Comments | corsetmakers: A snippet I would like to share about corsets in 1913 plus questions about bust support.

Yvonne De Rooij in corsetmakers

A snippet I would like to share about corsets in 1913 plus questions about bust support.

Jul 06, 2019 20:00

I was talking about old (edwardian to 1949) books on sewing with TheLongHairedFlapper on her youtube channel, and she recommended some freely downloadable books from archive . com ( Read more... )

Comments 56

geminiwench July 6 2019, 19:00:06 UTC

I have a larger than average bust... and I don't care what the classic styles need from me... because I need certain things from my support pieces and that is non-negotiable! I prefer a balconette style top, that give me lots of uplift and control my kittens with a beautiful offer of decolletage with different dresses. The Victorian/Edwardian pigeon-front does allow for this (in my opinion), just by bringing the cups up just a bit, but letting it work like a bust minimizer (for a smoother flattened front) otherwise.

Honestly, I didn't find the Edwardian S shaped corset very comfortable, because of its long torso and its draping down past the hips made sitting uncomfortable with all my breastiness shoved back up into my face (or so it felt, possibly because of my alterations to keep my kittens proud). My short waist really didn't fit into that schema and I preferred skipping the Edwardian Bust-to-thigh design and jumping right into the 1920/1930s style new boned-and-elasticized style girdles of the time.

ext_3749756 July 6 2019, 19:15:37 UTC

If you can do what you need to do for support (even if that means adding a modern piece of underwear underneath) and comfort and still achieve the period silhouette I consider that a win ( ... )

geminiwench July 6 2019, 19:31:46 UTC

I patterned it off a real Edwardian steel S curve corset which I parted and resized for me. It was an underbust, boned all the way to the upper thigh, but it had a slight curve up top to try and 'lift' the girls if you had small ones, in hopes that a tight-fitting chemise and overdress would do the rest of the work. I brought the cups up, flaring them and gave myself a bit of a bust platform, in a separated balconette style. It seemed like a minor alteration and made me much more comfortable in my costumes. In those long corsets, I could only 'perch-sit'... and that is only comfortable for a short period of time ( ... )

ext_3749756 July 6 2019, 20:37:21 UTC

Thank you for going in depth, I now have a very clear picture of what you described ( ... )

Thread 48

virginiadear July 11 2019, 09:50:10 UTC

Returning to the subject of Edwardian or early twentieth century corsets, I feel very strongly about S-bend corsets. I know what an unnatural posture can do and how uncomfortable if not painful it can be, so I'm a great advocate of "faking" the S-bend by using pads inside the corset to achieve the proper silhouette.
I've never, ever been a fan of tight lacing as it was done in the periods of "serious corsetry," when corsets were steam molded, etc.

ext_3749756 July 11 2019, 16:14:00 UTC

I have recently re-read one of Cathy Hay's articles on the smoke and mirrors that is involved in edwardian corsetry, and that they are not at all as uncomfortable or damaging as some people claim ( ... )

virginiadear July 12 2019, 05:10:54 UTC

"I have recently re-read one of Cathy Hay's articles on the smoke and mirrors that is involved in edwardian corsetry, and that they are not at all as uncomfortable or damaging as some people claim."

I'm always interested to know who is making the claim: I've had any number of conversations where I've talked about corsets not leaving one breathless or constricting the ribcage so tightly as to be painful and nausea- and swoon-inducing, have explained about extremes in fashions versus what I think you'd call smoke and mirrors, and yet had the listening audience persist in exclaiming over the horrors of tight-lacing, etc., but often I find that the individual with whom I'm speaking has never worn a corset of any description.

"I have no doubt that edwardian corsets can be just as comfortable as any other corset provided that it is well drafted."Regarding Edwardian S-bend corsets and comfort or damage, if the S-bend of the clothed figure is determined by the corset alone, sooner or later there's going to be some damage. To have the hips ( ... )

ext_3749756 July 12 2019, 13:27:48 UTC

The only uncomfortable corsets I've ever worn were corsets not custom made for me (corsets from friends who egged me on to try them on) and when I wore my corsets much tighter than they were designed for. For example if the corset in question was custom made for me and designed with a 10cm lacing gap and I laced it much tighter than that ( ... )

Thread 8