Childrens Clothing Learning Journey
Imagine being wrapped up so that all you can move are your eyes. Imagine boys dressed as girls. Imagine lying face down on the floor with your mother's foot in the middle of your back so that she can lace you tightly into your clothes... Click on steps 1 - 6 to find out more.....
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Childrens clothing learning journey Step 3: Laced in tight
Until about 1820 girl's dresses were quite loose fitting with a high waistline. Then fashions changed and the ideal look for girls was the 'hourglass' figure which meant having a really tiny waist. Young girls wore corded cotton stays. Stays are a corset which is a close-fitting bodice, either waist length or hip length, reinforced by stays (usually made of whalebone), worn to support and shape the waistline, hips, and breasts. Teenage girls had to endure being laced into tight corsets made from jean (like denim) or buckram (stiffened cotton) with whalebone spines. Mothers were advised that to '... give their daughter a full bosom, the daughter should put her corset on and lie face down on the ground so that the mother can place her foot in the small of the girl's back and pull the corset laces very tight...' The corsets were often so tight that girls couldn't breathe properly and some fainted. They also caused stomach problems and muscle problems. Girls dreaded the day they would have to wear corsets and envied their brothers the freedom they had not to wear such restrictive clothing. How might it feel to eat large meal when wearing a corset? |
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