Ferguson Corset Style

In the latter part of the Victorian era there were significant developments signaling the decline of the corset. The way garments were produced is perhaps the key factor in the move away from the corset. In 1839, a Frenchman by the name of Jean Werly patented a loom for the production of women 's corsets. This type of corset was popular until 1890, when machine-made corsets gained popularity. The development of the sewing machine in the early 1850’s gradually led to mass production, manufacturers could produce corsets in far greater numbers and increase the variety of designs available to women of all classes. These advances finally led the way to new designs in underwear in keeping with the changes to the fashions and silhouettes of the early Twentieth Century.

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

In the Victorian era, corsets became longer and became not only about supporting and lifting the breast, but creating a tiny hourglass waist. ‘Women were so tightly corseted that they could not bend over’ but to add to the strain ‘the corset was hung with an extraordinary amount of gear, a combined system of garters and suspenders.’

1850-1875 was all about fashion for women as they were viewed as an object to dress up and tend to household duties while the men worked. Women wore clothes to make their boobs look bigger and their booties thicker. The hard bustle style was invented in the 1883 which was designed to make the butt of women big and more presentable. Women during this time often degraded themselves and did this to help themselves feel more valued and desired by men. Their dresses were also designed to make them look slim in the waist to make women have the “high class” confidence so many desired. If you didn’t have this appearance, then you were considered lower class compared the women that dressed with such confidence. There were many styles

As times grew more modern, women started wearing less and less clothing underneath their dresses as bare skin was popularized; less corsets, less camiknickers, etc. were worn. The rigid shape of the corset was abandoned for dresses with lines of “soft curves from the shoulder to the waist. ” There were “bobbed hair and skirts above knees. Women redefined the feminine with the sophisticated schoolgirl look of the 1920s.”

For this creative history project, I conduced a prezi about the progression of lingerie in the United States with my partner, Margret O’Connell. Since March is Women’s History Month, I figured this project would be very fitting. Lingerie is most commonly known as a sex symbol; however, in early American History, lingerie was more of an aesthetic. The first example of this would be the corset. Lingerie was pioneer by Lad Duff- Gordon who wanted to free women from more restrictive corsets. We found this project to be another example of women empowerment and not just portraying women as objects, which has been more of an issue in the current century.

Some might ask, why was clothing in the Elizabethan Era so monumental? The ruler of The Elizabethan Era, Elizabeth I, who possessed two thousand exquisite gowns upon her death was a woman, with her being a woman, fashion was nothing to be toyed with; it was serious business(Lad). Fashion in the Elizabethan Era defined citizens as persons; colors, fabrics, and even hair lines could indicate whether you belong to the lavish upper class or the lower class clothed in wool. Clothing of the Elizabethan Era was indeed serious business, so serious that Elizabeth I introduced the Statues of Apparel In Greenwich on June 15, 1574. (Alchin)

First in the 1900-1910, girdles and corsets were popular. Corsets were articles of clothing that you would wear underneath your dress, that you would wrap around your waist and yank tight to give the impression of a teeny tiny waist. “The perfect fit” for a dress was designed to put a womans torso ーwhich had been tightly corsetedー on center stage. Women could barely move in these! The corset then became a passing fashion. In 1907, Paul Poiret made dresses that paid homage to

The look was distinguished by the new, much shorter knee-length dresses and dropped waistlines that concealed womanly curves. Elastic corsets covering hips replaced the role of stiff whalebone corsets. The illustration in fig 1. depicted the loose, non- restrictive undergarments of the 1920s. Since the trend of the time was straight and flat dresses, well-endowed women would wear bandages to flatten their breasts. Clothes revealed more skin with sleeveless tops, V-shape neck and back with strings of long pearls on the side.

Haute couture, which in English mean ‘high sewing’ has a long and cherished history, particularly in Europe. Paris has long been an international core of fashion design. Charles Worth opened the first of the great Parisian couture houses in 1858. The city has created many significant design houses, such as Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Chloé, Givenchy, Lanvin, Céline, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton. To this day, Paris remains a prominent destination for shopping, from these designers. Paris is the primary home of haute couture, and has long set the course in fashion in Europe and around the world. The city is generally considered to be part of the "big four" global fashion capitals, alongside Milan, London and New York City. We can see how much people appreciate French fashion from designer clothes to designer shoes which really help develop economic growth of a country. In its beginnings, Paris' culinary development are indebted much to the 19th-century organization of a railway system that had Paris as a center, making the capital a focal point for passage from France's many different regions and gastronomical cultures. France's regions have provided exclusive cuisines, much like regional varieties of wine. Paris restaurants display this miscellany, with menus carrying typical territorial cuisine, fusions of diverse culinary

During the Victorian era, women strived to have a small 12” tummy; they wore tightly laced corsets, sometimes risking their health, to achieve a cinched waist. Women were very conservative with their makeup and preferred a very natural look. As time progressed, the roaring 20’s brought new sexy trends. Women tried to hide their

In the article it states ¨In the summer and spring women had to wear three layers¨.The first layer of clothes was the shift and cap.The shift was used as both a nightgown and underclothing . It was commonly made of linen and women would only own two or three of the shifts. Underpants did not exist so so women would wear nothing under their shifts.The second layer consist of stays,busk,pockets.and under petticoats.The stays are support garments that are stiffened with whalebone, wood, or reed.They create it so the women would have good posture and an ice cream cone shaped silhouette. The article stated that the busk is a ¨piece of wood that has been shaped so that it is smooth and rounded at the back,It prevents the women's waist from bending¨.The pockets women did not have attached pockets so they tied a pocket or two around their waist. The under petticoat where skirts that provided extra heat or to shape the outside layer.under petticoats were made from linen,wool,silk,or

During Regency most women didn’t wear undergarments. Those who did wore what were called Chemises. Chemises were like tank tops or slips and they were made of Cotton or Linen. Because chemises didn’t provide much support, tight chemises were combined with Corsets to give a woman more shape.

The corset is a woman's tightly fitting undergarment extending from below the chest to the hips, worn to shape the figure. Generally what is thought of at the mention of corsets is a tiny waist and the restricted ability to breathe for the wearer. According to an essay published by the University of Virginia, “Too Close for Comfort: 500 Years of Corsets” (1998) as the name suggests up to the early 1900s corsets had been worn in western society for close to 500 years. Early corsets were not harmful to women and hid the natural

Before the thriving era of the 20’s, women wore a full tied corset, dresses covering from their neck to their toes, and usually having sleeves over their arms. This was known as the ‘Edwardian era.’ The thought of this time period was to be viewed as being very pristine. The purpose of the corset was to make an “hour-glass” figure on the body of the women. This made it seem as if they were wide at the shoulder, narrow at the waist, and wide again at the hips (Susan Jarrett: 2013).