‘There was one blushing damsel, just budding sixteen, whose waist by a corset ne’er encircled had been, but whose mother insisted that on such a night one should find a place there, and the lacing be tight.’ (How She Felt In Her First Corset, 1887)

Tight lacing often was frowned upon in the Victorian and Edwardian era. I’ve compiled articles from 1800 until the 1920s which regard tight lacing as a danger to health. According to the historical primary sources, tight lacing produced diseases from cancer to consumption (tuberculosis) to abortion and even death.

Lacing a corset too tightly – especially in childhood – is certainly harmful to the health. That being said, I think myths have been propagated as truth. On the one hand, because less was known about the causes of illness than today. On the other hand, they wanted to sell their product, for example “health corsets”.

There’s a cynical saying in 1846 that ‘tight lacing is a public benefit; for it kills off the foolish girls, and leaves the wise ones for good wives and mothers’ (Munn et al., 1846).

Bad Health Effects Of Tight Lacing

Willich (1802) regards corsets as important  for the health and comfort of women. However, stays shouldn’t be heavily boned, they should be rather made from wool felt or chamois leather. He continues tight lacing causes cancer, nausea, distortion of the spine, and many other diseases. Willich recommends stays boned with nearly parallel whalebone strips and fastened at the sides with hooks and eyes. This corset should be made short so as to not to ‘produce any inconvenience on sitting down’. These stays may also be padded and stuffed as much as one wishes.

In 1836, Alcott says that tight lacing injures the lungs. Woman, and especially children, should never wear a corset. No busk or rigid seams should impede the movement of the ribs while breathing. The spine doesn’t need artificial support ‘to keep the body erect’. Alcott continues that tight lacing promotes shortness of breath, an unhealthy complexion, chronic diseases, and weakened organs. Tight lacing shall even produce death ‘by cramping the motion of the heart’ (Johnson et al., 1909). She continues that the wasp-like shape is ‘unlovely’ and ‘unnatural’.

The Right Proportions Are More Important Than A Small Waist

‘Above all, as you regard health, comfort, and beauty, do not lace too tightly. A waist too small for the natural proportion of the figure is the worst possible deformity, and produces many others.’ (Philip, 1856) ‘A perfectly fitting corset is the foundation for artistic dressing. This does not imply that the corset should be worn so tight as to contract the waist to an abnormally small size. True beauty combines symmetry with proportion. Broad shoulders and prominent hips, combined with an abnormally small, wasp-like waist, present a figure that is a monstrosity. If such a waist is natural the woman should take the necessary means to develop and correct it, and bring it to the proper proportions of the rest of the body. An abnormally small foot on a large body is no mark of beauty, but, rather, otherwise. The same rule holds true regarding the waist.’ (Talk Upon Practical Subjects, 1895)

It is not necessary, in order to attain a fashionable figure, to be “drawn in” by staylaces until you cannot bend and can hardly breathe, for at length we recognise that beauty of outline is not gained by strenuous pinching-in of the middle of one’s figure.’ There’s a decreasing demand for small corset sizes: ‘Extreme tight-lacing is, luckily, no longer fashionable.’ (Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia, 1910-2c)

A Well-Fitting Corset Is Not Uncomfortable

‘Many ladies complain that a corset “hurts” them over the hips or at the end of the breast bone. If it were adapted to their figures it would not hurt. A corset should be fitted just as much as a shoe, and both can inflict an immense amount of suffering if they are not adapted to the shape. Where it is possible, let a saleswoman who thoroughly understands her business, try corsets on you until you find one that feels perfectly comfortable when properly laced, and wear it thus.

Resist the temptation to draw it a little closer and thus make it uncomfortable and verify the utterances of its adversaries. If you will wear it tight, let the pressure be directly at the waist-line, below the ribs. Do not draw the laces until you feel uncomfortable across and above the stomach, or over the hips and abdomen. You can lace your corset so that with every inspiration you can breathe from the very bottom of your lungs, and feel no pressure over the hips.’ (Beauty – Its Attainment And Preservation, 1892)

A Well-Fitting Corset For A Graceful Fit Of Clothing

‘The first-class tailor […] refuses to guarantee a perfect-fitting bodice, or even a well-hanging skirt, for the woman who wears a “store corset.” No two figures in the the world are alike, he argues, and the well-dressed woman’s corset should be made especially for her, molded to her figure and following its curves carefully. Moreover, he holds that upon the wearer depends considerable of the corset’s shape. No matter how skillfully it be cut and fitted, if the wearer fails to elevate her chest, square her shoulders, in fact “carry herself” properly, the result is a failure from an artistic standpoint. Then, too, must there be a line of corsets – one shape for the street jacket, another for the decollete bodice, on each for golf, tennis and bicycle exercise, another for the horse-woman, and still another for wear with negligee dresses.’ (Table Talk, 1896)

‘I believe in a simple corset – not the corset coffin. The novel, boneless, ribbon corsets of Yvette Guilbert are all that are necessary to support the busts of slender women, young or old. Even stouter women look better in an easy-fitting corset that does not press the adipose tissue below or above its confines.

