Corsets

What They Are Made From, and When Things Changed. Timeline of Support Materials.

Fill in the your measurements, and recieve individualized instructions on creating a perfectly fitting corset pattern.

The corset represents a fundamental shift in the concept of clothing and tailoring; instead of shaping clothes to the body, as had been done throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the body began to conform to the fashionable shape of the clothing worn.

How to draft a corset based on a basic block or sloper.

An overview of the Elizabethan "pair of bodies," both in terms of the period examples upon which modern reproductions are frequently made, and recommended books on the subject. The first part of the article can be found online at www.extremecostuming.com/ar...nelizabethancorsetpti.html

In 1995, the effigy of Queen Elizabeth residing in Westminster Abbey was unclothed for study and repair to the garments in which she was dressed. Janet Arnold spent some time examining these underpinnings. After extensive study, she pronounced them contemporary to Queen Elizabeth's death in 1603, or perhaps slightly earlier to just before the turn of the century.

Let me explain what the supporting undergarme nts of the 16th century comes from, and provide a brief timeline of how those pairs of bodies eventually came to be.