Corsetry 101: Definitions

Notes

Colors used for Names:

General

UK   US

Alternative

A Corset is a rigid garment designed primarily to reduce the size of the wearer’s waist. It always comes above the waist, and may cover the breasts. It usually covers the top of the hips, but not the buttocks.

In the past corsets were made from heavy fabric reinforced with wooden, whalebone or steel stiffeners, or bones, to prevent them from creasing or folding over, and normally had little or no stretch in the circumferential direction. Often they were heavily starched, and frequently had wooden or steel busks on either side of the front fastening, so that the front was completely rigid. They were usually laced, for adjustment, either at the front or the back, and sometimes had a separate quick release mechanism at the front, so that they could be removed without being fully unlaced.

Their general shape, and the amount they extended above and below the waist, fluctuated wildly with fashion. They usually compressed the waist by a substantial amount, often about four or five inches, though tightlacing enthusiasts sometimes reduced their waists to as little as 14 inches.

Corsets often deformed the body by a substantial amount, changing the natural curvature of the spine, distorting the shape of the ribs, and displacing the internal organs, especially when they were worn from an early age.

Suspenders (garters) were not usually attached to the classical corset, though this is often done on modern corsets.

Lock-keeper, wearing back-brace Canal du Nivernais, France

Surgical corsets are sometimes prescribed for back problems, and back braces, which are a shortened form of corset worn over the normal clothing, and which supposedly help to protect the wearer from back injuries, are often worn by people like storemen, whose work involves heavy lifting.

Corsets are still worn, though not widely. Recently they have had somewhat of a resurgence, as a fashionable outer garment, after having been popularised by several period dramas on TV, and by singers like Madonna.

Corsets are popular in fetish circles, and some very extreme types are available. Some of these cover large parts of the body, and would appear to make movement virtually impossible. An attractive example of a modern costume corset is shown on the right.

The Art of Corsetry   Ed: Bunyip Bluegum