Assignment 8.1: Geneology of a Garment: Corsets

The corset is a cinching garment that encases the middle torso to either push up or flatten the breasts, or to hug the waist into shape, or both. It is a fashion mainstay that has been in use in one form or another for thousands of years. Its roots can even be traced to drawings discovered at the Neolithic archaeological site at Brandon in Norfolk, England. The drawings found depict women wearing bodices made from animal hides that are laced down the front.

Around 1700 BC, Minoans used corsets that were fitted and laced, or a smaller corselette that left the breasts exposed as depicted in Figure 1.

Women in other ancient civilizations such as Crete, Egypt, Rome and Assyria also wore variations of a corset. Women in Egypt wore a band under their bust as part of their outward costume as depicted in Figure 2. Where as Roman slaves wore corseted tight lacing as a form of subjugation to their loosely draped masters and mistresses.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, free flowing dresses were replaced by dresses that utilized lacing to shape the garments closer to the body. A trim silhouette was achieved by the use of stiffer fabrics while a corseted effect was incorporated into the garments as opposed to being a separate article of clothing. These gowns were known as kirtles as depicted in Figure 3.

The 16th century costume was upheld as a symbol of position, rank, and wealth. The corset played a large part in displaying a person's position. In the French court, under the influence of Italian-born Catherine de Medici, ladies in waiting were instructed to cinch their waists to a size no bigger than thirteen inches around.
It was also in the French court that a steel framework corset was introduced. Usually made up of four plates with perforation ornamental designs, they were connected at the sides and front while leaving the back open to get in and out of.
Images include Figure 7 of a steel corset and below it the "effigy corset" of Queen Elizabeth I.

During the 17th century boned inner-bodices were built into most gowns and made with matching detachable sleeves. Most had a separate boned center front panel called a stomacher with a tabbed edge at the bottom to allow the hips to flare out in a smooth transition preventing the bones from ending abruptly at the waist.

The 19th century brought about some major changes in corsetry. During the Napoleonic Wars, a doctor with the French army invented a metallic eyelet. Eyelets added to corsets allowed them to be cinched even tighter without fear of damaging the fabric. Steam-molding, introduced in the 1860s, also helped create a curvaceous contour as depicted in the final image of a woman with a very narrow waist.

[1] http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/
[2] http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://laracorsets.com/images/Corset_History_Images