Corset Research!

I have researched corsets and I have found out that a corset is a garment that girds the orso and shapes it according to the silhouette of the day. It is known to clinch the waist and support the breasts.

16^th to 17^th century corsets.

I have discovered that the earliest corsets were called ‘payre of bodies’, they were usually worn with a farthingale. A farthingale is a stiff cone that holds out the skirt. These early corsets turned the upper torso into a matching cone or cylinder; they had shoulder straps that ended in flaps at the waist. This corset flattened the bust and therefore pushed the breasts up. At this point the function of the corset was less too make the wait smaller but too emphasise the curve of the breasts. I have found that by the middle of the 16^th century corsets were commonly worn by women, they were made of stiffened multiple layers of linen with wooden busks or shafts that were inserted in a pocket situated at the front of the corset to keep its figure and shape. In this form, the corset survived until 1860.

18^th century corsets.

I have found that the predominant shape of the corset in the 18^th century was an inverted conical shape. They were usually worn to create contrast between the rigid corset structure and heavy, full skirt. After research the primary purpose of the corset in the 18^th century was to raise and shape the breasts, tighten the midriff, support the back, impose posture that will help women stand straight and slightly narrow the waist. However, jumps of linen were also worn instead of corsets for informal use. I have seen that 18^th century corsets were not uncomfortable to wear and did not restrict breathing; they allowed women to work although they did restrict bending at the waist.  It was thought that this protected a persons back because you lifted with the legs.

Late 18^th century and early 19^th century corsets.

I have discovered that corsets became much less restricting with the creation of the high- waisted empire style which deemphasised the natural waist.  Many women still wear some form of crop corset now a days. I have found that in contrast with the high-waisted empire style corset there were corset that intended to exert serious body-shaping force, they were long and extended way below the natural waist, they were laced at the back and stiffened with boning.

By 1800, the corset had become the common method of supporting the breasts, as the waist had been risen to just under the bust line. I have seen that although corsets were still used to slim the torso this was not their primary purpose.

Transition to the Victorian corset.

I have researched and seen that when the waist line returned to its natural position in the 1830’s, the corset was again used to support the breasts and to narrow the waist. Although, it is known to have changed its shape to the hourglass silhouette, it is considered, even now the typical shape for a corset and Victorian fashion. In this same year, the term corset was first used. I have seen that in the 1830’s artificially inflated shoulders and skirts made the waist look narrow, even with the corsets laced only moderately.

The Victorian Corset.

I have found that when the exaggerated shoulders disappeared, the waist had to be clinched tighter in order to achieve the same effect. The fashionable silhouette of the mid to late 19^th century was an hourglass figure. The corset now differed from the early designs in numerous ways; it no longer ended at the hips, but flared out at several inches below the waist. I have found that the corset was exaggeratedly curvaceous rather than funnel shaped. Spiral steel corsets curved with figure. Whilst many corsets were still sewn by hand, there was also a thriving market in cheaper mass-produced corsets.

Late 19^th century corsets.

During my research I have discovered that there were concerns about reports that tight lacing caused a movement for rational dress. It was in the late 19^th century that medical evidence became know that corsets could damage women’s health. Many doctors thought that the corset damaged women’s bone structure particularly in pregnancy and that women that laced there corset tightly were ‘condemned for vanity and excoriated from the pulpit as slaves to fashion’. In reality tight laced corsets would cause indigestion and constipation. There was a rare cause of plethora of aliments associated with tight corsetting at the time ranging from hysteria to liver failure.