The Price of Beauty - Collecting Vintage Girdles
In a society obsessed with outer beauty, it’s no lie that people will do anything to stay lean, young, and beautiful – even if it requires a little pain. As my grandmother used to say: “Sometimes it hurts to be beautiful!” While there are plenty of ways that American women will torture themselves for everlasting beauty these days, in this case, I am referring to the world of corsets and girdles – vintage corsets and girdles to be exact!
Although the days of squeezing ourselves into impossible shapes with the use of binding girdles are gone, vintage girdles have long been a beautiful and popular collector’s item. Before we go into how to lace yourself up in your very own vintage girdle collection, let’s learn a little bit about the history of corsets.
The History of the Corset
(courtesy of antiquecorset.com)
A fashionable silhouette is often achieved by the use of undergarments that are literally under the principal garments. Hidden beneath layers of clothing, underwear seemed mysterious in the 18th and 19th centuries. Then, as layers were peeled away in the 20th century, underwear became intriguing and finally fascinating. As this progression developed, underwear, which was at first simple and plain, became ornate, colorful and at last frivolous.
The Rococo Period, 1720-1780
Stays and Corsets, The Torso
The earliest surviving body-shaping garments date from the 16th century and were usually made of leather or iron. Although designed to mould a perfect figure, these early foundation garments were often more likely used to correct curvature of the spine or some other medical weakness.
By the 18th century, stays (corsets) were in common use for strictly aesthetic purposes. They were usually made of linen stiffened with baleen (whalebone), cording and close-set lines of hand stitching. Often the stays were overlaid with fine silk and sometimes ornamented with embroidery, lace or ribbon.
The Pannier, The Hips
Throughout the mid 18th century the natural shape of the hips was completely disguised by the ever-widening skirt. This distention was supported on a framework of wood, cane, whalebone or metal. This framework was called a pannier, a term derived from the French word for bread basket (“panier”).
The stays and the pannier provided the support on which the elaborate silk gowns and petticoats were displayed.
The Neoclassical Period, 1790-1820
After the French Revolution in 1789, the popularity of democratic politics initiated a revival of the simple designs of ancient Greece, the birthplace of democratic thought. Women discarded wide skirts and lavish trimmings for slim lines and overall simplicity. Dresses became little more than plain cotton tubes drawn tight just below the bust by a band of fabric or ribbon.
All eccentric skirt supports were discarded and the stays, now more properly referred to as corsets were longer and leaner, usually made of cotton rather than linen or silk, and were stiffened with a single wooden slat called a busk, inserted into a pocket down the center front. The hips were held in tightly but the bust was still lifted high by the retention of shoulder straps.
The Romantic Period, 1820-1840
The Romantic Movement arose in Europe as a reaction to the austerity of Neoclassicism and as an expression of the spirit of change that characterized the age. In fashionable dresses, sleeves and skirts began to expand and the smallness of the wais itself became the focus. This change necessitated the fall of the high waistline to a level below the rib cage.
The Early Victorian Period, 1840-1860
As an over-reaction to the high waistlines popular in the very early 19th century the waistline of the 1840’s dropped almost to the hip level. By the early 1850’s the waist rose to it’s natural level. By the early 1860’s, the waistline was again raised slightly. The early Victorian corsets were usually made of stout cotton (sometimes faced with silk) and were heavily reinforced with either baleen or steel boning. By the mid 19th century, a corset could have as many as forty bones. The principal bone (the ‘main-stay’) was the busk, a strip of steel usually eight to twelve inches long divided into two halves joined down the centre by metal studs and rings and inserted lengthwise down the front of the corset. By dividing the busk, the wearer was able to separate the corset at front for removal without the necessity of entirely unlacing the back.
The most dramatic change in the silhouette involved the gradual expansion of the skirt, first by the multiple layering of petticoats, (sometimes as many as fourteen in the mid 1840’s), then in the 1850’s by the introduction of dome shaped petticoats stiffened with horsehair (crinoline) and steel wire hoops. Finally, in the 1860’s, skirts were supported with massive, elliptical steel hoped petticoats, which moved the fullness of the skirt towards the back. This change in the skirts shape heralded the introduction of the bustles of the 1870’s and 1880’s.
The 1870’s
Corsets in the early 1870’s frequently had a waist seam with an attached basque or short skirt designed to mould the upper hips. Below the waist the steel busk down the center front was curved and broadened into a shape similar to the bowl of a spoon.
The large hooped petticoats of the 1860’s became unpopular after 1868 and by 1870 the excess fabric in the skirt was drawn back and arranged in folds over a wire support frame. Although smaller, these frames were similar in construction to the hoops of the previous fifteen years but in addition had a bustle hump at the back. This entire apparatus was eclipsed in its turn when all forms of unnecessary garment support were removed for the sheath styles of the late 1870’s.
1880’s
The sheath style skirts of the late 1870’s were transformed with the reappearance of a larger bustle in the early 1880’s. By 1886 the bustle reached it’s zenith and projecting at a more or less right angle from the back of the waist it could extend from eight to twenty inches. Drapery arranged on the skirt was meant to fall straight to the floor rather than cascade as it had done in the 1870’s.
The Art Nouveau Area, 1900-1910
In 1898 a Parisian corsetiere, Mme. Gauche-Sarraute developed a straight fronted corset in an attempt to create a busk that did not press into the abdomen. The pressure on the internal organs was uncomfortable and over a period of time often caused medical problems. The new straight-busked corset was cut up high at the sides to allow the hips rather than the torso to accomplish the act of sitting. This change redirected the pressure from the abdomen to the small of the back with the result that women sometimes developed problems with their kidneys or liver instead of their intestines.
