Corsets: The Misunderstood Villain of Period Dramas
Pick any period drama off of the shelf and I can almost guarantee there will be one of the following scenes: A woman is being tightly laced into a corset and/or a woman has removed her corset and is scarred or marked by the boning. These are staples in films that include period costumes and are often a response to what is now considered oppressive fashion. However, the reality of this historical fashion could not be further from what we see on screens now.
What was the Reason for Corsets?
I’m sorry to destroy any illusions you might have, but corsets, stays and crinolines were actually just structural undergarments. In modern terms, they weren’t too far off shaping underwear like Spanx and bras. Emerging in the late 16th Century, fully boned stays were worn under clothes to support the bust. Despite heavy boning, stays were considered informal wear, informal situations garments were constructed with the boning built-in. Additionally, the poor would also wear stays, these would often be made of leather and would be worn constantly without washing. By the turn of the 18th Century, stays had continued to be a structural and supportive garment. In fact, these corsets were actually fairly comfortable; they would allow women to work and protect the back by forcing them to lift with their legs. These corsets did not restrict breathing.
The amount of shaping desired by the corset would adapt with the current styles, by 1800, empire waistlines were in fashion and corsets were no longer required to slim the torso. Stays returned and became shorter, similar to a longline bra that we might see today. However, by the Victorian era, corsets participated in the structural trend at the time, extending beyond the natural waist and aiming to create an hourglass silhouette. But it’s important to consider that corsets were not the sole structural garment and generally tightlacing was not the norm. Instead, petticoats or bustles and other layered garments would achieve the desired silhouette. Additionally, the introduction of hoop skirts made high-class fashion more financially accessible to the lower classes, as well as providing wider freedom of movement for women who were free from many pounds of petticoats.
So now we know the actual function of corsets, let’s address some misconceptions.
Firstly, let’s tackle the idea of corsets being a health hazard. There were certainly medical issues as a consequence of tightlacing, and even regular corset wearing could aggravate preexisting health conditions. But, from a modern medical perspective, it has proven unlikely that corsets are to blame for issues such as fractured ribs and crushed organs in adults who would wear corsets. Instead, any differences would be temporary, unless tight lacing was practised, or if an individual begins wearing a corset from a young age whilst the bones are more malleable. From what most people now understand about corsets, some may believe that women were fainting all over the place whilst their ribs become crushed and their organs squished. But as has been established, corsets played different roles depending on the desired activity. As well as formal wear, different corsets were also available for those who were doing manual labour and even sport! So where did this common misconception of corsets being a generally harmful garment come from?
Men. The short answer is men. Ok yes, there was a time in history when men also wore corsets, for perhaps more vain reasons than women. As I’ve said, the primary reason for corsets was being a structural undergarment that would support the designs of fashion at the time. However, it was in fact men that used corsets in order to alter their body to a desirable body shape where the torso would be compressed to emphasises the chest. But I digress, the key reason we hear of the demonisation of the corset is due to misogynistic attitudes towards women who followed fashion trends. These women would be viewed as “vain and indecent”, due to the limited other ways a woman could express herself, especially in the Victorian Era where there was a strong expectation that girls would become obedient wives. Furthermore, this clashed with the women’s rights movement, where opposers- often men- would take every opportunity they could to discredit the behaviour and independence of women, particularly taking aim at the female-dominated fashion industry. This made corsets an easy target and symbol of a woman’s pride and independence along with the fashion women would follow. However, it was the second half of the 19th Century where the development of medicine would further this attack on corsets, with doctors claiming they could lead to tuberculosis and even “bad behaviour”. However, as we have established, there is no modern scientific backing for any of these claims.
Because corsets were such an obvious part of a woman’s wardrobe that they were almost never mentioned in most classic literature, instead we understand corsets from an understanding almost 20 years after the disappearing of the garment. So with this in mind, one may ask why do some actresses still report being short of breath or being unable to move, eat, sit and being horrendously uncomfortable in corsets in period dramas? Once again, this is another short answer: Often those corsets are ill-fitting or poorly constructed and the wardrobe manager either needs a better budget or better research.
A Modern Renaissance of the Corset?
Between the return of Y2K fashion and shows like Bridgerton (although those should be stays, but I’m not going to be too pedantic right now), it does seem like corsets are making a recent resurgence. Additionally, it’s important to remember that a corset type of realignment equipment are still often used to correct things like scoliosis. Corsets clearly weren’t the villains that we were taught they were, but who knows, maybe in another 100 years bras might be going through the same treatment and someone else will have to fight for them. But until then, maybe corsets will get an easier rep in period dramas.
(If you want to learn more about this topic of historical fashion, I highly recommend Karolina Żebrowska on YouTube. Her content was a huge inspiration for this article.)
This was really interesting to read! -Marie-Louise
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