Corset In The 1900's

“In any era, fashion is a reflection of the time and what is going on in the culture politically, socially and economically.”1 The 1920’s witnessed a variety of dramatic changes for women; these changes, such as shorter dresses and stronger attitudes occurred primarily after World War I in spite of the prolonged development of women 's’ rights through 1914 and 1920. With their new hair, fashion styles, and attitudes, women had started what became known as the “Flapper Era”.

As said in the article Women’s Fashion in the 1800s London,”These were worn under the clothing, bodices with boning on either side and lacing to hold it together. More affluent

Women’s fashion was a social controversy in the 1920’s. This controversy was influenced by women’s clothing, swimwear, hairstyles, makeup, and attitude alone. This attire and new found character traits added a certain attitude and confidence to these women, starting what would eventually be remembered as a revolution.

Many brands from the 1930’s impacted our design in fashion and some articles of clothing are still worn today. Some brands and articles of clothing that are still in our society are; The little black dress by coco chanel which this brand has grown in business making more than just clothing (“1930’s fashion”). Elsa Schiaparelli created shoulder pads and the wrap dress even though shoulder pads have not been worn for a long time wrap dresses are still worn to this day (“1930’s fashion”). The last article of clothing is the bias cut dress created by

In this essay I want to examine how the corset evolved from a staple of the British feminine wardrobe of the Nineteenth Century into a symbol of an outmoded tradition – only to later return as a statement of female liberation. I am going to look at different aspects of this development including technological advances, economic facts, external events, particularly the First World War and changes in social, political and aesthetic attitudes. I will also look briefly at the role of Chanel on the silhouette and how this impacted on the corset: focusing on the trend to towards ‘opulent androgyny’ in the 1920’s. Finally I will examine the resurgence of the corset

The “Inner Corset” by the Laura Fraser is about how people in the United State from 1880 to 1920 start from being heavy to thin. At the beginning the women were sexy if they were heavy and it was a sign that they belong to a rich family that they could afford buying food, but since times goes people ideology start changing. Then society influences the women to be thin which makes them more beautiful, and man would love them more. In the twentieth century the image of thin started changing and the woman were facing some diseases. According to The Inner Corset “When many women ventured out of their homes and away from their strict roles as mothers, they left behind the Plump and reproductive physique, which began to seem old-fashioned next to

Throughout the 1920s through the 1950s Women’s clothing in America was affected by World War II, which lead to the exploration of different styles, the encounter of new trends and the exchange of ideas and new styles.

Imagine a woman rising from bed wearing heavy bedclothes of wool or cotton. Underneath she would be wearing a corset for sleep, made of cotton, wool or a mix of heavy linen. After brushing out long hair, which was rarely washed, she would be wrapped in a light cotton garb that would protect her skin from actually touching her formal corset. Often corsets would stretch from the mid-hip region to the breasts. Corsets were constructed of whalebone and metal stays, which shaped the ribs and stomach to form a fashionable waist of approximately eighteen inches. After the corset was tightly laced (which required assistance of at least one other person), then heavy wool or cotton stocking would be pulled on. Stockings were held up ties, girdle-like bloomers or special buttons in the petticoats. At this time, a woman would put on six to eight petticoats . She would put on a special top to keep the corset from touching her dress. At this point, a woman may have worn a large hoop skirt. The large metal device would allow the woman to keep proper social distance from her guests and potential suitors. Often the woman would have to be lowered into the hoop skirt. If the hoop was too heavy, a woman would be placed in the parlor room and she would remain there until after a dinner party or until such a time she could remove the hoop because it could render her immobile. In some rare cases, small rolling wheels were attached at the bottom of hoop skirts to aid women in moving

One important date in the history of the corset was the year 1840. This was the year in which the system called ‘lazy lacing’ was invented, in which a set of elastic laces allowed women to easily put on, and remove their corsets. Women had now predominantly taken over from the specialized work of crafting corsets, and were made ahead of time, creating the beginning of ‘ready to wear’ During this era, corsets became more specialized, corsets ranged from ‘nuptial corsets, corsets made of white satin for the ball, lightly boned morning corsets, stayless corsets for night wear, nursing corsets with drawbridge gussets, travelling corsets with tabs that could be let out at night for sleeping, riding corsets with elastic at the hips; corsets for singing, for dancing, for bathing at the seaside’ and the list of possible variations went on. As

After the War Chanel returned to Paris in 1953 to find that Parisian women were obsessed with Christian Dior and the “New Look”, which is a very feminine

Corsets are a stiff garment worn by women (and occasionally men) in the Victorian times, designed to create the much desired hourglass figure of the time. They were made of whale baleen, or sometimes strips of steel with laces, usually tightened by maids. Unfortunately, corsets are now becoming more and more popular, when they really belong in the illustrations of our history books.

Women’s undergarments have dramatically transformed throughout American history based on the ever changing social and political landscapes of the country. The Evolution of Lingerie exhibition seeks to exist as a retrospective on the aesthetic evolution of women’s undergarments, as well as explore lingerie’s relationship to gender, femininity, and sexuality. Each piece included in the exhibition will be placed in chronological order starting from the 1800’s, and move throughout history to bring guests to the most modern pieces. Additionally, each piece will be displayed in its own vignette, built to resemble a bedroom or boudoir of the time period related to the piece. From corsets to Calvin Klein, The Evolution of Lingerie will lend itself

Fast forward to Chanel’s young adult life, and you can see it wasn’t long off that she would set up shop in Paris, France in 1910, eventually expanding out to Deauville, and then Biarritz. She had started off with designing, and marketing hats which became a very successful hit amongst the fashionistas of that day. Chanel’s empire was growing exponentially, and in 1920 she expanded into the realms of couture now working in jersey which at the time was unheard of in the French fashion circle. Soon she was blurring the lines of what was acceptable, setting fashion trends instead of adhering to the routine, and was giving way to entire style genres such as the “chemise” and the “little boy” look. Her fashion statements were a gigantic contrast to what was socially acceptable, and of course Chanel fell under scrutiny over it, but she went on to create more casual, shorter, and idyllically “liberating” clothing for the day’s modern woman. In essence she was liberating women from the stuffy, confining fashions that they were used to, and giving way to a loose more relaxed style all together while maintaining it’s inherent feminine charm. Chanel was creating more than just a design, or an article of clothing, she was creating a movement that would change the way society viewed fashion in it’s entirety. (Lewis)

It wasn’t until Chanel started to create jackets which not only had the purpose of being worn closed, she created jackets that looked good opened, closed or hanging over the shoulders. She emphasized on this style by making blouses to serve the complete outfit. She was also the creator of the “Little Black Dress”, which was a relatively simple black dress made by elegant materials such as lace, tulle, weightless silk and even embroidery in a new, more tailored way. Chanel is today world known for its high quality designs and has women of the 21th century dependent on its classical style (Rennolds Milbank 120-121).

Coco Chanel, born on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France, influenced 1920s fashion greatly through her trademark pieces such as “little black dress” and jersey suits and many more. These key fashion pieces are still very popular in our current day time in women’s fashion. Before Chanel became well known, most women would wear corsets that would leave them feeling stiff to give them more of a hour glass look as well as skirts with long hems that would reach the floor. Chanel went past the social boundaries of most women, and created different and diverse pieces. She disregarded societies idea of