Classes

[femkes_follies]

Second question on the Corset thing....

At what social class do corsets then disappear? Who was too poor to afford one, or worked too hard for it to be practical?

Comments

[estela-dufrayse.livejournal.com]

In the 18thC they were often sold off, but then there are accounts from Louisbourg of women not wearing them unless they were of a class. So I am not sure.

If someone comes up with evidence, I'd love to hear it!

[femkederoas.livejournal.com]

Darn it, I was hoping you'd be the encyclopedia entry on this one. ;-)

I wonder if the cache of fabrics in that thesis in the Netherlands has any recut, re-tailored corsets. Since one of the comments I've seen on it is that a lot of the fragments catalogued are cut down from other pieces of clothing.

I wonder how often corsets ended up in used clothing shops and got refitted to less affluent owners. Drea's article differentiates between high-end silk corsets and more utilitarian ones of sack cloth, but doesn't really specify how far down the food chain they go.

[estela-dufrayse.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on what the original garments were, and when they were hacked to pieces. There is a similar box of fabric swatches in the New Brunswick Museum. They were collected in the early 19thC and are probably from gowns and draperies. The pieces are too nice and too heavy for corsetry, I think...I could be wrong though.

I may have to go back and study that box again...

I wonder how much alteration of corsets would have actually happened. Bit of a bitch to do, and it it kinda sorta fits, why not wear it as is...much like modern bras. That don't always fit the best, more what fits the best.

[femkederoas.livejournal.com]

You're likely right. And used corsets were probably the same way - shop for one that sorta fits.

I can't wait to find out how that crimson twill works out. I'm thinking I might cheat and do one that laces front and back for greater adjustability.

[mmcnealy.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on the time, and line of the fashions.

For instance, in southern Germany, for the first half of the 16th c, one really can get away with just having a well fitted dress bodice, no corset necessary. Its not until you get into the Spanish influenced styles that some layer of extra stiffening becomes necessary.

I'd need to look at the Cheese Ladies again, but if you can see a curve at the center front, you probably don't need a corset, just a lining of heavy linen in your bodice and it fitted to support you.

[femkederoas.livejournal.com]

Mostly I'm just curious after reading Drea's article. She mentions silk and linen for the wealthy, and sackcloth for the less affluent. But doesn't really draw any lines.

And I'm sort of curious about whether the reformation at all influenced corset wearing the the North. Calvinists, and all. Too, the Spanish styles don't seem nearly as prevalent there, though it's hard to tell with all the unrelieved black.

[allison-is.livejournal.com]

E-mail and ask her? She might even point to where she found her primary source documents which say so, if they weren't clearly cited in the article

[mistressarafina.livejournal.com]

Just because you see a curved bustline doesn't mean the person isn't wearing a corset. I am very busty and even with my corset closed as tightly as it can go, I have a curve in profile.

Anyone who has to do a lot of bending at the waist is not served by wearing a corset - at least not the ones that we have extant examples of. I think that corset wearing is more directly related to the amount of manual labor one has to do, rather that specifically to social status - although clearly those two things are related. It'a not practical if you're farming, so why would you go to the expense of making one. See what I mean?

[femkederoas.livejournal.com]

I do see what you mean. And mostly I'm trying to develop my "eye" for portrait analysis, using logic to deduce what's most likely. ;-)

[mistressarafina.livejournal.com]

What I posted was all based on personal experience. That's what I love about what we do. We have a theory and then we can test it. There is no one right way to do anything. Aside from techniques or materials that were clearly invented out of period, I think that everything is fair game.