The Ladies' Paradise: Artifact Study

Title

Corset

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

2014

Abstract

Some of the first fitted ready-made garments in production were corsets. Fashions of the Victorian period called for the use of the corset in order to accommodate the longer, hourglass shape of bodices instead of the shorter stays that had been used in previous decades. Corsets follow the contours of the body, while stays were rigid, and were meant to provide a flattened appearance of the front of the woman's torso. Some of the first fitted ready-made garments in production were corsets. One of the most successful American companies was the Royal Worcester Corset Company of Worcester, Massachusetts.

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