From the 17th to the early 20th century, corsets, often referred to as stays, were more than just undergarments; they were powerful symbols embedded in the social and cultural fabric of European society. These garments, designed to shape the torso into a desired silhouette, carried connotations of respectability, social standing, and even moral character. Their use was deeply intertwined with prevailing beauty standards, gender roles, and the expectations
placed upon women across different social strata. The presence or absence of stays could communicate a woman's position in society, her adherence to fashion, and her perceived engagement in physical labor.
Stays, Respectability, and Social Class
Stays were widely considered more respectable than "jumps," a looser, unboned variant. An anonymous aphorism from 1762, "Now a shape in neat stays, now a slattern in jumps," clearly illustrates this distinction. The use of stays was directly associated with respectability and being above physical labor. This connection meant that women of all social levels, from ladies of the court to street vendors, wore either stays or jumps, reflecting their aspirations or realities. Stays not only shaped the body to fit the desired silhouette, such as the inverted cone shape popular in the 1780s, but also ensured good posture and the appearance of smooth contours. These undergarments were primarily aimed at achieving a refined appearance rather than exaggerating the bust and waist, and were even believed to prevent body deformities. In some instances, stays were worn as outer garments by the peasant class, further highlighting their functional and symbolic importance across society.
Gender Roles and the Shifting Perception of Corsets
By the beginning of the 20th century, significant shifts in gender roles began to influence the prevalence of corsets. As women became more active outside the home, and with the onset of World War I and II leading to material shortages, the corset started to be largely discarded by mainstream fashion. This marked a departure from centuries of tradition where corsets were a standard part of daily wear for all women in Western fashion. Forgoing a corset in public during the 19th century was considered a risqué choice and was even associated with prostitution, underscoring the garment's deep connection to societal expectations of female appearance and decorum.
Interestingly, the practice of wearing corsets was not exclusively female. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, some men, particularly the widely mocked dandies, were known to wear corsets. In the 1820s, the beauty standard for men included a very thin waist, leading some to adopt corsets. This practice was associated with dandies and also with the military and certain sports, due to the back support they offered. Men's corsets primarily aimed to slim the waist and were worn over the shirt but beneath other garments. However, this practice was controversial, and by the mid-1800s, men's corsets fell out of favor, generally becoming considered effeminate and pretentious.
The Corset Controversy and Dress Reform
The widespread use of corsets, particularly the practice of tightlacing, sparked considerable debate and controversy throughout the 19th century. This "corset controversy" or "corset question" was a topic of public concern, at times escalating into moral panic. While many agreed that some degree of corseting was beneficial, believing women's bodies to be weaker than men's, the extent of reduction and the methods used were highly contentious. Doctors often blamed mothers for encouraging their daughters to corset too early or too tightly, while mothers sometimes lamented their daughters' insistence on tightlacing despite warnings. Few openly admitted to tightlacing, and accounts of proud practitioners often drew ire. Only a small number of voices advocated for the complete abandonment of corsets. The dress reform movement, which emerged in response to the perceived impracticality and restrictiveness of contemporary fashions, also targeted corsets. Reformers like Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward urged women to "Burn up the corsets!" and make a "bonfire of the cruel steels." However, despite these efforts, dress reform had little mainstream impact, and as long as fashion emphasized a small waist, the corset remained an indispensable part of dress.
