Underwear
drawers still reached to the knee and were voluminous around
• Form and Fashion: The Nineteenth Century
• Health, Freedom, and Reform
• Natural Lines and New Technology: 1900 Onward
• Snapshot: The Corset
T he fashionable silhouette has gone through bewildering
changes during the last two hundred years, and these would
not have been possible without the shapes created beneath. Un-
derwear and outerwear progressed in tandem. Underwear de-
signers responded to prevailing styles of fashionable dress, and
fashion designers built and relied upon the capabilities of struc-
tural underpinnings as they developed. These changes were, in
turn, influenced by key social, economic, and technological devel-
opments, which unfolded with increasing speed as the centuries
progressed.
FORM AND FASHION:
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
This era began with a period of startling simplicity in dress,
which was true of both underwear and outerwear. Women’s
clothing consisted chiefly of straight white muslin gowns with
high waists, and this pared-down look required both a reduc-
tion in underwear bulk and new innovations to make the style
work effectively. This plain yet elegant fashion had its roots in the
previous century. During the 1780s, stiffly corseted dress styles
became much simpler and lighter. White cotton muslin was the
main fabric used, and waist levels rose to just under the bust.
This change was partly motivated by politics; from 1789, the old
order was swept away in Revolutionary France, and fashion re-
flected a shift toward a more “democratic” wardrobe inspired by
ancient Greek sculpture.
The high-waisted empire look lasted until around 1820, and, in
order to achieve the fashionable line, it was necessary for women
to relinquish all but one or two muslin petticoats. It was said that
women also gave up their stays. However, surviving corsets and
documentary evidence suggest that most women, except the very
young, wore either short, corded stays that mirrored the short
bodice and supported the bust or long stays that controlled the
figure over the hips and stomach. Gussets for bust support were
introduced, and, for evening wear, cleavage was seen above low-
cut bodices. For those not endowed with a full bust, this era saw
the use of bust improvers, sometimes called “waxen bosoms” or
“bosom friends.”
An important development in underwear during this period
also relates directly to the flimsy nature of the gowns worn. Draw-
ers made their first significant appearance, though they were not
universally adopted. Worn for modesty under the thin muslin
dresses, they were long and often extended below the hem. From
around 1820, women’s drawers shortened and were gradually
adopted by a larger proportion of the population. For reasons
of hygiene they were often made open, with the two legs joined
only to the waistband at the top. Even after they were shortened,
the hips and seat, with open versions still found until around
1914. Before the introduction of drawers, only a cotton or linen
chemise would have been worn, usually extending down to knee
level. The chemise, worn by both men and women, continued in
use until the late nineteenth century. It was a large, shapeless gar-
ment with a wide neckline and broad sleeves.
From the 1820s, the simple fashions of the first twenty years of
the nineteenth century disappeared as styles became much more
elaborate and formal. The fashionable figure grew increasingly
hourglass in shape as the waistline returned to its natural level
and skirts widened. During the early nineteenth century, men’s
silhouettes followed those of women. Frock coats had wide skirts
and nipped-in waists, and some men are known to have worn cor-
sets to achieve a fashionable figure, especially military men. Men’s
underwear consisted of drawers and chemises, sometimes with
the addition of vests for warmth. The drawers and vests could be
made from linen, cotton, or wool, though knitted silk also became
popular for the wealthy as summer wear. As close-fitting trousers
took over from breeches at the start of the century, more closely
fitting underwear that extended to the ankle was adopted. From
the 1820s to the 1850s, there was a further development in women’s
underwear. The number of petticoats worn multiplied signifi-
cantly. During the early 1850s, when skirts had become particularly
wide, women wore up to six stiffened petticoats, some including
horsehair, in order to achieve the fashionable look, and they rustled
as they moved. As well as being extremely hot, itchy, and uncom-
fortable in warm weather, this profusion of petticoats would have
weighed a great deal and allowed only limited physical activity.
