Edwardian Corsets,Edwardian Era Corsets

Corsets were a very popular part of the dress during the Edwardian times. It was not easy to clean corsets. Therefore, a lot of protective measures were taken to prevent it from getting damaged. Many layers of clothes were put on above the corset. A chemise was worn under the Edwardian corset.

Corsets were worn in the Victorian era too and were carried on to the Edwardian era. Let us get into a detailed view:

The Victorian Corset: The Predisessor of Edwardian Corset:

Queen Victoria ruled England from 1837 1901. The corsets that were designed during this period were mainly done so keeping in mind the hourglass female figure. The waist region of the corset was absolutely thin in structure.

During the period of 1840 s 50 s tight lacing corsets became very popular. The corsets that were designed had a flared structure and it extended till several inches below the waist line. They were designed in a way in which they were very prominently curvaceous.

The Edwardian Corset:

After the death of Queen Victoria, the throne was succeeded by ling Edward in the year 1901. He ruled England till 1910. Voluptuous figures were greatly desired and appreciated. So the corsets that were designed tried to bring out the S shaped body structure of the female figure. Women, in order to bring out the S body structure, tightly laced the corsets, so much so that the figure got distorted and the S form was visible.

Corsets that were designed with straight front were also referred to as the swan bill corsets. The S shaped corset was also known as the health corset. Ladies wore them extensively throughout the Edwardian period. This shape of corset gave the impression of a thin waist line by pushing the hips outward and the bust region forward. By this, pressure that was exerted on the abdomen was reduced greatly. It was a very rigid manner of dressing for ladies.

The corsets saw a decline in popularity towards the later part of the Edwardian era. They lost popularity at around 1908. The ladies now preferred to dress themselves in clothes that were of higher waistline. They preferred more natural clothes and not too rigid, artificial, uncomfortable clothes. It was almost impossible to feel comfortable and at ease in the Edwardian corsets. With the decline of the Edwardian corsets, bras became popular with the ladies.