Corsets
 Wear
these and look like a movie star! A corset was underwear
that made the waist tinier. As early as 1700 BC, the Minoan men and women
wore corsets to pull in the waist. In Crete, Egypt, Rome, Greece, and
Assyria, there is evidence of corsets. The women of ancient
Greece and Rome wore a three-part corset of linen wrappings. Corsets pulled
the waist in and constricted everything from the collarbone to the hipbone! Kind
of like being pinched in half! Later corsets were made of whale bones, wood, and even metal.
 I
wonder if they got
hot!
In the 13ths and 14th centuries, fashion
emphasized the trim silhouette. In the 16th century, the skirts grew
heavier and wider and a woman's small waist meant wealth and rank.
Into the 19th century, corsets were very popular in Europe and America.
The perfect waist was 18-19inches around
. Society demanded the tiny "wasp-waisted" look! Do
wasps like the "people-waisted" look?
A
girl started to wear corsets around age 14. After years of pulling corsets
tighter and tighter, they dislocated internal organs--
constricting the lungs and heart, putting pressure on the liver, pushing
up the stomach , squeezing the small intestines and bowels, and compressing
the bladder. Poor
insides!
Everything shifted up and
down to leave the waist empty.
A women who wore a corset could not sit down
straight, fainted easily, had heart ailments and digestion problems, and
died in childbirth and of organ failure.
But at least they
looked gorgeous doing it! |
 |
This
corset had steel clasps and was advertised with this statement: "A
corset is a greater factor in making a woman beautiful than any one garment." 
| Before a woman got into this, her corset
would have to be tightened with great force. Often, someone would
put a foot against her back and pull on the corset laces! Many times,
she fainted in the process! |
 |
 A
wasp-waist was not an easy thing to get!
ACTIVITY!
Here's how to cut a piece of paper to have an
18" opening, just the size of the "perfect" waist! Compare
yours! GO!
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