Relief came around 1856, with the advent of the cage crino-
line. This light structure, made from cane, steel, or whalebone,
consisted of a series of hoops joined with tapes. It held the skirt
out in a dome shape and swung from side to side as the wearer
walked. Despite its cumbersome appearance to modern eyes, it
represented a huge breakthrough in terms of ease of wear and
lightness. The crinoline was worn by women at every echelon of
society. Reasons for this were the advent of the sewing machine,
the development of sprung steel, and mass production, which
made crinolines affordable. At the height of the craze, British
firms such as Thompson’s produced around four thousand crino-
lines a day. Crinoline-related accidents in factories testify to their
use by working-class women.
Until the early 1860s, the crinoline cage retained its domed
shape, growing in circumference and inspiring many satirical car-
toons. After this time, it started to flatten in front, and, from the
late 1860s, bustle structures were used to hold skirts out at the
back. The early 1870s saw the more general use of tournures (bus-
tles). They were created using a wide variety of materials such
as metal, cane, or whalebone hoops or woven horsehair flounces.
Bustles disappeared after two to three years, only to return to
fashion in a more exaggerated form from the early 1880s. They
then grew in size to large horizontal protrusions. Some, such as
the chimney bustle, were designed to collapse as the wearer sat
down. All bustles required women to sit sideways on chairs, and
they also caused a wobble effect when walking. At the front of
the body, the new shape dominating women’s wear during the
1870s and 1880s was a tightly fitted bodice that followed the figure
390 TYPES OF DRESS
A crinoline of steel hoops held together with tapes, United Kingdom, 1858–
1868. The bottom section is covered with red-and-cream wool, and the hem
is protected with brown velvet. Museum ref: M.1993.98. Image reproduced
courtesy of the Olive Matthews Collection, Chertsey Museum. www.chertsey
museum.org.uk
snugly over the hips. Longer, tighter corsetry was developed to
create a fashionably smooth shape, and bust improvers returned
for those who wished to enhance their figures.
The 1870s and 1880s also saw women’s underwear become
increasingly fitted, decorative, colorful, and luxurious—a trend
that was to continue through the twentieth century. Until this
period, most underwear was white, usually made from linen or
cotton, and quite plain. The tighter bodices of the last three de-
cades of the nineteenth century meant chemises slimmed down,
and combinations made an appearance as the century came to
a close. Combinations merged drawers and newly fashionable
camisoles into one garment, reducing bulk and promoting the
smooth, fashionable line. Men also adopted their own form of
combinations during the late nineteenth century. Combining vest
and underpants, they buttoned down the center and were almost
universally worn by the early twentieth century.
Virtually all women’s undergarments were now trimmed with
ribbons, whitework embroidery, or lace, and this development
continued into the early twentieth century, when “lingerie,” as it was
now called, reached a zenith of lace, froth, and femininity. It coin-
cided with increased commercialization in the marketing of wom-
en’s underwear. The advertising industry was generally becoming
more active and sophisticated, and the greater visibility of under-
wear, especially corsets, within the marketplace may have helped to
boost its status. Manufacturers were now competing more actively
and openly than ever before. The result was the creation of under-
garments that not only looked beautiful but were soft and smooth
to the touch and had much more obvious sex appeal.
HEALTH, FREEDOM, AND REFORM
Underwear, especially that of women, was the source of much de-
bate during the nineteenth century. Motivations behind calls for
change ranged from the medical to the artistic to those of the grow-
ing women’s rights movement. Medical practitioners had been
calling attention to the dangers of restrictive underwear since the
eighteenth century. By the late 1860s, articles frequently appeared
in medical journals warning of the health problems caused by re-
strictive underwear, particularly tight lacing. Although few claims
were accurate, existing medical conditions may have been exac-
erbated. Other agents for change—notably in Britain, although
similar movements can be found elsewhere in Europe—included
the Pre-Raphaelites and later the arts and crafts movement, who
championed loose, medieval-inspired aesthetic dress worn with-
out corsets (the Pre-Raphaelites were active from 1849, and many
of their principles fed into the arts and crafts movement, which
was most active from around 1880 to 1910). Few women adopted
such styles, but some aspects of artistic dress made their way into
the mainstream, such as the tea gown of the 1890s—a loose, flow-
ing garment that required no corset.
