity, and as a bodyshaping garment, it needed to fit the figure better than
anything else in the wearer's wardrobe. The perfect fit
required a corsetiere -- a professional corset tailor -which could be a very costly investment
- High-quality coutil formed the basis of most corsets of the Victorian era. The fabric's
dense weave and high resiliency against stretch made it an ideal choice, able to withstand lots of
strain. Corset liners worn next to the skin protected the coutil from body oils and perspiration,
minimizing the need for frequent washing.
- In the front, a metal busk clasped the front halves together. Steel and whalebone were
common boning elements in the 19th century, prized for their strength and flexibility. The
strength of both the boning and coutil were important in order to hold the high-tension corset
together day after day [source: AbsoluteCorsets].
- Most corsets of this style were laced using a bi-directional method, meaning the
direction the lace takes through the holes alternates back-to-front, and then front-toback. Knots were tied at the bottom to keep the laces in place, and an ample amount of slack was
left at the holes where the waist is narrowest, creating two "bunny-ears." The corset would always
be laced before it was put on.
- Most old drawings show two people putting on a corset: the wearer and the lacepuller. Having two people definitely helped, but it could be done with just one. Leaving a
Corset Damage. This illustration is from Robert L. Dickinson,
6- to 8- inch (15- to 20- centimeter) gap at the back of the garment, the corset was wrapped
MD, The Corset, The New York Medical Journal, Nov. 5,
around the wearer and clasped at the front busk. The laces would then be pulled so that the proper
1887. (public domain)
fit was achieved. Most Victorian corsets were designed to have a slight gap between the
sides of the back, allowing for slight shifts in the owner's weight.
Many physicians believed that tight-lacing corsets led to
displacement
wellLadder
as other
internal
damage.
- Before the Victorian era, two othersevere
lacingorgan
methods
were oftenas
used.
lacing,
sometimes
Some
even
speculated
that
tight
corsets
caused
ailments
seen in the Italian Renaissance, looks like you might imagine, with a single lace going down a hole,
as consumption
various
of cancers.
over, down, over, etc. in 90-degree such
angles.
Spiral lacing, and
popular
untilforms
the Victorian
era,The
is similar to
controversy
until
changing
fashion debi-directional but only has one lace corset
and the
holes wereendured
staggered
[source:
Thompson].
emphasized the waist.

http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/clothes/corset_damage/

The reasons why people wear a corset:

There are four basic reasons you might want to wear a corset: historical re-enacting, fashion,
health or fetish. Some corsets come with real health risks that should never be taken lightly.
Glenard's Disease, which can be caused by long-term tight-lacing, is marked by muscle
atrophy and a shifting of the organs away from their natural positions [source: Orchard].
Lacing the corset too tightly can also create other physical deformities. These problems
can be avoided by limiting the time you spend in a corset, and by not tightening up the laces to the
point of discomfort. Extreme corsetry, like most extreme things, can cost you much more than you
gain.
A huge role in the resurgence of the corset is played by period plays and movies.
Conscientious costume designers have a wealth of material to draw on to design exacting corsets
that set the atmosphere, knowing that a discerning audience will notice the slightest inaccuracy.
Historical re-enactment continues to grow in popularity, and many groups require that your
clothing for such events pass certain accuracy standards -- right down to the undies.
If you plan on wearing a fashion corset for special occasions, a well-built, custom-made garment
makes a major statement and will definitely get you noticed. You might feel or look slimmer, but
don't be surprised if you find yourself unable to move quite as freely as you normally would. Don't
think you can buy a corset on the day of a big event. A properly fitted corset takes time to
create, and it may also take some time to break in.
Medically speaking, scoliosis and other posture problems can be treated with medical
corsets. As we mentioned before, Andy Warhol had to wear one to help his back support
his weight. This isn't totally dissimilar to the weight belts that support athletes' backs.
Often made of leather, fetish corsets usually link the concept of bondage with their reputation for
pain. There are also many fashion corsets which borrow the shiny patent leather and hardwareladen look of fetish corsets.

