History Sunday: A brief history of corsets

I started making a 19th century corset this week, or last week, which according to the pattern dates from 1837-1890 give or take.  When everyone thinks of corsets the 19th century automatically comes to mind, women deforming their bodies from a young age by cinching the corset cord a little tighter, some women wearing them whilst sleeping, and even maternity corsets.  It's something that brings to mind the fashion plates with the ridiculously tiny waisted women; something perhaps of oppression?  Funny how one piece of clothing history has so many connotations.

My opinion on the matter; women chose to wear them, just as women choose to wear bras nowadays; one creates a desirable small waist, the other enhances our nature given assets, but at the end of the day it's a personal choice.  Despite common thoughts on corsets, they date further back than the 19th century, a lot further back.

First of all let's start with its name.  The word corset is actually a relatively modern word to refer to these pieces of underwear.  The original names, taken from household accounts and primary sources, are "a pair of bodies" (think this came from Queen Elizabeth I's wardrobe account).  The word I use when I'm writing historical fiction is "a pair of stays".  This was what they were referred to as throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the height of their use.

A proper "pair of bodies", i.e a piece of underwear that created a fashionable silhouette, was recorded for the first time in English during the reign of Elizabeth I.  If you look at her funeral effigy (she died in 1603) it has an early corset on it that creates a conical silhouette, very popular at the time.

They became so popular that almost every women wore one under her garments.  It fascinates me that today women still have "ideal" body shapes.  It's still the hourglass isn't it, I'm a bit out of touch.  Not so for our Elizabethean ancestors who liked looking conical.  Farthingales (the ancestor of the infamous crinolines) were worn under skirts during this period to create a cone like skirt, and the torso was an inverted cone.  What on earth made women want to look like that?  I'll never know.  But it accentuates the waist, a trait which is till desirable today.  A modern reproduction of a 16th century pair of bodies is pictured on the left.

Bodice from 1660-

Moving into the next century, the 17th.  I'm afraid these corsets, and the 18th century ones, are my favourite, mostly because of what they do to the chestal area.  Be prepared for a post that is beginning to feel like boob porn.  These corsets still gave the conical shape fashionable in the previous century, but the dresses were now becoming very low cut so as to accentuate what the conical corset did to the not so angular breasts; it pushed them up.  This change in fashion obviously happened after the Restoration in England, which happened in 1660.  Thomas Cromwell would never have allowed women to go around with their assets peeping over the top of their clothes.  I only know about British fashion at this point, so I do apologise.


You can of course buy reproductions of corsets from these time periods.  The one pictured on the left is made by a wonderful Etsy shop Period Corsets (click on the link to take you to the corset pictured).  This lovely lady also does 18th, and 19th century corsets, petticoats, and most other undergarments, so please do go and check her shop out.  My favourite is the one pictured, from circa 1660.  You can get in in a beautiful brocade as well.

Another mention to the amazingly talented lady who is the owner of the Before the Automobile Blog.  She does hand sewn historical reproductions ranging from the 17th century to the 19th, and if you have time, or haven't heard of her, do go to her blog.  I'm a major fangirl of hers.  I'd like to thank her, and apologise for stealing her pictures for the purpose of this blog.

As you can see there are tabs at the bottom, and it surprised me to find that the bones in the corset actually extend to these tabs.  The reason they're reinforced is because of the weight of the skirts, and in the next century those awful panniers.  Under the skirt is a "bumroll", or a cushion that makes your ar*e look bigger.  I'm actually undecided about these, I think it depends on the size.  Anyway, the tabs are for supportive purposes, because on top of this bumroll are many petticoats, and of course the actual dress, so you can imagine the weight.

Now we move quickly onto the 18th century, and...those......panniers (grrrr).  As you can no doubt tell these are my least favourite fashion, in history!  The second is the strange circular skirts of the late Elizabethean period.  What on earth possessed women to wear panniers?  I don't mind the smaller panniers, but the court ones were just ridiculous.

