Doll News Summer 2019 - 78

Colorful and dramatic, this yellow & black
silk corset is from 1880. Metropolitan
Museum Costume Collection

Changing Times

This stunning red cotton
corset with embroidery is
from 1880. Metropolitan
Museum Costume Collection

The opening years of the 19th century saw a sudden
and complete change in women's dress. Slim, highwaisted muslin or cotton gowns with tiny sleeves
and a simple low neckline was the order of the
day. They clung to the figure and were worn with
few undergarments, likening the wearer to ghostly
apparitions floating in the air. The mpire silhouette
was in stark contrast to past styles in its lightness,
simplicity and innocence. These styles required
much less restriction to the figure, with some ladies
discarding their stays completely. Undergarments
were reduced to a single narrow petticoat but, oddly,
were often accompanied by "bust improvers" made of
wax or stuffed cotton. The period of 18 to 1811 did
experience a frequent use of "short corsets," while long
straight corsets reaching down to the hips for those who
required some help with their figure to accommodate
the styles were also sometimes used. The introduction
of drawers in this period and the terminology change
from "shift" to "chemise" and "stays" to "corset" are
noteworthy, all of which far outlived the mpire styles
which began to fade by 18 .
After 183 fashion began to return to the more
elaborate styles of previous periods and the stay
makers were back in business, but not for long. The
development of metal eyelets for lacing in 18 3 and
a patent for woven corsets taken out in 1839 were the
first steps toward factory manufactured corsets. As the
middle class became more numerous and prosperous
78

SUMMER 2019

From 1880, shown is another
beautiful corset of blue silk.
Kyoto Costume Institute

the demand for a variety of undergarments expanded,
and this included corsets. With the introduction of the
sewing machine by Issac Merrit Singer in 18 corsets
flourished in both factories and homes.
The most fashionable outline was now, year by year,
becoming more tightly waisted. The exaggerated width
of the "gigot" sleeves of the 183 s gave way to the wide
skirts of the crinoline in the 18 s. As crinolines gained
popularity, the demand for the waist to be smaller
increased. Tighter corset lacing and voluminous skirts
created what we recognize today as the "Victorian
silhouette," with the corsets of the day extending beyond
the waist and flaring out over the hips. Fashion in the
extreme and with it an extremely curvaceous corset style
replacing the cylindrical shape of prior decades.

The Industrial Revolution

The mid-19th century experienced a rapid period of
industrial growth throughout both uropean and
American markets. Manufacturing provided a wider
variety of products and the growing wardrobes of
fashionable ladies now included multiples of many
different undergarments. here a lady may have only
owned a few chemises, drawers or corsets in the past,
she was now able to afford a "do en of everything"
to rotate from day to day. Of course, this trend carried
over to the trousseaus of the dolls which were becoming
increasingly available. Various new doll shops sold
special trunks to contain their numerous items of

Doll News Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Doll News Summer 2019