68.144.14

Images (6)

Unraveled_06 Left to right 2003.86.1 (shoes), P78.3.2 (dress), 68.144.14 (corset), 2006.13.1 (green dress), 86.157.9 (shawl wall), P82.5.3 (cape dress), 92.18.1 (dress)

Unraveled_41 Left to right 2003.86.1 (shoes), P78.3.2 (dress), 68.144.14 (corset)

Seduction_09 Left to right 68.144.14 (corset), 93.132.4 (waistcoat case), 82.189.58 (textile wall), 2006.56.1 (dress), PL71.2.6 (shoes case), 80.131.1 (box case), U.183 (bag case), 91.148.32B and 91.148.40 (lace case), P85.19.1 (short sleeve dress), 77.108.4 (white dress), X321.43B (textile wall), 2006.13.1 (green dress)

Object: Corset stays

Date: c. 1750

Medium: Brocaded silk

Country: France

Credit Line: Gift of Miss Adele Simpson

Object number: 68.144.14

DescriptionStays in white silk brocaded with symmetrical multicolor floral pattern; decollete with high, laced back; stiffened, pieced construction with gussets and boning

Label Text:Eighteenth-century corsets (also known as stays) straightened the back and enhanced the breasts by pushing them up and together. Stays were obligatory for the “straitlaced” woman, yet they also held an erotic allure. This corset was enlarged by adding panels of a different fabric at the sides. Although this alteration may have been made to suit the changed figure of its original wearer, it is also possible that the stays were passed down to someone else or sold in the secondhand market.

In Collection(s)

Lingerie

Exhibitions:

Seduction
Fashion Unraveled
The Corset: Fashioning the Body