Absolute Corsets. "Corset F.A.Q." Not dated. (May 12,

2011)http://www.absolutecorsets.com/customer-services/corset-faq.htm
Apsan, Rebecca. "The Lingerie Handbook." Workman. 2006.
Barbieri, Annalisa. "Wear a Vest, and Cut the Gaffes." New Statesman. April 15, 2002. Vol. 131.
Page 31.
Fee, Elizabeth; et al. "The Effects of the Corset." American Journal of Public Health. July 2002.
Vol.92, No.7. Page 1085.
Fields, Jill. "'Fighting the Corsetless Evil': Shaping Corsets and Culture, 1900-1930." Journal of Social
History. Winter 1999. Vol. 33, No. 2. Pages 355-384.
Fields, Jill. "An Intimate Affair: Women, Lingerie and Sexuality." Univ. of California Press. 2007.
George, Lianne. "Maclean's." May 1, 2006. Vol. 119, No. 18. Page 66.
Guinness World Records. "Smallest Waist on a Living Person." 2011 (May 17,
2011)http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/human_body/extreme_bodies/smallest_waist_o
n_a_living_person.aspx
Hustvedt, Siri. "Pulling Power." New Statesman. Feb 6, 2006. Vol. 135. Pages 40-42.
Jung, Cathie. "The History of Cathie Jung." April 17, 2011 (May 17, 2011)http://www.cathiejung.com
Marlowe, Frank; et al. "Men's Preferences for Women's Profile Waist-to-Hip Ratio in Two Societies."
Evolution and Human Behavior. Vol. 26 (2005). Pages 458-468.
Mesure, Susan. "The 'body' is back!: Designers of Women's Clothing are Reinventing Older Styles
for Today." The Independent. Feb 27, 2011. NEWS, Page 30.
Olsen, Kirstin. "Daily Life in the 18th Century." Greenwood Publishing. 1999.
Orchard Corsets. "Corsets." 2011. (May 12, 2011)http://www.orchardcorset.com/Corsets_ep_801.html
Quinton, Gerry. "An Introduction to Corsets." Marua Designs. Not dated. (May 12,
2011)http://www.moruadesigns.com/catalogue/corsets/beginners-guide/
Ruark, Jennifer. "A Second Look at the Big Squeeze." The Chronicle of Higher Education. Nov 23,
2001. Vol. 48, No. 13. Pages A12-A14.
Rundle, Rhonda L. "Back Corsets Receive Support in UCLA Study." Wall Street Journal (Eastern
Edition). Oct 9, 1996. Page B1.
Steele, Valerie. "The Corset: Fashion and Eroticism" Fashion Theory. Dec 1999. Vol.3, No.4. Pages
449-473.
Thomas, Pauline. "Early Corsetry Fashion History." Fashion-History.com, not dated (May 9,
2011)http://www.fashion-era.com/early_corsetry.htm
Thompson, Jen. "The Zen of Spiral Lacing." Not dated (May 18,
2011)http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/lacing/lacing.html
Time. "Snug Corsets." Aug 20, 1934 (May 8,
2011)http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,747738-1,00.html
Tinkler, Penny; Warsh, Cheryl Krasnick. "Feminine Modernity in Interwar Britain and North America:
Corsets, Cars and Cigarettes." Journal of Women's History. Fall 2008. Vol.20, No.3. Pages 113-143.
Tyre, Peg. "Now, the Big Squeeze." Newsweek. Feb 24, 2003. Vol. 141, No. 8. Page 61.
Willett, C.; Cunnington, Philis. "The History of Underclothes." Dover. 1992.
Witcombe, Christopher L. C. E. "The Venus of Willendorf." 2005 (May 8,
2011)http://arthistoryresources.net/willendorf/

HISTORY OF WOMENS CORSETS FROM THE 16TH TO 20TH CENTURY

Evolution of Corsets

CORSETS DESIGNED TO FLATTEN THE FEMININE

CURVES
CORSETS DESIGNED TO SLIM THE WAIST AND UPLIFT
THE BREASTS

The precursor of the corset was likely the tightly laced cote worn by women of the Medieval Period
(5th to 15th centuries). The cote is an outerwear bodice with two layers of fabric stiffened by glue
(Tortora & Eubank, 2010, p. 215). In the early 16th century, when corsets first made their
appearance in Europe, they were constructed out of stiff material but later on steel
stiffeners were sewn into the lining. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, stiffening materials
such as steel, whalebone, wood, or cane were inserted into the seams or linings of different types of
corsets and bodices (Hansen, 1956, p. 129; Rothstein, 1984, p. 173). In the 1500-1600s, when
fashion dictated rigidity in dress, European women donned a corset or bodice created to
flatten the curves by compressing the stomach and the breasts until they almost disappeared. After
the 16th century, womens corse
ts and bodices were designed to slim the waist and uplift the breasts so that they would swell out,
resembling to some degree, the exaggerated curves of a modern day Barbie Doll.

In reference to womens dress before the 19th

century, Sichell (1977) states that the human
body inside these costumes was subjected to
tortuous aids; nothing was natural or simple,
shoulders, waists, stomachs, and hips were
constructed, corseted and padded, wired,
distorted, molded into mans fashionable style
(p. 6). According to Lee (2003), women at that
time were slaves to fashion and were
certainly misguided souls when it came to
the wearing of extreme corsets (p. xi).
There are many anecdotes of women
gasping for air and fainting because of
their tightly laced corsets. The corset was
undoubtedly a danger to health as it
pushed against the rib cage, dug into the
stomach, and likely put pressure on the
organs. In the early 1800s, Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821), Emperor of France, had

