Corsetry 101: Definitions

Girdles, Open girdles

Colors used for Names:

General

UK   US

Alternative

Whereas a Corset deals primarily with the waist, a Girdle deals primarily with the buttocks. There is no clear-cut division between the two garments, but the corset will usually stop at the top of the hips, while a girdle will cover the whole of the buttocks. By definition a corset is always constructed from rigid fabric, and is adjusted by lacing, whereas a girdle is usually constructed from elastic fabric. [But in the fifties older women would refer to their corsets, even if they were wearing girdleours, whereas younger women would refer to their girdles even if they were really corsets.]

In this section we will first discuss girdles in general, then we will look at Open Girdles in more detail.

General

A Girdle is a garment designed to smooth and flatten the wearers tummy and buttocks. At the minimum it will extend from the wearers waist to just below her buttocks. It can extend significantly above her waist, though if it covers her breasts it becomes a Corselette. Longer girdles, which come significantly below the buttocks, have been introduced on a couple of occasions, but they have never become popular, probably because they seriously interfere with the wearer's freedom of movement.

Some of the first girdles were made from rigid fabric, and were laced, though many people would now consider that these were corsets. Modern girdles are either made entirely from elastic fabric, or have substantial elastic panels. Classic girdles often had a rigid front panel, to help flatten the tummy, and a back panel made from downstretch satin elastic fabric. This would stretch downwards, to minimise the strain on the back suspenders (garters) when the wearer was sitting down, but could not stretch sideways so that the buttocks would be flattened as much as possible.

Firmer girdles usually include boning, especially if they come above the waist, and may have openings, with hook and eye and/or zip closing, to facilitate putting on and taking off. So we have Laced girdles, Zip fastening girdles and Panelled girdles.

Girdles may either be open at the bottom, or closed, in which case they may also have legs. They are divided into two main groups; Open Girdles or Open Bottom Girdles (OBGs) and Pantygirdles. Both groups are further subdivided according to the height of the waist, and type of construction, and pantygirdles are subdivided according to the length of the legs.

The following group of categories applies equally to both types of girdle.

Girdle manufacturers frequently produced the same style in both open and close construction, and in different leg lengths. The examples on the left are both from the Playtex "I can't Believe it's a Girdle" range.

Laced Girdles

This is a classic thirties style rigid Laced Girdle. It is high waisted, and has a hook and eye fastening to the right of the lacing. These girdles were largely displaced by elastic girdles during the 30’s, but some older women remained loyal to them, and they continued to be manufactured up until the end of the century.

I have never heard of a laced pantygirdle.

Click for larger image.

Zip-fastening OBG

Panelled OBG

Cuf-top OBG

Corselette with satin downstretch back panel

The firmer styles of girdle often incorporated an opening on the left of the front panel, closed by a zip faster, to facilitate dressing, as in the first illustration. There was usually a row of hook and eye fasteners underneath the zip to reduce the stress on the zip fastener as it is being closed. Without this the zip is likely to burst. The zip is required as well as the hook and eye fastener to give a flat seam.

This OBG has a Cuff Top, Zip fastener, a Rigid front panel, and probably a satin downstretch back panel (as in the second picture), though this cannot be seen in the illustration. The side panels are of elastic net.

The illustration on the right shows the downstretch satin elastic back panel of a classic panelled corselette. It can be seen how it stretches as the wearer bends over, so that it doesn't place an excessive strain on the stockings, but still flattens the buttocks very effectively.

Waist types

(Normal Waist) Girdle

Open Girdle

Open Bottom Girdle

Triumph Poesie OBG with floral pattern

These are usually referred to simply as Girdles or Pantygirdles. The top of the girdle comes to about the wearers natural waistline, and is hemmed with a relatively lightweight strip of elastic. The example on the left is a firm Open Girdle (OBG). The example on the right is a lighter weight garment aimed at the younger market.

High Waist OBG

High Waist girdles come at least several inches above the wearers waistline. The top section is normally stiffened with bones, to prevent it from rolling over. In this example the top of the girdle comes almost to the wearers bra, and is supported by several bones built into the vertical seams. It also has a zip fastener.

The overlapping front panels in this example are of the type patented by the Sarong Corporation. It was made by Berlei in the UK, but may have been made under license. The style was claimed to give improved freedom of movement, supposedly made walking more comfortable, and reduced the tendency to ride up.

Cuff Top OBG

This is the American name for girdles hemmed with a wide strip of firm elastic which comes above the wearers waist. It, too, is normally stiffened with bones. Two bones are visible in this example. It also has a rigid front panel. I am not aware of a specific name for this type of girdle in Australia or in the UK.

Roll-ons, Step-ins & Wrap-ons

Another modern Roll-on

Corsetry was changing rapidly in the late twenties and early thirties, as new lightweight elastic fabrics became available, and girdles made from them began to replace the previous rigid laced corsets and girdles. New terms were devised for these garments, and these terms were rapidly adopted by the new generation to distinguish their modern garments from their mother's museum pieces.

Corsets and laced girdles were usually put on by wrapping them around the body and then either hooking them together or lacing them up. So these were referred to as Wrap-ons, although I doubt if this term was very widely used.

Younger women generally chose a relatively lightweight garment which was knitted as a seamless tube on a circular knitting machine. These were generally put on by turning them inside out, and upside down, stepping into them and then rolling them up into the right position. They were called Roll-ons, and this generation of women adopted this term as the general name for girdles.

Although the original Roll-ons had no seams, the term soon came to be applied to any girdle which did not have a zip fastening, or other opening. I suspect that many of the 'roll-on' generation continued to use the term after they had graduated to more serious underwear, rather than admit this to their friends.

More mature women wore a firmer elastic girdle with a zip fastening. They stepped into them to put them on, so they were known as Step-ins.

The Art of Corsetry   Ed: Bunyip Bluegum