RELATED SEARCHES
Sponsored Corset Results:
Corsets
By:
Published: September 22, 2006
In the history of fashion, the corset has been used to promote cleanliness and hygiene, to create the coveted hourglass waistline and to enliven fetishes.
The corset is perhaps the most notorious undergarment surviving from historical fashion, most notably the Victorian era.
The looser dresses of the 13th and 14th centuries were eventually replaced by dresses with more defined bodices to closely fit the body. The 14th century saw the first artificial support – the coche – made in Italy, giving the bodice a smooth, rigid line. By the 16th century, an extraordinarily cinched waist for ladies-in-waiting became popular. Of course, it was not until the 19th century Victorian era when the corset would reach its peak as fashion icon.
An hourglass figure became the fashionable silhouette for women and men in the early 19th century. Men wore the corset to slim the figure, while women used the corset to cinch the waist, thereby exaggerating the breast and hips. The first corset had a front opening which hooked to close and laced in the back.
A practice known as tightlacing also became popular during the Victorian era. With the help of a maid or a servant, women had the corsets laced extremely tight to maximize waist reduction; some even achieved 13 inch waists. Not only was tightlacing used to promote extreme waist reduction, but also it was also to help the wearer lose weight and inches. For example, an image from 1899 depicts a maid tightlacing her mistress with a caption that encouraged a vigorous ten-mile walk everyday while wearing the tightly laced corset would do wonders for her figure.
Not every corset was used in such restrictive manners. They were intended to be supportive undergarments. In fact, early into the 20th century, corsets were worn during vigorous physical activity like biking or tennis playing. It finally fell out of fashion in the 1920s when boyish figures became more popular. Women were beginning to experience sexual freedom and rather than emphasizing their fetishized female parts, they taped down their breasts, cut their hair short and wore suits.
An hourglass figure, or a wasp waist, did not come back into style until late 1947. This silhouette was idealized with Christian Dior's New Look. The New Look was achieved by using a waist cincher. Since women began wearing bras for bust support, the corset was no longer needed, as a separate girdle could now be worn to slim the waistline.
The word girdle comes from a word which means to enclose or confine. It actually precedes the corset. Frescoes in Minoa show boxers wearing girdles. Christians wore girdles fashioned out of rope and used the device as penance when the rope dug into their skin. This was effectively ruined when women adopted the girdle, decked out with pretty, shiny jewels and wore them as belts. Unlike the rigid material of the corset, girdles were made of elasticized fabric and fastened with hook-and-eye closures.
The modern corset is now one of the most fetishized undergarments worn today. In the world fetishism and BDSM (Bondage &Discipline/Sadomasochism), the corset is as confining and defining as it has ever been, but it contains dark sexual overtones. A dominatrix may choose to wear a black leather corset as a symbol of her sexual power or she can wear a more delicate, silk or brocade corset and play submissive.
Sources
Corsets. 19 September 2006. Wikipedia. 21 September 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/corsets/
Girdle. 10 September 2006. Wikipedia. 21 September 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.girdle/
Wilson, Christina. The History of Corsets. Pagewise, Inc. 21 September 2006. http://ncnc.essortment.com/historyofcors_rmue.htm/
The corset is perhaps the most notorious undergarment surviving from historical fashion, most notably the Victorian era.
The looser dresses of the 13th and 14th centuries were eventually replaced by dresses with more defined bodices to closely fit the body. The 14th century saw the first artificial support – the coche – made in Italy, giving the bodice a smooth, rigid line. By the 16th century, an extraordinarily cinched waist for ladies-in-waiting became popular. Of course, it was not until the 19th century Victorian era when the corset would reach its peak as fashion icon.
An hourglass figure became the fashionable silhouette for women and men in the early 19th century. Men wore the corset to slim the figure, while women used the corset to cinch the waist, thereby exaggerating the breast and hips. The first corset had a front opening which hooked to close and laced in the back.
A practice known as tightlacing also became popular during the Victorian era. With the help of a maid or a servant, women had the corsets laced extremely tight to maximize waist reduction; some even achieved 13 inch waists. Not only was tightlacing used to promote extreme waist reduction, but also it was also to help the wearer lose weight and inches. For example, an image from 1899 depicts a maid tightlacing her mistress with a caption that encouraged a vigorous ten-mile walk everyday while wearing the tightly laced corset would do wonders for her figure.
Not every corset was used in such restrictive manners. They were intended to be supportive undergarments. In fact, early into the 20th century, corsets were worn during vigorous physical activity like biking or tennis playing. It finally fell out of fashion in the 1920s when boyish figures became more popular. Women were beginning to experience sexual freedom and rather than emphasizing their fetishized female parts, they taped down their breasts, cut their hair short and wore suits.
An hourglass figure, or a wasp waist, did not come back into style until late 1947. This silhouette was idealized with Christian Dior's New Look. The New Look was achieved by using a waist cincher. Since women began wearing bras for bust support, the corset was no longer needed, as a separate girdle could now be worn to slim the waistline.
The word girdle comes from a word which means to enclose or confine. It actually precedes the corset. Frescoes in Minoa show boxers wearing girdles. Christians wore girdles fashioned out of rope and used the device as penance when the rope dug into their skin. This was effectively ruined when women adopted the girdle, decked out with pretty, shiny jewels and wore them as belts. Unlike the rigid material of the corset, girdles were made of elasticized fabric and fastened with hook-and-eye closures.
The modern corset is now one of the most fetishized undergarments worn today. In the world fetishism and BDSM (Bondage &Discipline/Sadomasochism), the corset is as confining and defining as it has ever been, but it contains dark sexual overtones. A dominatrix may choose to wear a black leather corset as a symbol of her sexual power or she can wear a more delicate, silk or brocade corset and play submissive.
Sources
Corsets. 19 September 2006. Wikipedia. 21 September 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/corsets/
Girdle. 10 September 2006. Wikipedia. 21 September 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.girdle/
Wilson, Christina. The History of Corsets. Pagewise, Inc. 21 September 2006. http://ncnc.essortment.com/historyofcors_rmue.htm/
Featured Corset Products:
