Lace ‘em up!
Recently we had the opportunity to attend Waist Management, a
corset and undergarment exhibit in Brampton at PAMA (the Peel Art
Gallery, Museum and Archives).
Corsets? You ask. Yes, corsets. Good old lace ‘em up, pull ‘em tight and hold your breath corsets.
And, not JUST corsets - this exhibit took us through three centuries of “unmentionables” such as the wild and crazy under structure of women’s skirts - crinolines, as well as chemises, pantaloons, bustles and even Victorian silk stockings.
Mr. Walford’s collection showed several really early examples of corsets dating back to the 1700’s (seen below), as well as some from later dates.
Below, 1800’s corsets
The exhibits came from The Fashion History Museum, from the collection of co-founder/curator, Jonathan Walford. Mr. Walford is pictured below flanked by some Victorian unmentionables!
An entertaining and knowledgeable speaker, Mr. Walford explained the uses of the various garments and talked about some of the history associated with them.
Many people believe that Victorian women suffered the tortures of the damned by wearing corsets, but it seems that initially, according to Mr. Walford, corsets were used to correct posture, rather than create body contour restructuring, and are therefore perhaps unfairly demonized.
Below, more examples of corsets.
There was of course, extreme corseting, and there are amusing illustrations of an entire team of people struggling to tighten the laces on ladies corsets. At what cost the much sought after 16” waist!
Below, a cariacature of a lady getting her corset laced up.
The corset was habitually worn over top of the chemise, the petticoat and the pantaloons. The purpose of these items of clothing was to protect the outer clothing from body sweat and oils, thus keeping the outer clothing clean.
Mr. Walford explained that everyone - men and women - wore the chemise. The chemise would eventually turn into the slip and camisole for women, and the boned camisole is essentially a brassiere.
The pantaloons, forerunners of the panty (my, how those Victorians would have blushed at today’s undies - thongs for example!) were originally adopted for warmth. These were fairly baggy, with a split in the crotch (which was disguised by the fullness). It seems that after the late 1780’s, when lighter fabrics replaced the heavy brocades and wools, women felt the need to cover their lower regions in order to stay warm, as well as to keep prying eyes away in case of mishaps. The heavier fabrics had not only been warm, but had kept skirts from blowing upward, but the new light fabrics, such as the silks and batistes were prone to lift embarrassingly. The long pantaloons saved the day.
Seen below, the crinoline, the structure that was used to puff out ladies skirts, was quite the feat of engineering.
When I first saw it I wondered how they could have sat down, but Mr. Walford demonstrated that the hoops are held together in such a manner as to make the device collapsible. He explained that ladies would step into these devices. He also pointed out that as a result of the paper thin fabric they used for dresses, as well as the very wide circumference, ladies were prone to get the skirt bottom caught on the edge of fireplaces. Crinolines were an average of 3-4 foot in diameter, at the height of their popularity, some extreme crinolines measured 6 feet in diameter. Even the 3-4 foot ones were cumbersome to move around in, and tended to get caught on various things such as doors, chairs, carriage wheels, etc. and could even topple the wearer in a strong wind.
To further aid in making the skirts look puffy and stand out from the body, many petticoat layers were worn. Thinking of muggy, hot Summer days, I felt that those multi-layers must have been very heavy and would have been far more of a discomfort than the corset!
The bustle was another interesting structure used by ladies to create a different shape.
The showcase pictured above displays several different bustle structures.
Mr. Walford explained that as it was tightened, the corset would push down the stomach and cause a bit of a bulge at the bottom of the corset. The bustle, attached to the back of the dress, balanced things out.
It was a very interesting display and we appreciated the time and effort that went into putting it together. The place where this exhibit is currently on display is PAMA or the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives. PAMA is a museum, art gallery, and archives for the Peel Region, located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. For more information, visit their website
Below, some period underwear ads from magazines and newspapers
20th century unmentionables
Below, early falsies!
Below unmentionables from the 1920s
Below, the whole underpinning kit: chemise, petticoat, corset, crinoline and pantaloons
Below, Wonderbra - 1975
Pictured below, the rubber girdle. A setback with these was that sometimes the rubber would deteriorate and stretch completely, unexpectedly leaving the wearer girdle free, and once in a while, with the defunct girdle at her feet.
