The return of the stiff corset
The stiff corset, with its low neck to better display the individual's natural “charms”, was very popular during the Ancien Régime and into the Consulate, but was abandoned come the First Empire, during which a lighter, more comfortable model, known as the “corset à la Ninon” (1810), was preferred. The stiff corset reappeared around 1816, replacing the looser, more natural First Empire figure, and the fashion for a miniscule waist peaked during the Second Empire.
It was largely thanks to the Empress Eugénie that the stiff corset returned to the fashion world. The waist was tightly constricted and reduced (sometimes to as little as between 17 and 20 inches in circumference), which placed the emphasis on the hips (which already figured prominent thanks to the steel crinoline trend) and gave the wearer an hourglass figure. This also placed added emphasis on the shoulders. The corsets were thus considered to be merely enhancing the natural female shape. The corset became the essential fashion accessory, arching the back, flattening the stomach and supporting the bust. A woman in a corset could not fail to appear slim and stand tall. By 1860, one million corsets were being sold each year, and the trend permeated every layer of society.
The corset, always in white and often finished in silk, satin or lace, comprised a metal busque at the front, whalebone “boning” and flexible gussets. The busque made corsets considerably easier to put on and take off, allowing the individual to remove the item without unduly loosening the lacing.
Although doctors were quick to point out the health problems caused by the corset trend, their warnings went largely unheeded. Constriction of the waist brought about bouts of nausea and caused fainting, whilst the tightlacing also deformed the skeleton, damaged the internal organs and led to a number of serious, and occasionally fatal, health conditions. Napoleon I was also known to have lent his voice to the criticism: “This piece of clothing is vanity of the worst kind. It injures women and mistreats their offspring. It shows nothing but frivolous taste and presages a forthcoming decadence.” They need not have wasted their breath: women throughout the period continued to put themselves through months of torture to obtain their desired “slim” waist.
After the fall of the Second Empire, the fashion world lacked guidance and meandered for a couple of years. In 1873, the bulky and cumbersome crinoline frame was abandoned and a slimmer, elongated female figure became the fashion. The corset adapted once again, becoming longer and extending past the hips. Modern-day corsetiers are now able to marry elegance with safety.
Emmanuelle Papot (tr. & ed. H.D.W.)