Recent studies support to a certain degree Napoleons concern about a possible link between
tight corsets and female infertility. In 1999, C. J. Dickinson, professor emeritus at Wolfson
Institute of Preventive Medicine, theorized that close-fitting clothing could cause a painful
condition known as endometriosis that strikes about 5.5 million American women. Lee
(2003) summarizes Dickinson as follows:
The endometrium, the tissues like that which lines the uterus, develops into small,
usually benign growths outside the uterus, such as the ovaries or on the fallopian
tubes. Since these lesions are actual pieces of uterine lining, they still behave like it, responding
to the womans monthly cycle and trying to shed, except they have nowhere to go, so the result
is often internal bleeding and formation of scar tissue. (p. 225-226).
Lee then makes a case that in India, where women wear loose-fitting clothing; there are
far fewer cases of endometriosis in the last thirty years than in America (pp. 225-226).
Other possible side effects of wearing tight-waisted clothing can include breathing
problems, achy muscles and joints. Dr. Octavio Bessa, a physician in Stamford, Connecticut,
argues that tight clothing can also create digestive troubles such as heartburn and distension. Ken
Biegeleisen, M.D., a Manhattan vascular specialist, hypothesizes that there may be a link
between tight-waisted clothes and the blocking of blood flow that can pool in the veins
causing varicose veins, for example (in Lee, p. 224-225).

http://www.fashionintime.org/history-of-womens-corsets-part-1/

CHANGES IN CORSETRY: 1900-1950

The quantity of underclothing worn by women decreased between 1909 and 1914, although most
women continued to wear corsets. The newer types of corsets were a combination of a
corset and a brassiere. Corsets with laced bra tops and garters to hold up the stockings were
popular. With the revival of the Empire Dress, some women would often combine a separate
brassiere with a straight line corset. Other women abandoned the corset and would wear a
wide elastic belt, leaving the bust free (Hansen, 1956, p. 153; Tortora & Eubank, 2010, p. 9,
21, 432, 469).

Between the 1930s and 1950s, corsets extended to slightly above waist, and they
emphasized curves of the figure. In the late 1930s, girdles, some with attached garters,
were introduced. Garments that had earlier been called corsets came to be referred to as
girdles or foundation garments. Girdles were generally extended well above the
waistline in order to narrow the waist for achieving the small-waist silhouette.
They were made out of elasticized panels with some stretch combined with panels of firmer, nonstretching fabrics. Some girdles closed with zippers, others had enough stretch to simply pull on
over the hips. Nevertheless, large women would often wear boned corsets, corsets made with
elastic panels, or a combination of both (Tortora & Eubank, 2010, p. 508). In the 1930s, brassieres
or bras became popular. They were cut to lift and emphasize the breasts. Versions of strapless
brassieres were fabricated to be worn under strapless gowns (Tortora & Eubank, 2010, p. 462, 469,
508).

Google timeline of corset:

http://bridgesonthebody.blogspot.sg/search?updated-max=2011-07-08T13:17:00-07:00&maxresults=50&reverse-paginate=true
http://www.sklepburleska.pl/en/historia-gorsetu-r75.html

http://clermontstatehistoricsite.blogspot.sg/2015/02/is-it-really-necessary-of-corset-is.html

Corset in modern days Types

Different Types Of Corset
Posted By: T. KendallPosted date: December 17, 2012In: Style11 Comments
Welcome to corset week on Lingerie Stylist. What better than to start off with a quick guide to
corsets a Corsets For Dummies if you will? Once you begin delving into the world of corsets you
will discover that there are myriads of variations; from classic to fashion corsets, waspies to
overbusts but today you will be introduced to the simplest three most popular corset shapes, and
the differences between real and fake corsets.

Overbust Corset
As the name suggests, this type of corset sits over the
bust but can come in varying necklines such as straight
(above) sweetheart and plunge, with or without straps.
This classic corset type is often worn as bridal attire but
has many other uses such as waist enhancement and
back support. Generally women with ample bosom will
find an overbust corset more comfortable than a bra as
the corset supports breasts from the waist up therefore
distributing the weight more evenly. It also removes the
issue of bra straps cutting into your shoulders, overall
making the overbust corset a fabulous shapewear
foundation for curvy women.
Underbust Corset

Underbusts offer no coverage of your breasts although

they do offer the same function in terms of waist
enhancement and back support as overbusts. However
they are arguably more versatile, being great lingerie
pieces worn with a bra or pasties, or even over
outerwear. If you want to get started with waist training
you are best starting with an underbust (worn daily or
frequently at least).

Waspie

Arguably the most versatile of all corset variations, a

waspie (otherwise known as the waist cincher) is a belt
worn around the waist to make the wearers waist
physically smaller, or to create the illusion of being
smaller. Many waspies are created simply for fashion
purposes and are commonly put to modern-day fashion
use, over shirts and wiggle dresses. However some
waspies can be purchased complete with steel boning
and waist tape for waist training purposes.

http://www.lingerie-stylist.com/style/different-types-of-corset/

http://corsetmaking.com/