From the 1860s, campaigners for women’s rights began to
make themselves heard in Britain and elsewhere in Europe. The
Rational Dress Society, formed in 1881, had a pronounced femi-
nist bent. It argued strongly that dress reform was a key element
in the emancipation of women. The society was against any forms
of dress that hampered freedom of movement, including heavy
petticoats and tight corsets. They devised practical garments such
as divided skirts and loose trousers and advocated a system of hy-
gienic, supportive underwear without boning that did not weigh
more than seven pounds (three kilograms). They exhibited at
the International Health Exhibition of 1884, a hugely successful
event with a large section devoted to healthy dress. Efforts to im-
prove the comfort and freedom of children’s clothes proved quite
successful during this era, although the majority of adults did not
deviate from conventional fashions, at least in their outerwear.
One exhibitor at the International Health Exhibition was par-
ticularly successful in marketing a new system of underclothing
along hygienic lines. Gustav Jaeger was a medical doctor and pro-
fessor of zoology and physiology at the University of Stuttgart,
Germany. He attributed considerable health benefits to his “San-
itary Woollen System,” which incorporated garments of every
sort. His underwear sold very well and changed attitudes about
what should be worn next to the skin. The system stated that
anything other than animal fibers would prevent the body from
breathing and sweating out “noxious exhalations” and asserted
that the correct fabric was undyed knitted wool. For best results,
wool had to be used for every garment, although few were brave
enough to follow the system in its entirety. He devised a variety
 UNDERWEAR 391

A brown cotton “chimney” style bustle, which collapsed as the wearer sat down, United Kingdom,
1883–1888. It is constructed from seven half-hoop steels and two crossed hoop steels, graduating
in width toward the hem. Museum ref: MT.2389. Image reproduced courtesy of the Olive Matthews
Collection, Chertsey Museum. www.chertseymuseum.org.uk

of undergarments, including woolen combinations and drawers
for both men and women, and corsets. The London businessman
L.R.S. Tomalin was largely responsible for the popularity of Jae-
ger’s clothing in Britain. He purchased the rights to use the Jaeger
name and associated products, manufacturing and retailing Jae-
ger items from 1884 on. The brand has enjoyed continued success
and has since branched out into mainstream fashion.
By the early 1890s, some articles of women’s clothing were
beginning to become more practical and easier to move in. Al-
though different groups undoubtedly had an influence on these
improvements, the main driving forces for change were fashion
and lifestyle. Changing attitudes toward women were at least
partly behind women’s more active involvement in sport, which
really began to take off during the late nineteenth century. Per-
haps the most influential sport in terms of dress was bicycling. By
the early 1890s, women were actively participating, and bloomers,
divided skirts, or knickerbockers were worn. These were exactly
the types of garments previously advocated by the Rational Dress
Society and others. Corsets were still worn, but the need for free-
dom of movement meant that sports corsets were devised, allow-
ing the arms, legs, and hips to move freely.
Progress was not straightforward, however. Despite moves
toward more comfortable clothing and underwear for women
who engaged in sport, tight corsets and full-length skirts were
still a very real feature of everyday fashions. These reached their
zenith in the notorious S-bend corset of the early 1900s, which
pushed the bust forward and threw the hips back in an unnatural
line. It would take the growing power of the fashion industry to
precipitate a wholesale departure from the restrictive nature of
fashionable clothing.
