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| (Lauder, 2010, p50) |
"The female silhouette tends to evolve as a result of what is considered socially acceptable and desirable at any given time. Throughout history women have worn the most elaborate contraptions, involving strapping, binding, boning and lacing, in order to achieve the perfect, fashionable shape for the bust hips and bottom."(Lauder, 2010, p32)
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| (Lauder, 2010, p38) |
"The fashion for extreme tight-lacing gave rise to the phenomenon whereby well-to-do ladies were renowned for swooning and fainting because their restrictive corsets compressed the ribcage and left them breathless and incapacitated. Doctors and politicians cursed the foolishness of this vain and absurd craze, suggesting women were putting their health, even their lives at risk." (Lauder, 2010, p39)
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| (Steele, 2001, p23) |
Describing the corset in the eighteenth century."This was singularly rigid and compressing throughout the period, and worn from childhood. The coarse material of which it was made was closely stitched in rows from top to bottom, enclosing stiffening's of cane or whalebone." (Willett and Cunnington, 1992, p87)
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| (Waugh, 1954, p107) |
 (Lauder, 2010, p12) |
 (Waugh, 1954, p102) |
"December 1828We are sorry to record (because we know of a very recent instance of its becoming fatal) the practice of pinching in the waist, by extreme tight lacing, to a slenderness, as unnatural as it is disagreeable, and unpleasing to the sight. This hideous and wasp-like fashion still prevails.La Belle Assemblee" (Waugh, 1954, p103)
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| (Steele, 2001, p xiii) |
"Some of the earliest visual evidence comes from a series of Neolithic drawings from Norfolk, in the east of England, that depict women wearing front-laced animal-hide bodies. Statues of the Cretan Snake goddess dating from 1500 BCE show her dressed in a shapely bodice whilst wielding snakes in both hands. Boudicca or Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, and the Celtic warrior queen Maeve of Ireland are both depicted in ancient art and legend as wearing leather bodices as part of their battle armour - a garment of both empowerment and protection." (Lauder, 2010, p13)
(Steele, 2001, p22)
"In the last 25 years, there has been a revival in interest in traditional corsets, probably inspired by the influential designer Vivienne Westwood, who first came to prominence as part of the punk movement. Renowned for her interest in form and structure, and drawing inspiration from the past, Westwood included the 'Statue of Liberty' corset, explicitly designed to be worn as outer clothing, as part of her 1987 'Harris Tweed' Collection. Indeed, Westwood and punk introduced fetish garments to the world of fashion and paved the way for overtly sexual clothing and fetishistic garments to be gradually integrated into the mainstream." (Lauder, 2010, p14)
"The corset has been a controversial garment throughout its history. It has been seen as a means of female oppression and yet sexual empowerment, of class distinction and yet a conduit of power. This remarkable garment covers the whole of the torso, sculpting the body into an hourglass-shaped work of art, accentuating the curves while diminishing the bulges. The magic of corsets is such that through the ages women, and sometimes men, have reported heightened feelings if sexual energy, personal power and social standing when wearing one." (Lauder, 2010, p17)
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| (Waugh, 1954, p85) |
"Corsets were now designed more for bust enhancement and a degree of abdominal reduction or control, without excessive waist cinching. As well as formal clothing becoming generally more comfortable to wear, corsetry was further considered to improve overall posture, as it is quite impossible to slouch when wearing a corset." (Lauder, 2010, p48)
(Lauder, 2010, p80)
"The morals of Victorian society are perhaps reflected in this example of the most extreme concealment of the female form. Beneath elaborate constructions of steel overlaid with layer upon layer of fabric and extravagant ornamentation, the soft female body can barely be imagined in its natural state." (Lauder, 2010, p52)
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| (Steele, 2001, p171) |
Describing the reasons for the decline of the corset through the twentieth century."Women began participating in sports, and a fashion for a more athletic, slender figure took the place of the Victorian ideal of a full bosom, tiny waist and expansive hips. The highly structured corsets of the Victorian era, which were intended to produce an hourglass shape, were replaced with designs which encouraged an upright but slim figure." (Lauder, 2010, p62)
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| (Lauder, 2010, p170) |
"By the mid-1960's the feminist movement was in full flow and many women felt an important sign of their liberation was, figuratively at least, to burn their bra, ditch their girdle and bin their stockings, and to promote a more liberated and less overtly sexual image towards womanhood. The symbolic act of throwing away the garments which were regarded by many as hallmarks of women's subservience was in reality a scalding critique of the patriarchal society of the times, and the prevailing beauty culture which valued women only for their looks, and not for their brains and abilities. It was also clearly a rebellion against the old age traditions of cinching, padding, pushing, restraining and compressing, in order to produce a female silhouette of which society might approve." (Lauder, 2010, p73)
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| (Steele, 2001, p175) |
"In the late 1980's, designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood heralded a renaissance of the corset. They both regarded the corset as a unique sculptural garment and introduced the post-modern idea of 'underwear as outerwear' at a time when fashion had once more fallen in love with a more voluptuous female form. Their designs created a revolutionary new idea of the corset in which the powerful female body is simultaneously worshiped and restrained." (Lauder, 2010, p77)
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| (Lauder, 2010, p106) |
"Dita seems to have had life-long fascination with lingerie and vintage fashion, and has raised the profile of corsets with her extensive modelling and the use of corsets in her performance costumes. Her obvious interest in the Golden Age of Hollywood led to a fascination with 1940's cinema and classic retro styles." (Lauder, 2010, p107)
"Classic Goth looks feature back-combed and crimped hair dyed red, purple or black; very pale, often white, foundation and heavy black eyeliner with purple and deepest red lipstick. The style includes Victorian and Edwardian-style clothing mixed with punk and fetish influences, often displaying dark, morbid and erotic themes, perfect for the inclusion of the corset." (Lauder, 2010, p102 &105)
"The concept of tight lacing as a fetish is first documented in the mid-19th century, but the idea of the corset as part of an explicit fetish scene is very much a later 20th century one." (Lauder, 2010, p117)
"Christian Dior's New Look of 1947 incorporated corsets as a major structural feature of a garment, necessary to produce the desired shape. His fellow couturier Jacques Faith featured intricate boning in the bodices of his evening gowns. Both were an inspiration to the high fashion designers of the 1980's and later." (Lauder, 2010, p143)
"As women became more health conscious during the 1980's, they began to transform their bodies using exercise, diet and cosmetic surgery rather that corsetry and other artificial means. At the same time the corset began to take on a new role, that of an object of high art. The hard canvas of the corset became the blank sheet for creative expression of a generation of designers in the late 20th century. Designers such as Thierry Mugler, Issey Miyake, Alexander McQueen and John Galliano simultaneously seem to have found inspiration within the insect world, the whole range of arthropoda influencing numerous and varied collections." (Lauder, 2010, p173)
"And why do women wear corsets? It is 'natural', Caplin argues, that ladies 'desire to retain as long as possible the charm of beauty and the appearance of youth." (Steele, 2003, p41)