Regardless of the possible medical issues the straight fronted corset was hailed as a tremendous improvement and was frequently referred to as a health or sport corset. Because the new corset created a flat stomach women wished to display their figures more completely. To this end the petticoats were reduced from the five popular in the 1890’s to three, a move that was considered shocking at the time.
Posture also changed. The straight fronted corset forced the spine to curve forward at the waist and the body was drawn to the busk. The shoulders were pushed back and as were the hips which were padded with a bustle. When the shift, corset, bustle, bust improver, camisole, knickers and three petticoats were all donned and seen from the side the figure took on an S-shaped curve which was considered modern and the feminine interpretation of Art Nouveau, the design style popular from the late 1890’s into the early 20th century
The Directoire Revival – Hobble Period, 1908-1912
In 1908 the silhouette of the fashionable woman skirt began to narrow. This change came about as women required more physically liberating clothing. The narrower skirt forced the reduction in petticoats from three to two or even one and created a demand for a longer corset that would mold not only the waist but also the newly conspicuous hips. This style of corset was worn over a shift as before or over a garment combining camisole and knickers. The chest was often padded but hip pads or bustles went out of popular use at this time.
The First Modern Woman, 1914-1928
During World War I tight corseting went out of popular fashion. Women needed to be unfettered when doing war work and the natural waistline became the norm. Corsets were worn over shifts as before but the fit was much looser. By 1923, when waistlines dropped corsets moved from the centre of the figure to the hips where their principal function was to flatten the stomach. Undergarments minimized rather than exaggerated the figure.
The Great Depression, 1930-1940
When the Great Depression began in the early 1930’s the understatement of the 1920’s figure was no longer appealing and the natural curve of the body reappeared by 1931. The ideal figure was slenderized though weight control rather than machinery. Foundation garments were created to support a small, lithe figure, flatten the stomach and slightly shape the hips. These garments were intended to be inconspicuous, a difficult feat when the surface garments were light, pliable fabrics designed to cling to the body. The display of the figure was enhanced by the use of a bra and corset/ girdle, which were sometimes amalgamated into the corselette. Once the stockings were attached the corselette was be covered by a singlet and panties or a full body slip.
Wartime, 1939-1945
During World War II, women wanted to create an impression of solid dependability. In order to appear physically strong but still attractive, they began to emphasize the width of their shoulders with padding or decoration. This exaggeration of the upper body meant that the waistline appeared smaller without the handicap of severe corseting. Although rubber was a government-restricted commodity during World War II, mail order catalogues of the period still advertised elastic girdles.
The New Look, 1947- Early 1950’s
With the proliferation of new fabrics and the re-emergence of fashion houses after World War II, women adopted a more feminine silhouette. To make the waistline appear small, skirts were either very full, long and circular or slim-fitting with attention drawn to the width of the hips. The slim skirts required a foundation garment that would flatten the stomach and hold the hips firmly in place. The chest was supported by a more substantial bra which defined the curves of the bust.
The 1960’s and 1970’s
By the end of the 1960’s fashion had become less formal and rigorous foundation garments were not longer necessary. Bras were being discarded (or burned) or replaced by garments designed for support and comfort rather than for reshaping. Corsets and girdles became things of the past and most sales were based on novelty or force of habit. Some women simply did not feel properly dressed without their girdles.
Starting your Own Vintage Girdle Collection
Vintage girdles differ from present day girdles. You have to know what to look for to make sure you are getting the real deal. Avoid any girdles made with modern day fabric blends such as polyester, spandex and/or lycra. That is a dead give away for a reproduced or modern made girdle. The lace used to make modern corsets is usually black or white. Vintage girdles are usually black, white, light blue, red, or powder blue in color. The boning in modern girdles is also more flexible than a vintage girdle.
Look at the girdle carefully before you buy. You want to make sure you are getting your girdles in the best condition possible. Some girdles were worn once or never worn and will have slight to no imperfections. The older the girdle and the better the condition equals a higher valued piece.
Girdles should always be wrapped by retailers and by collectors (when storing) in acid-free tissue paper to avoid cracks and damage. If a retailer brings you something stored in the back of the store, make sure that you she him unwrap that puppy! That will let you know that the girdle you are buying has been properly maintained.
Know what you are buying. Do a little research on girdles and know at least a little about styles as related to the time period they were produced. You can always refer to the brief history I gave above. Knowing what you are shopping for can clue you in to a dishonest retailer! Also, don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions!
If you are shopping online for vintage girdles, please make sure that you ask the online vendor plenty of questions. Ask for additional pictures and about the quality of the fabric. Ask him or her to send you additional pictures of the damage if there is any.
The older the item and in great condition is likely to be more valuable than a more recent item. Girdles from the forties often had the “utility label.” If you see a washing machine icon then it is more likely to be a modern garment. If you manage to find 'new old stock' or NOS, you're in luck as not only these girdles have labels intact, but the original cardboard sales tag will be on the garment and maybe even the original packaging.
When caring for your vintage girdles, clean them with mild soap and water BY HAND. You can really extend the life of your collection by caring for them gently and with careful attention to detail. Always air dry them and be wary of girdles that have the potential to rust or spot. Store the girdles in a cool, dry and dark place in your acid-free tissue paper. Find a good size box for your pieces so that they will maintain their shape in a safe and protected place.