Pictured on the left is the wedding gown of Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden.  It has a train (can't find the picture now) that just looks like a roll of fabric attached to her skirt.  Any beauty in this dress is ruined by the panniers, in my opinion.

Before the automobile

But this post is about corsets.  The shape of the corset actually changes at the top.  Rather than the gradual curved top of the 17th century, the front of the 18th century corset takes another dip down near the chest.  More of a ladies' assets revealed!

The tabs are there again, boned and finished, in order to support those God awful panniers.  From this period, I've found, you can get half-boned, and fully-boned.  The type of boning used in those days was whalebone, which you can't get anymore.  No busks in the front, although they were used in Elizabethean corsets they aren't used for these centuries.  As with laced clothes, laced stays could either have front fastenings or back fastenings.  Who used which?  Not hard to guess really, those with enough money for maids would have back fastening, those who didn't would have front fastenings.  For a costumer, I recommend the front fastening, unless you always want help to dress, because I had this problem with my kirtle.

I have a pattern for this type of corset that I bought because it was on sale.  There's options for back and front fastening, but I know which one I'll go for when the time comes to make it.  To be honest I only like the late 18th century fashion because the panniers thankfully disappear, but unfortunately by that time you're into Empire waists and gored corsets instead.  Maybe one day I'll make an outfit from this time, but not currently.

Short stays

Now we're onto a completely different style of stays.  All of a sudden fashion moved away from conical shapes, and stupid panniers, and moved to the Empire Waist of ancient Greece.  Everything became gentle, simple, and elegant.  There are two types of corset that are from this period; long stays, and short stays.

Long stay

From their name, and from the picture, this is the ancestor of the modern day "corselette": is that what you call them? I've seen them in the lingerie section of shops but I can't remember their name.

Regency undergarments

Long stays extend all the way down the body, like the later 19th century corsets, and was used for extra shape; some women have a tummy.  The one pictured on the right is from another great Etsy shop that makes 19th century corsets, other supplies, and corsets from other periods, for women of all sizes.

These corsets have bust gores, and waist gores, I think they're called.  As with the gores on a medieval kirtle, these are triangular pieces of material inserted to accommodate a wide hem.  The gores on the bust are supportive, rather than the push up function of previous centuries.  Watch regency period dramas; more amazing cleavages!

The undergarments, pictured left, are courtesy of another blogger, Diary of a Mantua Maker, check out her blog as well.

Now we move onto the masses, and masses, of victorian corsets.  The pattern I have, laughing moon Dore Corset and Silverado corset, circa 1837-1900.  My choice was the silverado which has bust gores, the Dore doesn't.  After I cut it out, etc, I was worried that this type of corset wasn't used for my period (which was 1900, but I'll get to that later).  I looked at other patterns, taken from originals, and some originals, and some corsets have bust gores throughout the 19th century, others don't.  So I've reconciled myself to the bust gores.

I am aware that by 1900 the horrible front corset had come into fashion, rather than an hourglass silhouette, it was fashionable to look as if your head was too heavy for your body and it was dragging you down at the front.  I know it isn't technically historically accurate to make a 1900 outfit with a Victorian corset, but I hate, hate, hate that Edwardian corset.

The busk is back, and changed.  The busk during the Elizabethean period, was a flat piece of whalebone or wood that stiffened the front, now it's changed into a device for easily opening and closing the corset on your own.  As of today I've already inserted this, thankfully the right way.

This corset cinched in the waist and created that fashionable hourglass figure.  There were different
lengths, short, long; different types, underbust, overbust, mid-bust.  Most of which have been adapted by the steampunkers out there for modern wear.

Hopefully my own experiences with making a 19th century corset will be posted soon; I'm sewing it all by hand, which is more difficult than I had imagined.  I already have the busk inserted, and I'm currently working on the back pieces now with my new grommet inserter (I did it with a hammer before).