NATURAL LINES AND NEW TECHNOLOGY:
1900 ONWARD
The S-bend corset and accompanying flowing petticoats had
fallen from favor by 1907. Society was ready for a radical change,
392 TYPES OF DRESS
and a new straight, natural line came into vogue. Waistlines rose,
and skirts narrowed and shortened to ankle length. The person
generally credited with this development is the French designer
Paul Poiret. His fashions were highly eclectic, taking inspiration
from exotic cultures and the simple, high-waisted styles of the
early 1800s. He claimed to have freed women from their corsets,
but few relinquished them. Instead they wore straighter stays that
still restricted the legs, though they were not laced tightly at the
waist. Only one slim, tubular petticoat was now worn over “direc-
toire knickers.” These narrow, closed drawers were elasticized at
A pair of white cotton lawn combinations with a silk tie at the waist and open
crotch, United Kingdom, 1890–1910. The neckline, legs, waist, and armholes
are trimmed with lace and cream satin bows. Museum ref: MT.2443. Image
reproduced courtesy of the Olive Matthews Collection, Chertsey Museum. www.
chertseymuseum.org.uk
the waist and knees and slowly replaced voluminous open styles.
Another important development at this time was the hugely suc-
cessful girl’s liberty bodice, which was produced from 1908 on by
the English firm of Symington, Market Harborough. A mainstay
of children’s wardrobes until the late 1950s, this button-down
woolen bodice followed rather than restricted the figure and dis-
pensed with any boning.
These developments were accelerated by the major politi-
cal events of the first half of the twentieth century. There was
little radical change in fashion during World War I, but women
were called to work in traditional men’s roles for the first time.
Once the pressure of the war was over, it became apparent that the
position of women in society had changed. In addition, women
across most of Europe gained the vote during the decade after
the war. These significant advances in social status, and the shock
of the losses of the war, had a profound effect on women’s dress.
Youth and freedom were celebrated above all things. A boyish
look quickly took over as waistlines dropped to the hips, women
cropped their hair, and hemlines rose. In terms of underwear, this
meant significant developments. Underwear was much reduced,
and cami-knickers came into use—much shorter and more femi-
nine than combinations, they were often lace-trimmed and came
in many colors. Petticoats were either relinquished completely or
slimmed down to follow the new line. Modern dance crazes of
the 1920s and 1930s also had an effect on corsetry, which needed
to be much easier to move in. The importance of exercise was
now fully recognized. Although few women relinquished addi-
tional support completely, muscular, toned bodies that required
no corsetry were seen as the ultimate goal.
Technological breakthroughs played a key role in the develop-
ment of underwear during the interwar years. Elastic was now
substituted for boning in foundation wear for the first time. It
provided greater comfort, less bulk, and freedom of movement in
all-in-one control garments called corselets and roll-ons, which
only covered the hips and literally rolled on without fastenings.
This new, more subtle foundation wear was ideal for the figure-
following bias-cut gowns of the 1930s. Rayon or artificial silk, a
cellulose-based manmade textile, was produced on a large scale
for the first time. It made a big difference to the affordability of
light, attractive underwear. Nylon was developed in the United
States in 1938, and, after World War II, it quickly took over as
the main material for women’s hosiery and underwear in general.
Spring 1947 saw the launch of the French designer Christian
Dior’s “New Look.” It featured tiny nipped-in waists, hip pan-
niers, and wide skirts with many stiffened petticoats beneath.
Britain was still experiencing clothes rationing, and such gener-
ous use of fabric prompted much criticism from the authorities.
Despite this, the New Look dominated fashion until the mid-
1950s. In terms of underwear, the era heralded a return to rigid
corsetry. The short “waspie” corset was designed to cinch the waist
in sharply. It utilized elastic but also contained boning and laced
up the back. It was worn over a roll-on or panty-girdle (a control-
ling garment that doubled as underpants), and this formidable
group of undergarments confined women’s figures in a way not
seen since the early 1900s.
