The ideal of what a woman’s body should look like has been debated, altered and modified so much over the course of time that we would be shocked now to see the variety of ways in which women were prescribed to look “perfect”. Firmly entrenched in this world are the clothes and undergarments women wear. Shapewear, bras and corsets have played a huge role in how society shapes the bodies of women to their preference. One of the largest changes that our time has seen was the introduction of the Victorian corset.
In the mid 1700s, the high-waisted empire style meant that corsets and structured undergarments were less constricting and were more to support and lift the bust. As the style for the natural waistline returned, the rise of the Victorian corset was on the horizon. The Victorian corset exerted much more force and visibly shaped a woman’s body into the hourglass shape that is still popular today. These corsets called for “long” shaping, which extended the waist down to shape below the natural waistline as well. This was also the time when the term “corset” was first used in English.
The Victorian corset was different from its predecessors in several ways. For one, this style of corset no longer ended at the hips, as stays of the past did, but flared out to several inches below the natural waist, creating a long, curvaceous shape. In fact, the Victorian corset was exaggeratedly curvaceous instead of funnel-shaped, like stays of the past. This shape was achieved with spiral steel stays. This was also the start of the cheaper, mass-produced corset as a machine-made corset was patented in the mid 1800s.
The Victorian corset helped add shape to the dresses of the time, which included nipped-in waists and voluminous skirts, with just a bit more emphasis on the bust than in times past.
Since the era of the Victorian corset, the shape of women’s bodies have continued to be assessed by the silhouette created with this corset: a long, curvy torso with cinched in waist and curvaceous hips. In modern times, this shape has become even more exaggerated, with a focus on large breasts, a large bottom and hips, and a very small waist. Clothing to fit and exaggerate this shape has continued to be popularized, but now many women are expected to maintain this impossible shape even while nude.
