Fashions Hot Item History : Corsets

Tracing back the controversial history of the most misunderstood garment in

fashion history.

When most people think of corsets, they see 19th-century tightlacing. The corset, on the other hand, is one of the most misunderstood items in fashion history. Corsets, according to certain fashion revisionists, are brutal torture devices that compress organs into nothingness. Others consider them as helpful, allowing women to accomplish home tasks without experiencing back pain.

Since Netflix’s Bridgerton debuted on Christmas Day, searches for corsets have spiked by 100 percent and according to new eBay research, 39 percent more individuals are looking for vintage garments. Corsets were worn by women — and occasionally men – and have a long history that predates our present notions, for example in the 1300s, the term “ corset “ was used to describe a fitting bodice. The first evidence of corset-like clothes, however, may be found in the art of the Minoan civilization and Waist-shaping garments appeared sporadically in Europe during the Middle Ages.

The corset of 16th-century Spain was supported in the front by a busk, which was a vertically mounted wooden or bone rod (or two). Despite other alterations, the busk became a prominent part of subsequent corsets. By the 18th century, the corset had been associated with the nobility but had been embraced by bourgeois women; it was shaped like an inverted triangle, broader across the chest and narrowing towards the natural waist. Doctors, on the other hand, began to criticize corsets around the same time. Scholars began to challenge the corset and its fabrication throughout the Age of Enlightenment. Wearing of corsets began to be discouraged by anatomists and clinicians. Women, for the most part, disregarded these critiques. Even some of the ladies who advocated for fashion change believed that wearing corsets was necessary. This brings into question the widely held belief that women exclusively wore corsets to conform to a body type idealized by the male gaze. Some physicians blamed them for respiratory ailments, rib deformity, organ damage, birth problems, and miscarriages. Others preferred “moderate” or “health” corsets, which were less stiff and supported the body. Corset form evolved as 19th-century clothes were made to emphasize women’s natural contours. Tightlacing, in which women laced their corsets overly tightly to achieve a small waist, was not common in the nineteenth century. It sparked humorous newspaper articles and cartoons mocking the lengths ladies would go to follow the whims of fashion. Coco Chanel and Paul Poiret declared triumph over the corset, but it was a bittersweet victory. Because of the triumph of high-waisted Directory and Empire fashions after the French Revolution, the corset fell out of favor. Corsets were made longer to cover the thighs around 1910 when fashion began to emphasize a thin, straight physique. The advent of elastic in the 1920s gave rise to flexible sports corsets, which were worn by women who were drawn to a new, energetic way of life. Designers attempted to reintroduce the boned corset in the late 1930s, but World War II cut short most fashion developments. Sharp tailoring was a significant component of Christian Dior’s New Look in the 1940s.

The guêpière, also known as a bustier or waspie, became popular in the 1950s. The corset went out of favor with Gilded Age fashion, giving rise to the “debutante slouch” and Busters were used in the 1950s to retain breasts and provide a smooth foundation. Ladies’ fashion after WWII necessitated a “dramatic decrease at the waist” while in the 1950s, women used busters to keep their breasts in place. Women were able to attain the trendy shape of the period thanks to the invention of elasticized materials used in girdles and other undergarments. By the late 1960s, when second-wave feminism gained hold, the girdle had also fallen out of favor, and we witnessed a “barely there” underwear and anti-bra movement. Vivienne Westwood began adopting corset-like fitting as part of her historicist punk style in the 1970s. Diet, exercise, and plastic surgery took their place by the 1980s, modifying the body to match the perfect athletic figure, replacing the main purpose for corsets. It was not until the early 2000s, with the launch of Spanx, that a new type of corsetry was extensively employed to give the appearance of idealized figure undergarments. Corset advertisements and features appeared in Vogue, demonstrating that women still want these external garments to shape and support their bodies in addition to girdles, compression underwear, and brassier. The brassiere and girdle were progressively phased out of ordinary usage in the twentieth century, although they remained popular in wedding dress and costume wear until the twenty-first. The most memorable picture of a corset-wearer is of an upper-class lady having the laces pushed tighter and tighter for a ball, to seem attractive and waifish. However, the lacing was not designed to restrict breathing, but rather to produce a beautiful profile. The majority of corsets have to be useful rather than restricting. Rather than confining women to specific forms, it offered them assistance and the flexibility to go about their daily lives. For hundreds of years, both men and women have worn corsets in various forms. Corsets’ principal function was to keep the breasts in place and to produce an attractive shape. Burberry, Dion Lee, Olivier Theyskens, and Jean-Paul Gaultier all showed corseted creations on the runway, and younger designers are also playing with the corset, which is helping to give the garment new significance. The corset, which is less permanent and less expensive than surgery, is more of a solid layering item than a restricting undergarment.

Corsets are making a comeback in the fashion world. As opposed to being a sign of women’s subjugation, the corset became a symbol of sexual liberation. Kim Kardashian West donned a Thierry Mugler and Mr. Pearl gown to the 2019 Met Gala, which a garment expert claimed caused major reaction as “irresponsible” and & “unrealistic”. They have been spotted on celebs such as Bella Hadid, Normani Kordei, and Lizzo. Corsetry has also been used in the designs of Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, and Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga. We feel that the corset is still a symbol of conflicting signals, reflecting society’s rules on the female form. For the trend to progress, we must abandon the long-held assumption that corsets are harmful. Still, there has to be a broader recognition that wearing a corset does not inherently imply tightlacing. After all, wearing a corset is a young woman’s way of experimenting with a new style, and it is entirely her choice.

By : Keren Beya

@kerebear_520