A Look At Corsets (1920)

"Half the ungainliness of movement and of pose, of which we are hearing so much of now, is to be put down to the ill-advised choice of corsets.  If one sees, as one so often does, a woman sitting with her knees too far apart, the ugly pose is generally brought about by corsets that are cut unduly long, and so prevent free movement of the limbs.  If she sprawls at table instead of sitting upright, it is just as probable that they are cut too low in the back, and so afford her insufficient support.  If she walks from the waist instead of from the hips, the chances are that the figure below the waist is too firmly corseted.  That is what a corset expert told me."

Australian Home Journal, July 1920

 

There's an urban myth that corsets disappeared from women's wardrobes with the start of the 1920s.  While some younger and more daring flappers might have given their corsets the flick, most women were still lacing themselves up in boned "foundation" garments.  The difference was that they were using them to flatten their curves rather than obtain a tiny waist, as you can see in this advertisement from 1920.

Later in the decade it became possible to buy undergarments to flatten breasts as well as abdomens.  With the development of stretch materials the corset gradually morphed into the elastic girdle, then into "control top" pantyhose.  The latest versions of figure controlling undergarments are known as "shapewear", but thankfully they aren't as prevalent as corsets were!