Below, an advertisement for pantyhose from 1959.
All photos in this article are by Bruce M. Walker
Corsets? You ask. Yes, corsets. Good old lace ‘em up, pull ‘em tight and hold your breath corsets.
And, not JUST corsets - this exhibit took us through three centuries of “unmentionables” such as the wild and crazy under structure of women’s skirts - crinolines, as well as chemises, pantaloons, bustles and even Victorian silk stockings.
Mr. Walford’s collection showed several really early examples of corsets dating back to the 1700’s (seen below), as well as some from later dates.
Below, 1800’s corsets
The exhibits came from The Fashion History Museum, from the collection of co-founder/curator, Jonathan Walford. Mr. Walford is pictured below flanked by some Victorian unmentionables!
An entertaining and knowledgeable speaker, Mr. Walford explained the uses of the various garments and talked about some of the history associated with them.
Many people believe that Victorian women suffered the tortures of the damned by wearing corsets, but it seems that initially, according to Mr. Walford, corsets were used to correct posture, rather than create body contour restructuring, and are therefore perhaps unfairly demonized.
Below, more examples of corsets.
There was of course, extreme corseting, and there are amusing illustrations of an entire team of people struggling to tighten the laces on ladies corsets. At what cost the much sought after 16” waist!
Below, a cariacature of a lady getting her corset laced up.
The corset was habitually worn over top of the chemise, the petticoat and the pantaloons. The purpose of these items of clothing was to protect the outer clothing from body sweat and oils, thus keeping the outer clothing clean.
Mr. Walford explained that everyone - men and women - wore the chemise. The chemise would eventually turn into the slip and camisole for women, and the boned camisole is essentially a brassiere.
The pantaloons, forerunners of the panty (my, how those Victorians would have blushed at today’s undies - thongs for example!) were originally adopted for warmth. These were fairly baggy, with a split in the crotch (which was disguised by the fullness). It seems that after the late 1780’s, when lighter fabrics replaced the heavy brocades and wools, women felt the need to cover their lower regions in order to stay warm, as well as to keep prying eyes away in case of mishaps. The heavier fabrics had not only been warm, but had kept skirts from blowing upward, but the new light fabrics, such as the silks and batistes were prone to lift embarrassingly. The long pantaloons saved the day.
Seen below, the crinoline, the structure that was used to puff out ladies skirts, was quite the feat of engineering.
When I first saw it I wondered how they could have sat down, but Mr. Walford demonstrated that the hoops are held together in such a manner as to make the device collapsible. He explained that ladies would step into these devices. He also pointed out that as a result of the paper thin fabric they used for dresses, as well as the very wide circumference, ladies were prone to get the skirt bottom caught on the edge of fireplaces. Crinolines were an average of 3-4 foot in diameter, at the height of their popularity, some extreme crinolines measured 6 feet in diameter. Even the 3-4 foot ones were cumbersome to move around in, and tended to get caught on various things such as doors, chairs, carriage wheels, etc. and could even topple the wearer in a strong wind.
To further aid in making the skirts look puffy and stand out from the body, many petticoat layers were worn. Thinking of muggy, hot Summer days, I felt that those multi-layers must have been very heavy and would have been far more of a discomfort than the corset!
The bustle was another interesting structure used by ladies to create a different shape.
The showcase pictured above displays several different bustle structures.
Mr. Walford explained that as it was tightened, the corset would push down the stomach and cause a bit of a bulge at the bottom of the corset. The bustle, attached to the back of the dress, balanced things out.
It was a very interesting display and we appreciated the time and effort that went into putting it together. The place where this exhibit is currently on display is PAMA or the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives. PAMA is a museum, art gallery, and archives for the Peel Region, located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. For more information, visit their website
Below, some period underwear ads from magazines and newspapers
20th century unmentionables
Below, early falsies!
Below unmentionables from the 1920s
Below, the whole underpinning kit: chemise, petticoat, corset, crinoline and pantaloons
Below, Wonderbra - 1975
Pictured below, the rubber girdle. A setback with these was that sometimes the rubber would deteriorate and stretch completely, unexpectedly leaving the wearer girdle free, and once in a while, with the defunct girdle at her feet.
Below, an advertisement for pantyhose from 1959.
All photos in this article are by Bruce M. Walker
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