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Corsets
By Madeline | January 22, 2008
The corset was an interesting torture device that women during the Tudor era were subjected to. The ultimate goal of a corset was not to make the waist slender as it was during the Victoria era or the hold the breasts in place as it is in today’s society. The reason for the corset was to completely flatten a women’s chest. I’m assuming this was initially done as a way to make women less attractive. However, those scandalous Tudors found a way around that little staunch fashion by cutting their dresses lower displaying the cleavage, so that women who were fortunate enough to be well endowed could still display their bosoms in grace. The ones I feel bad for were the women who were already flat chests - they would look even more so without the benefit of the spillage on top.
These corsets were made of leather, wood and whale bone to ensure a smooth, clean front that was as effective as possible in flattening then chest. I find this interesting when you take into consideration the small codpieces that came into fashion during Elizabeth I’s reign (see my article on codpieces - it’s most interesting). It’s almost like the goal of the trend setters was to make everyone androgynous, yet they were being fashionably thwarted by everyone else - primarily at court.
While I personally LOVE to don my corset whenever we go to Ren Fairs, I cannot imagine how much I would dread having to wear it on a daily basis. I guess that would be something you would get used to though. Then again, I’ve worn a bra since I was sixteen when my mom got me a sympathy bra (meaning I didn’t NEED one, but was envious of all the girls who did) and I HATE wearing them. They are uncomfortable and dig in and I can’t wait to get home to get it off. Of course, Tudor women were only able to remove theirs once they were ready to go to sleep. Perhaps the anticipation of having to don them again made them sleep later… Hehehe
One of the aspects of corsetry that sticks out in my mind are the women who were notorious for demanding their corsets be cinched tighter as they began to show their pregnancies. I wonder how many pregnancies were lost as a result.
Topics: Tudor Era |
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