Friday 2 August 2013

Breath In... Vintage Corsetry Has a Moment


No one can quite beer the agony of squeezing themselves in them now days.  Since the girdle was cast aside fairly recently for its rather unsavoury gut-squishing effects these beautiful garments have more often than not become objet d’art in their own right, to be examined from a distance rather than at close quarters, allowing us women folk to happily relax our muffin tops on our waistbands.

The strict boning was discarded when war hit Britain (after all, how was a girl to join the war effort trussed up like a chicken).  However the hip-slimming necessity of the girdle was still seen as a must until the 1970’s when a more smock-like wardrobe came into fashion (many thanks Ossie Clerk et al).

Never fear for the corset's longevity, as long as we keep buying them, caring for them and displaying them their history will be preserved, so put one on a mannequin, hang one on a wall and don’t feel bad for not wearing it, times have changed since the 1830’s.  Us ladies no longer need the medical support of the structured corset to hold up our delicate frames, we have moved on....

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