As well as a small waist, the New Look also demanded a
shapely bosom. The bra was a key aspect of 1950s underwear,
providing the means to achieve new extremes of bust shaping.
An early version of the bra had been worn from the 1890s. Called
a bust bodice, it provided support when corsets were cut lower.

Bust bodices were usually boned and held the bosom in a single,
unseparated shelf or “monobosom.” A more natural, unboned,
and separating brassiere took over around the time of World
War I, but the boyish look of the 1920s heralded the use of a
simple flattening bandeau. The more curvy fashions of the 1930s
and 1940s saw the development of shaped cups for support and
uplift. Underwiring was introduced in the late 1930s but came
into its own during the 1950s. The 1950s “sweater girl” bra was the
most popular style of its time. It pushed the bust upward to exag-
gerated points using circular stitching, stiffening, and padding.
The baby boom of the immediate post–World War II era led
to the youth revolution of the 1960s. New, younger styles domi-
nated fashion from around 1964, with emphasis on slim, natural
figures. The prevailing fashions for women were simple, tubular
shift dresses and miniskirts, which reached their shortest around
1966. In terms of underwear, the desired shape was assisted by the
development of spandex, a manmade elastic with much greater
stretch capacity than its natural counterpart. The most successful
form was Lycra, created by DuPont. Lycra was widely used in
underwear by the mid-1960s and continues to form a key compo-
nent of both underwear and outerwear. The miniskirt also ush-
ered in another key development. Stockings were ousted, almost
wholesale, by tights. They were not new. Ballet dancers had been
wearing them for many years, but tights offered a more modern
Snapshot: The Corset
A lthough it has its origins in outerwear, the corset is tradi-
tionally defined as a tight-fitting undergarment. The boned
corset structure evolved from previous stiffened bodices and
formed a visible part of women’s wardrobes from at least as
early as the sixteenth century. During the eighteenth century,
the corset evolved into an important element of women’s un-
derclothing, molding the body into the fashionable shape and
functioning as a firm foundation for the outerwear above. As
such, eighteenth-century stays established a basic framework
for the corsets of the nineteenth century. During this period,
technological and fashionable developments went hand in
hand to create the complicated and controlling structures that
are now associated with the word corset. Although men occa-
sionally wore corsets, the wearing of corsets by women in West
Europe was far more widespread.
From around 1820, the unrestrictive straight stays of the
1790s and 1800s were modified in line with the newly fash-
ionable hourglass figure. From this period until the early years
of the twentieth century, the fashionable women’s silhouette
demanded a slender waist. Corsetry was almost universally
worn, and to relinquish one’s stays was seen as socially unac-
ceptable. Although children were laced into rigid boned stays
during much of the eighteenth century, by the nineteenth cen-
tury attitudes had changed. Little girls did wear models de-
signed for growing bodies, but these followed and supported
the figure rather than compressed it. Girls were only put into
UNDERWEAR 393
and comfortable alternative. Most women never returned to
stockings.
The trend toward brief and “invisible” underwear continued,
and this was made possible by the technique of molding man-
made fabrics. Seamless one-piece bras and underpants were
available from the late 1970s. Men’s underwear had also reduced
to boxer shorts and vests by midcentury. The Y-front brief was
first introduced in 1935 and steadily increased in popularity until
the early 1980s, when its appeal for younger men waned. Boxer
shorts then returned to favor, only to be ousted by tighter-fitting
thigh-length trunks, made popular by U.S. designer Calvin Klein
during the 1990s.
