French Revolutionary Costume 1809

Robinson: The Fine Art of Fashion p45

For the first few years of the 19th Century the fashionable line was free and comfortable, as in this French fashion plate from 1809. The fashion designers transferred their emphasis from the waist to the bosom, and many fashionable dresses used relatively transparent fabrics, which revealed all the wearer's charms to an eager audience. No doubt this was thoroughly enjoyed by the younger men, but caused near apoplexy among their elders. The latter fulminated about the moral dangers of these lascivious displays, and the serious health hazards of having the wearer's skin exposed to the elements, instead of being shielded by the customary 17 layers of assorted undergarments.

The young ladies of the day survived, despite all these dire predictions, but the pendulum of fashion soon swung back, and by the 1830s fashionable ladies were lacing their corsets as tightly as ever.

At this time the King of England was George III, who ruled from 1760 to 1811. His reign corresponded roughly with the start of the Industrial Revolution, which caused widespread social upheavals throughout the Western world.

One of its effects was to democratise fashion, as it meant that many garments, which were formerly handmade, could now be made by machine at a fraction of the cost. It also led to the rise of a relatively prosperous middle-class who could aspire to the luxuries which were formerly the preserve of the ruling class. Among these was the ability to be fashionably dressed. Stays had been the preserve of the ruling classes, but the newly arrived middle-class ladies eagerly succumbed to the embrace of the corset.


Fashion plate, showing Woman in her corset, `1830

Steele, p 42

The stays of the past had preserved their conical line almost unchanged for the past three centuries, but, as the illustration on the left shows, the new machinery enabled the design of corsets to be far more sophisticated.

The new corsets were shaped to provide room for the breasts, and instead of having simple tabs at the bottom to hold the stays in place, they were shaped to fit the upper curve of the hips, so that the downward force on the upper part of the corset due to the conical shape of the chest was distributed more evenly over the hips. This should have have made them more comfortable to wear, but the ladies probably just laced their corsets even more tightly.

 


 

George Cruickshank: Laceing a Dandy.

Steele: Original The University Club Library, New York

The Regency Period

 

George III suffered from a form of mental illness, and in 1811 his son George, Prince of Wales, was appointed Regent. The short decade that took his name was the last gasp of Georgian exuberance before the dour morality of the Victorian era.

Prince George, "Prinny", set the tone for the period with his lavish expenditures and indolent lifestyle. The social life of the men of the period was dominated by the Dandies, under their self appointed leader Beau Brummell. They were noted for their exaggerated manners and clothing, as ridiculed in the cartoon on the right.

During the Regency Period corsets were probably worn by more men than ever before. They continued to be relatively popular among the ruling and military classes for the rest of the century, and retained a significant following during the first part of the 20th century.

George III died in 1820 and Prinny ascended to the throne as George IV. He reigned only 10 years, and when he died in 1830, his next living brother became William IV. He in turn was succeeded in 1837 by the child of his predeceased younger brother - the Princess Victoria. Born in the waning years of the Regency (1819), she reigned as Queen until 1901.

Queen Victoria set a gloomy example, and the Victorian era was noted for its puritanical and hypocritical attitudes. Women were regarded as weak creatures, and it was felt that their bodies needed the discipline of corsets. Corsets were almost universally worn, even by working-class women.

Sexuality was repressed and, perhaps to compensate, tightlacing was widespread. It is probable that it catered to the same unsatisfied needs that bulimia and other eating disorders meet today.


Numa Bassaget: The Corset Seller 1830

St Laurent p83

Young girl in pantalettes, fashion plate, Paris 1832

St Laurent p105

The corset seller or fitter (left) was always a popular subject for artists. The young girl in the plate on the right is certainly wearing a corset. Her father and brother could well be, too.

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