Fashion History
Corsets in the Victorian Era
Woman in Victorian Era
Corsets
The Corsets first became popular in the sixteenth century. Corsets were part of everyday life for women in the Victorian era (1837-1901). Status or class within society was everything in the Victorian era. Women were expected to maintain high societal standards, especially those of the upper classes.
Victorian Era
The style that was worn during the Victorian era.
The tightly laced corset
Result
This was the result to the tightly laced corset
Who Introduced the Corset
The corset as an undergarment originated in Italy it was introduced by Catherine de Medici into France in the 1500s. In the victorian era a Frenchman by the name of Jean Werly made women's corsetsmade on the loom. This type of corset was popular until 1890 when machine-made corsets gained popularity. The term "corset" is comes from 1300, coming from the French "corset" which meant "a kind of laced bodice."
Corset
The significance of the corset was to support and narrow. However, it had changed its shape to the hourglass silhouette that is even now considered typical both for corsets and for Victorian fashion in the 1830's .
During this period the addition of garter clips to the bottoms of corsets. Corsets were being made in beautiful colors and materials, silks, satins and brocades, not just plain cotton or linen. They were tight laced to achieve the narrow waist.
What was the impact of corsets
Since the tight lacing was a fad at that time young ladies were expected to wear the tight laced corset.The medical community spoke out against the corsets saying that they caused health problems due to the tight lacing. Now we are aware that this caused a severe reduction of the rib cage and lungs. The impact was it caused medical problems.