During the late twentieth century, the ultimate in brief un-
derpants was adopted in the shape of the thong. A narrow strip
of elasticized fabric located between the buttocks rendered
women’s underwear completely invisible from the outside. How-
ever, in a contrary and perhaps surprising development, figure
minimizing underwear has also grown in popularity from the
early twenty-first century. Usually in the form of heavily Lycra-
reinforced tights, knickers, or all-in-one garments, these pieces
are designed to slim the figure as smoothly and subtly as pos-
sible. Provoked perhaps by rising obesity levels, it suggests a lim-
ited return to the control and support of strong foundation wear
so beloved of previous generations.
adult-style stays at adolescence. During the 1820s, corsets re-
sembled those of the eighteenth century. They featured shoul-
der straps and fastened only at the back with lacing. However,
technological innovations were soon to affect corsetry. During
the late 1820s, metal eyelets were developed. These allowed
corset laces to be pulled much tighter without tearing the fab-
ric. From midcentury, the slot-and-stud fastening with a split
metal busk (the rigid section at the front of the corset) took
over as the standard means of closure, leaving the back lacing
for adjustment only. The corset now had a strong framework
both front and back. It held the body in a stiff upright position,
making bending at the waist almost impossible.
The basic nineteenth-century corset structure was now es-
tablished. From midcentury, it was often strapless, enclosing
the bust. The length of the corset differed according to the
prevailing fashion, as did the extent to which it was boned and
tight-laced. During the crinoline era of the 1850s and 1860s,
corsets extended just over the hips. They were not laced par-
ticularly tightly since the waist already looked small in com-
parison to the wide skirts. When bodices clung to the body and
extended over the hips during the 1870s and 1880s, corsets
were more heavily boned and made much longer in order to
control the figure. They were laced more tightly to emphasize
the waist and bust, and their length hindered leg movement.
The early 1900s S-bend corset, initially designed as a healthier
alternative, put the body under even more pressure. Laced to
394 TYPES OF DRESS

A coffee-colored cotton sateen Victorian corset made by the English firm Y&N and dating from 1885
to 1895. It has steel boning and a spoon-shaped busk and is lined with white cotton twill. The boning
channels are picked out in cream cotton, and the cotton flossing matches the scalloped cotton trim
at the top edge. The corset has additional diagonal seaming for support and shaping—a feature of
the Y&N brand. Corsets were widely used in West Europe in the nineteenth century, changing shape
according to the latest fashions. Museum ref: M.2009.03. Image reproduced courtesy of the Olive
Matthews Collection, Chertsey Museum. www.chertseymuseum.org.uk

a fashionable tightness, it pushed the bust forward and threw
the hips back in an unnatural curve.
Whalebone, inserted into stitched channels, was the most
common material for corset construction during the eight-
eenth century. It continued to form part of high-quality corsetry
well into the nineteenth century, although cheaper alternatives
were sought. Steel, wood, and cane were all used, but it was
not until the 1890s that rustproof sprung-steel supports were
successfully incorporated into corsets on a large scale. By this
date, basic construction methods had also changed. Bones
or steels were now held inside casings that were stitched onto
the outside of the corset. From the 1860s, the sewing machine
had a vital role to play in mechanization and mass production,
which, in turn, led to affordability. Before this time, profession-
ally made corsets were out of reach for most working-class
women, many of whom made their own. Some manufacturers
aimed new models directly at the less-wealthy market. The
English firm Symington of Market Harborough produced a
model called the “Pretty Housemaid,” billed as “the strong-
est and cheapest corset ever made.” Steam molding was

incorporated into corset production from the 1880s onward.
Finished garments were coated in wet starch and put onto
steam-heated copper molds. This set them permanently to the
desired shape.
The corset was a focus for debate and controversy during
the nineteenth century, and it remains so in the early twenty-
first century. Medical practitioners blamed it for a wide variety
of ailments ranging from deformed ribs, bifurcated livers, and
reduced lung capacity to cancer and tuberculosis. The pres-
sure exerted on the lower abdomen was also said to cause
prolapsed uterus and miscarriage. Medical science has since
discounted a number of these claims, but corsetry is still a
subject for debate. Scholars disagree on whether corsets
were the cause of impaired health in a large section of the
female population, and some state that corsets were unlikely
to have caused the majority of the diseases for which they
were blamed.
