The original corset is an interesting garment, which most people in our modern world would think to be a strange undergarment accessory. We have all heard about the time when ladies were encased in long, stiff corsets, reduced to nothing but objects of beauty, unable to perform any tasks. This is, however, only a part of the historical facts about that “time” and about “corsets”.

Victorian corsets belong to the period of about 1840 to 1910. But, the “corset” is actually much older than that. In Europe, it has been in general use as an undergarment since the middle ages, though it probably dates back several thousand years. The corset, at all times, has been used for the shaping of the body, sometimes for compressing the waist and sometimes for raising the bust.

Of course, the widespread use of corsets was in the l9th Century. A tight corset was a symbol of etiquette and artificial living that had dominated fashion for almost 300 years. Contrary to common belief, almost every woman wore a corset without “class distinction” at that time. Although fashion was formed by the upper class, and they were the primary users of the “fashion devices” like corsets and the crinoline; even the working class followed the trends of fashion to a high degree and wore them!

The Victorian woman was to “adorn and beautify” herself. She was to be feminine, beautiful and the object of her youth was to “bedazzle” a man with the intent to marry! Ladies resembled “cones of dignity”; and their husbands strutted next to them, cane in hand, and often tried to compete with them in fashion.

Victorian fashion for daytime was very different than for eveningwear. The day dresses were usually quite concealing; whereas, the ball gowns were usually décolleté, exposing the upper part of the bosom, arms and shoulders. The Victorian corseted female’s bodice was very tight fitting, so as to show off the shapeliness of her body.

Corsets were made of heavy satin in pastels or in black and were heavily boned with whalebone. Steel busk front fastening became a definite part of daily dress. Too, many laces usually fastened them in the back and drew them tightly. The product was a “wasp waist” effect, or as some have expressed, the “hour glass figure” and 18 inches was the envied and desirable size of the day.

The most interesting aspect of the corset is, certainly, how tightly was it laced? Well, there are many reports of women’ waists being between 14 and 18 inches, and even reports of a 12 inch waists! Some were, however, it is believed that most accounts of these extremely small waists are derived from “fantasies”, and refer to measurements in museum corset collections that indicate corsets of the “time” (1860-1910) actually measured about 20 to 22 inches. Furthermore, size does not truly indicate how tightly these corsets were laced; they could easily have been laced out by several inches, and probably were because it was prestigious to buy smaller corsets.

So, ordinarily, corsets were not so gravely tight after all! Also, contrary to popular belief, the construction of the corset with its metal busks for front closure and the lacing in the back did enable the wearer to lace up herself. Though, for convenience, she may have used an extra person such as her maid or husband.

Unfortunately, severely tight lacing was practiced at times and some corsetieres specialized in creating very small waists. Indeed, a few men also developed a fetish for women’s small waists and this was regarded as quite acceptable. The “kangaroo walk” was the name given by humorists to the movement resulting from the figure encased in the straight front corset! The small waist and corset most likely played somewhat the same role as the full bust and the Wonderbra do today. But, with the latter there are less health risks!

So, ladies, if any of you still have the desire--- lace it up!

 

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