Corsets- More than a Fashion Accessory

Corsets have been around for centuries, this well known accessory has been trough lots of changes in its life course. Some research shows that corsets date back to 2000BC, and even Greek women's underwear had a similar purpose as the corset.

What exactly is a corset? A corset is a support garment worn to hold the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, and to support the breasts.

Woman's stays c. 1730–1740.

16th & 17th Centuries

In the 16th and 17th centuries corsets were commonly known as "bodies" or "stays" and were invented in Italy. Women would use them as an undergarment, as well as outerwear. The corset was worn to achieve a cylindrical torso shape, and to flatten and raise the bustline.

Henry III of France and Louise of Lorraine

A farthingale was worn with the corset. This would hold the heavy dress skirts out to create more volume and extra support. Farthingales offered vital social and cultural functions for ladies in Renaissance Europe as they were utilized, mainly by court ladies, to reveal their high social position and wealth.

French farthingales, c. 1580

Corsets in this time were made out of layered fabrics such as linen and silk. They were stiffened with starch, and could not be tightly laced as it was impossible to do so in this era without damaging your expensive and ridiculously time-consuming to make, bust support garment.

16th century corset

By the end of the 16th century corsets were commonly used among the upper class in Europe. Gradually a "busk" was used - a long flat piece of whalebone or wood - this would be sewn onto a casing on the corset to help it keep it's stiff shape. Normally the front of the corset would be covered by a "stomacher" - a stiff "V" shape structure- this was worn only for decorative purposes. In the Elizabethan era, whalebone (baleen) was often utilized in corsets so bodices could keep their rigid look. A busk, commonly made from wood, ivory, metal, or whalebone, was contributed to stiffen the front of the bodice. It was after that carved and shaped into a slim blade form and placed into the Elizabethan bodice, then secured and held into place by laces, to ensure that the busk could be conveniently removed and changed.

Stomacher

1800's

In the 1800's the corsets got slightly more forgiving. They became shorter, unlike the early corsets that would reach the waist these reached just bellow the breasts. They seemed much like our modern day bra.

Regency short stays circa 1810

In this time men also began to wear corsets to achieve a smooth silhouette when wearing form fitting trousers and jackets. Men unlike women did not put up with corsets for long by the 1900s the trend was over and men would not commonly wear corsets.

Men wearing corsets

Victorian Era

At this time the Queen of The United Kingdom - Queen Victoria - brought corsets back after a relief of them from the 1800's - 1830's. This time instead of a cylindrical shape, Victoria pushed towards an hourglass figure - big breasts, small waist, large hips - such figure was considered the best and women who did not comply were thought of as less in society. With the hourglass figure came the use of steel in the corset which made even more stiff than before, and they once again stretched past the waist to the hips - much longer than previous eras - highly restricting movement.

1890 Corset

During this time the Industrial Revolution was taking place, and with it came the invention of the sewing machine. Until this time corsets were only available as a luxury to the upper class, but with the new invention corsets were mass produced. Now not only noble women wore corsets but simple commoner women also could. As well "eyelids and lacing" was invented, this corset style became popular fast. With the lacing women could tighten the corsets more creating more of an hourglass figure. With the lacing came health issues, sometimes women would tighten the corsets too much which would cause them to faint, if this occurred the corset was loosened and they would wake up.

1900s - Edwardian Era

In the 1900s thigs took a serous turn... corsets created an "S" shape to the torso. This corset forced women to tip forward - the buttocks would go back seeming bigger, and the chest would tip forward - this created a very unnatural bend of the back. Such posture was promoted as seeming "proud" but also affected the wearer’s gait in such a way that caused a lady to swing her hips in a lovely manner - or in other words "in a sexy way" . However, this corset style was later found to exacerbate lumbar lordosis (swayback) and thought to be worse for the spine over time, compared to the earlier Victorian corsets (which maintain a more neutral posture).

Edwardian corset

Corsets fall out of fashion in the 1920s

After many people speaking out about the many health concerns affiliated with wearing corsets especially the ones that included tight lacing - some sicknesses included; infertility, posture problems, fainting, endometriosis, restricted blood flow etc. - finally in the 1920's this torturous trend came to an end.

Flapper dresses and lifestyle became popular and the hourglass figure was no longer the epitome of feminine beauty. This new style included loose fitting clothes, short dresses, short/ no sleeves, an androgynous look. Women also began to wear their hair short with elaborate hats and other head accessories.

Flapper dress

As amazing as the flapper lifestyle came to a quick end when the Great Depression, the crash of the stock market on Oct 29, 1929. For a lot of women this lifestyle became much like a dream.