The corset has also been assessed from a feminist stand-
point. Some nineteenth-century campaigners for women’s
rights stated that the corset contributed to sexual inequal-
ity. More recently, feminist historians have argued that the
nineteenth-century corset was a tool for asserting men’s au-
thority over women, keeping women submissive, immobile,
and semi-invalid. Others refute this, stating that women were
not forced into corsets by men, rather that the corset was a
means by which women could consciously control and ne-
gotiate their own sexuality in a public sphere, being at once a
symbol of propriety and obvious sexual allure.
It is clear that the Victorians were fully aware of the corset’s
sexual allure, as might be expected of an intimate garment
that enhanced the sexual characteristics of the female body.
Corsets feature in erotic art and literature, and, during the mid-
nineteenth century, a much-quoted set of correspondence
published in the mainstream journal The English Woman’s
References and Further Reading
Carter, Alison. Underwear, the Fashion History. New York: Drama Books,
1992.
Cunnington, C. Willett, and Phyllis Cunnington. The History of Un-
derclothes. Originally published London: A. Joseph, 1951; rev. ed.
A. D. Mansfield and Valerie Mansfield . London: Faber & Faber,
1981.
Ewing, Elizabeth. Dress and Undress, a History of Women’s Underwear.
London: Batsford, 1978.
Langley Moore, Doris. The Woman in Fashion. London: Batsford, 1949.
Levitt, Sarah. Victorians Unbuttoned: Registered Designs for Clothing,
Their Makers and Wearers, 1839–1900. London: George Allen and
Unwin, 1986.
UNDERWEAR 395
Domestic Magazine explicitly links tight lacing with fetishism
and sadomasochism.
During the early twentieth century, the narrow waist fell out
of favor. Corsets remained but were modified for increasing
comfort in tune with modern lifestyles and new innovations.
By the 1960s, the fashion conscious had all but relinquished
corsets in favor of toned muscle. However, modern designers
have harnessed the sexuality and powerfully feminine legacy
of the corset to great effect. During the early 1990s, Jean Paul
Gaultier’s dramatic corset-inspired pieces hit the headlines
when Madonna wore them on stage. Since the mid-1980s,
designers including Vivienne Westwood, Thierry Mugler, and
Christian Lacroix have also initiated a major reincarnation of
the corset as fashionable outerwear. No longer hidden under
layers of clothing, this classic fashion component has been
successfully resurrected for the modern era.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Kunzle, David. Fashion and Fetishism: Corsets, Tight Lacing
and Other Forms of Body-Sculpture. Stroud, UK: Sutton,
2004.
Roberts, Helene E. “The Exquisite Slave: The Role of Clothes
in the Making of the Victorian Woman.” Signs: Journal of
Women in Culture and Society 2 (Spring 1977): 554–569.
Steele, Valerie. The Corset: A Cultural History. New Haven
and London: Yale University Press, 2001.
Summers, Leigh. Bound to Please: A History of the Victo-
rian Corset. Oxford: Berg, 2001.
Warren, Philip. Foundations of Fashion, The Symington
Corsetry Collection 1860–1990. Leicester, UK: Leicester-
shire County Council, 2001.
Grace Evans
See also Gender; Subcultural Dress.
Newton, Stella Mary. Health, Art and Reason, Dress Reformers of the
Nineteenth Century. London: John Murray, 1974.
Ribeiro, Aileen. Dress and Morality. London: Batsford, 1986.
Steele, Valerie. The Corset, a Cultural History. New Haven and London:
Yale University Press, 2001.
Warren, Philip. Foundations of Fashion, the Symington Corsetry Collection
1860–1990. Leicester, UK: Leicestershire County Council, 2001.
Waugh, Norah. Corsets and Crinolines. London: Batsford, 1954.
Grace Evans
See also Snapshot: Synthetics; England.