Historic and Vintage Corsets (2024)

FAQs

What is the oldest corset? ›

The earliest known representation of a possible corset appears on a figurine from Minoan art made circa 1600 BCE.

The Edwardian corset was constructed differently than the previous designed Victorian corset. Edwardian clothes were more liberating than rigid Victorian gowns, and the corsets also called for liberation. The “S” shape corset was designed by a French corsetiere named Inez Gaches-Sarraute who also studied medicine.

By the middle of the 1800s, the corset was once again heavily reinforced with narrow bones or steels to produce a curvy, hour-glass shape that was round and full both above and below the waist. By contrast, the corset shown here was intended to produce a natural-shaped figure.

A young woman would typically begin wearing a corset at about 15 and stay at home until she was about 18 years old during the early part of the 20th century. More young women wanted education after the war, and in the West, courtship was delayed until they were in their early to late twenties.

Corsets (also known as stays) moulded the waist, while cage crinolines supported voluminous skirts, and bustles projected a dress out from behind. Fashionable Victorian women wore an array of other undergarments, from corset covers that hid the lines of their stays, to petticoats for added volume and warmth.

Prior to being known as the corset, bodies were referred to as stays from the 17th century, though the term corset was used to refer to this structured undergarment from around the end of the 18th century. Stays were an integral part of fashionable women's underclothing in the west.

Throughout the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s, women still wore shapewear, but these garments became separate girdles and brassieres rather than full corsets. With the women's movement that took place during the late 1960s, the remnants of corsets began to fall out of fashion.

The S-bend silhouette emerged about 1900 and reigned supreme until the end of the decade. Created by a specific style of corset, the S-bend is characterized by a rounded, forward leaning torso with hips pushed back. This shape earned the silhouette its name; in profile, it looks similar to a tilted S.

A male corset is commonly known as a waist cincher or an underbust corset designed specifically for men.

World War I also led to more women wearing uniforms and simple cotton designs, rather than rigid designs. Overall, corsets were no longer commonly worn due to a switch to more practical types of clothing. Later on, during the post-World War II era, corsets even became a symbol of male oppression among feminists.

What did corsets do to women's bodies? ›

While not usually deadly, wearing a tightly laced corset can be quite harmful to the wearer. They can reduce lung capacity, cause shortness of breath and fainting, produce skin irritations, compress the ribs, weaken back and chest muscles and have even been known to cause organ deformity.

Early bras were either wrap-around bodices or boned, close-fitting camisoles (both worn over the corset). They were designed to hold the bust in and down against the corset, which provided upward support.

Women wore corsets for almost 400 years, because comfort was judged less important than social status, feminine beauty, and respectability. The corset was a status symbol, because it constrained the wearer's physical mobility, thus supposedly demonstrating that she could afford servants.

I wouldn't recommend it at all , at that age the body is still growing and it can cause damage . Usually corsets are worn by people over 20.

No, eleven-year-olds should not wear corsets. Corsets are body garments designed to shape and reduce the waist which can be potentially dangerous for children at such a young age due to their still developing bodies.

In 1839, a Frenchman by the name of Jean Werly made a patent for women's corsets made on the loom. This type of corset was popular until 1890 when machine-made corsets gained popularity.

The 1900s brought Royal Worcester and Bon- Ton Corsets promoting “Princess Hip”. The Style Book for American Beauty Corsets proclaiming “A right fitted corset becomes an unconscious part of a woman” and assuring that “boning materials, corset clamps, hose supporters, trimmings are carefully selected”.

Children are not fully developed; thus, the corset serves to shape the body to create breasts and wide hips, which girls likely had even developed yet. Nonetheless, childhood corsetry was commonly practiced in the 19th century, as mothers imposed this womanly expectation on their daughters.

Post-WWI, the 1940s were all about returning to the traditional mindset, which influenced our fashion choices. Corsets evolved into girdles, and women's fashion welcomed more masculine touches, like padded shoulders, slimmer hemlines, and pantsuits. Yet, the general love of classic cinched waisted dresses continued.