Victorian Corsets: Corsets of the 1880's

A Victorian corset is an antique English costume also known as an hourglass corset. This style of a corset is known for its hourglass shape. Very popular during 1830s until the 19th century, it reached its peak in the 1880s.

The Victorian corset was a very essential woman's undergarment. Like the original corset, it has lace on the center of the back. Tightness can be adjusted but on the waist area only. It usually has spoon busk, which is the stiff spoon-shaped area of a corset in its middle front section. The base of the busk is wide and shaped like a plate. A Victorian corset also has boning made of steel.

Early Victorian corsets had wasp waist, a special tight area that makes the wearer uncomfortable. Victorian corsets nowadays are free of wasp waist.

Early Victorian corsets accentuate width: horizontal measurement is emphasized. Victorian corsets were worn with wide skirts and huge sleeves, and the area of the shoulder blades were set in a sloping manner. Modern Victorian corsets no longer bear this appearance.

Victorian corsets emphasize narrow waistlines by exaggerating the width of the other areas. A Victorian corset does not reduce the waistline by tight-lacing the whole torso; it simply concentrates on the waist area to bring the fats downwards or upwards.

The Victorian corset can reduce the waistline immediately without sacrificing much comfort. It flattens the tummy, widens the hip and lifts the bust.

Wide skirts and huge sleeves were no longer fashionable in the 1880s. The Victorian corset then started emphasizing vertical measurement, providing a slimmer appearance. It emphasized length by using vertical seams and creates a cone shape on the body.

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