Corset

They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in the front called a busk which holds the torso rigidly upright, and some form of lacing which allows the garment to be tightened.

By the beginning of the 20th century, shifting gender roles and the onsets of World War I and II (and the associated material shortages) led the corset to be largely discarded by mainstream fashion.

While the original purpose of stiffened undergarments was founded in the avoiding of creasing to costly, highly adorned outer garments,[2] the most common and well-known use of corsets is to slim the body and make it conform to a fashionable silhouette.

These bodies, both women's and menswear, were worn into the 16th and 17th centuries and achieved their stiffened shaping through materials including steel, wood, or whalebone, and were constructed of two parts and fastened at the sides.

[4] During the late 1700s up until the 1820s, in reflection of the neoclassical style of dress, the demi-corset or short stays were popularised,[3] as the empire line of fashionable gowns did not require support or shaping to the waist.

Corsets were not worn next to the skin, possibly due to difficulties with laundering these items during the 19th century, as they had steel boning and metal eyelets that would rust.

[10] Corsets are typically constructed of a stiff material, such as buckram, structured with boning (also called ribs or stays) inserted into channels in the cloth or leather.

Among them included Roxey Ann Caplin, who consulted her physician husband to create corsets with respect to modern knowledge of female anatomy.

[13] However, wearing a corset does affect a number of bodily functions and can be deleterious to the wearer's health, especially when worn regularly over a long period of time; during the Victorian era stays were typically begun at or before the onset of puberty, with reported ages ranging from 7 to 13.

[18] As women's social freedom increased during the second half of the 19th century, sport corsets began to be sold, designed for wear while bicycling, playing tennis, or horseback riding.

[15] A significant source of the controversy surrounding corsets was their ability to affect the reproductive system due to the downward pressure created by displacement of organs.

Physicians of experience know what is meant, while thousands of husbands will not only know, but deeply feel the meaning of this hint.This quote alludes to problems with the reproductive organs experienced by women who tightlaced, and demonstrates the difficulties of explaining this issue due to Victorian taboos around discussing sexuality.

Reformist and activist Catharine Beecher was one of the few to defy propriety norms and discuss in any detail the gynecological issues resulting from lifelong corset usage, in particular uterine prolapse.

[13][14] Both rectal and uterine prolapse occurred at a higher incidence during the Victorian era than today, with occurrences declining as the corset fell out of fashion.

[14] An 1888 doctor reported that “uterine derangement had increased fifty percent within the last fifteen years as a result of tight clothing, corsets and high heels.

"[5]: 113  This era saw the development of a number of pessaries and other devices patented to support the prolapsed uterus, the insertion of which frequently led to further complications; the topic was a subject of wide professional discussion among gynecologists.

[13] Chlorosis is a now-outdated term which referred to a disease thought to be caused directly by corsets, the symptoms of which correspond to what is now called hypochromic anemia.

[5]: 111 For nearly 500 years, bodies, stays, or corsets with boning made of reeds, whalebone, or metal were a standard part of European women's fashion.

In 1855, a woman named Frances Egbert had trouble with her corsets, due to the front steel pieces constantly breaking as a result of strain.

Western women were thought to be weaker and more prone to birth complications than the ostensibly more vigorous, healthier, "primitive" races who did not wear corsets.

Doctors counseled patients against it and journalists wrote articles condemning the vanity and frivolity of women who would sacrifice their health for the sake of fashion.

Make a bonfire of the cruel steels that have lorded it over your thorax and abdomens for so many years and heave a sigh of relief, for your emancipation I assure you, from this moment has begun.

He found that, while some women could wear these garments without apparent harm, the vast majority of users sustained permanent deformations and damage to their health.

Waspies were also met with push-back from women's organizations in the United States, as well as female members of the British Parliament, because corsetry had been forbidden under rationing during World War II.

[40] The 1960s and 1970s saw the rise of popular fitness culture, and diet, plastic surgery (modern liposuction was invented in the mid-1970s), and exercise became the preferred methods of achieving a thin waist.

[41] The sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s brought with it midriff-revealing styles like the crop top, and many women chose to forgo supportive undergarments like girdles or corsets, preferring a more athletic figure.

[42] The corset has largely fallen out of mainstream fashion since the 1920s in Europe and North America, replaced by girdles and elastic brassieres, but has survived as an article of costume.

The strongest of the revivals was seen in the Autumn 2001 fashion collections and coincided with the release of the film Moulin Rouge!, in which the costumes featured many corsets as characteristic of the era.

In the early 2020s, corset-inspired tops and dresses began to trend as part of the regencycore aesthetic, inspired by television series like Bridgerton and The Gilded Age.

[43] Modern historical fiction films and TV shows such as Bridgerton have renewed interest in corsets while also drawing attention to potential health risks as actresses including Emma Stone, Cara Delevingne, and Simone Ashley have complained about discomfort wearing them during the course of their careers.