The Corset Thing

The Victorian times. Gothic mansions, carriages, lavish dresses, grand balls, and sweeping romance. It was the era of the Bronte sisters (Wuthering Heights was my first-ever Victorian novel) and Dickens. Bustles and crinolines and arsenic dye and of course, corsets. The oppressive torture device that stole women’s breath and mobility, shifted their organs, and… are a 2021 fashion trend?

Here’s the thing about corsets. They are controversial. And fashion loves controversy. When people— people who aren’t historical costumers and the like, at least— think of corsets, they probably think of those iconic pictures of the Gibson girl posing in her underwear with a waist that you could probably wrap your hands around and touch your fingers together on the other side. They probably think of the Hollywood scenes of women fainting or unlacing their corsets to reveal red welts from where the boning dug into their exposed flesh i.e., Bridgerton or Pirates of the Caribbean. Or maybe you think of the Tik-Tok corset trend. You know the one— no one wants a waist over nine inches and the corseted Tik-Toker yanks the laces and instantly cinches their waist into nothing.

But as any historical fashion enthusiast will tell you (very angrily, if provoked), most of what you think you know about corsets is a myth. Very few women tight-laced to a point that was unhealthy. I once heard someone refer to tight-lacers as the “Kardashians of the Victorian Era,” and I wish I could remember who. But no one had a nine-inch waist. They weren’t fainting everywhere. No one removed their ribs to look skinnier. If your corset hurts you, you’re wearing it wrong. If everyone wore corsets, or boned garments akin to corsets practically every day for centuries— to work and ride horses and bikes and dance— they couldn’t have been that bad. And now, corsets are making a comeback. If you take a look on social media, or any trendy store websites, or even just search “corsets”, you can probably find dozens of pictures showing off structured bodices and even the modern equivalent of Victorian-style corsets to be worn as tops. People are wearing them with jeans, over dresses, under blazers, for history-bounding and for every day.

Now I’m not normally one to hype up new fashion trends, but this is one I can get behind. And here’s my proposition: why stop at corsets? If we’re bringing corsets back, why not bring back Victorian fashion altogether? Why not bring back historical fashion altogether? Hear me out. I’m the first person to say that I am… fashion-shy. I don’t like to draw attention to myself. I sewed myself a pair of 18th century stays that I would love to wear out in public (because they’re actually more comfortable than a bra) but, let’s face it, I’d be too self-conscious. I’d love to put on my Outlander cosplay and run through the fields. If people wouldn’t stare at me.

But why not normalize it? Historical fashion is actually incredibly flattering. Whereas today we’re a size-centered society, historically fashion was all about shape and silhouette. The beautiful thing was that anyone of any size could achieve the fashionable silhouette with the right corsetry and padding. That accessibility is something we’re missing in the modern-day.

It’s been a hell of a year and 4— almost 5— months. Let’s romanticize life again. We should be able to dress up in ball gowns and lace and petticoats and silk corsets and walk down the street without question. Oh, and, COVID-wise? Crinolines and panniers are great for social distancing. Nobody can get too close to each other if we're all wearing those skirts.