Medium: Red wool, silk, steel, and whalebone

Date: c. 1880

Country: France (possibly)

Credit: Museum purchase

The silhouette of the 1880s was created with structured foundation garments that exaggerated the sexually-dimorphic curves of the female body. This fully boned corset of red wool and silk is laced up the back and fastens up the front with metal hooks. At the front of the corset, a steel, spoon-shaped "busk" that curves along the abdomen produces the tight fit, which enhances the contours of the "hourglass" silhouette. While the white cotton lace trim reflects a modest luxury, this red corset was nonetheless highly fashionable and somewhat controversial, as colorful corsets had been associated with "the aristocracy of vice" only a decade earlier.

Object Number: 98.29.3