The great mistake American women make is in buying corsets without trying them on and securing a proper fit. No French woman ever thinks of purchasing a corset from the counter. She tries her corset on, and she is never satisfied until she secures a stay that is not only comfortable, both for sitting and standing, but one that gives her figure graceful lines, while it allows her to breathe easily and to walk without the appearance of being hampered in any way.’ (A Complete and Authentic Treatise on the Laws of Health and Beauty, 1899)

To be healthy and keep young, a woman should wear a corset ‘made for her, and pay as good a price as she can afford.’ (Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia, 1910-2b) If a good corset is too expensive, she should choose light ones, such as ribbon corsets, and do daily exercises. Furthermore, a woman shouldn’t be ashamed of her pregnancy and therefore lace too tightly (Alsaker, 1916). If it is necessary at all, a light corset should be worn with shoulder straps.

Tight Lacing Stopped Because Of Cycling & Other Sports

The ‘outdoor girl’ ‘cannot have her movements impeded by long skirts, tight corsets, or a gigantic hat.’ (Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia, 1910-2a) ‘There is a growing crusade against tight lacing, and the wasp-waisted woman is no longer held in esteem. This is traceably directly to the bicycle craze […] A Parisian chronicler makes the statement that the waists of several acknowledged fashion leaders have suddenly increased in circumference some three or four inches; and this because they have loosened their stay-laces, not on account of the oft-repeated advice of their physicians, but because of their wheel exercise, that is only enjoyable when closthes are worn without compression.’ (Table Talk, 1896)

‘Report of girl dying from tight lacing not believed […] Tight lacing and small waists are so completely out of fashion […] Not, of course, because of health has this thing come about, except in so far that women are more sensible about their clothing than ever before, but because since the athletic girl has been the vogue the feminine waist has bean steadily growing larger. This combined with the style of the dip in front has made a radical change in the figures of women and completely revolutionized corsets. […] The wasp-like waist […] has gone out entirely. You cannot play golf if you are laced tightly, nor tennis or tramp all day in the fields.’ (The Saint Paul Globe, 1904)

Diet & Exercise Instead Of Tight Lacing

Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia (1910-2b) calls the seventeenth century an era of extreme tight lacing, but today the figure is kept trim to old age with exercise, diet, and a good, but moderate, corset.

The Edwardian Straight-Front Corset Makes Small Waists Impossible

‘The straight front corset makes it almost impossible for women to have the small waists of yore. The girl whose waist under the old regime might have been 19 inches, now measures 23 or 24, and so on in proportion. Of course, the shoulders have broadened accordingly.’ (The Saint Paul Globe, 1904)

‘No fashionable woman need tight lace; she is required to present an unbroken line from the decolletage to the knee, and this prevents any undue drawing in of the waist line.’ (The Queen, 1901)

How Small Should A Waist Be?

‘Tight lacing and small waists are so completely out of fashion that the woman who measures less than 24 or 25 inches round her waist looks odd.’ (The Saint Paul Globe, 1904)

Corset models in the 1890s should have a waist of ‘about 20 inches, with a bust of 38 and a hip measurement of 40 inches.’ (The Worcester Spy, 1899) But keep in mind that this is not the waist measurement of most women – it’s as extreme as today’s model measurements.

‘The, cultivated waist. That is what they call the twenty-four inch waist in England when it is compressed so that it may be girdled by an eighteen-inch leather belt. […] The artistic standards of beauty require that the waist should be twice the size of the throat. […] I read somewhere that the tightly-laced woman always imagines herself peculiarly sylphlike and graceful. Well, why? […] I cannot recall one–no, not even one sylph, not a single Venus, nor even a second-rate goddess, with an eighteen inch belt measure. […] I think, however, that the men are to blame for the revival of the wasp waist.’ (A Complete and Authentic Treatise on the Laws of Health and Beauty, 1899)

What Age Should Girls Start Wearing Corsets?

According to Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia (1910-2b), a girl should only wear a corded bodice until she’s fifteen. Between sixteen and seventeen, the figure should be gradually shaped so that there are no attempts at tight lacing in later age. Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia condemns the wearing of indiarubber belts in Turkish baths for weight reduction, and punishment corsets in schools. If some sleeping corset must be worn, it should just be of woolen stockinette.

A Corset Tax For Tight Lacing?

‘A certain Monsieur Plagnol, an eminent French politician […] claims that they [corsets] are immoral in influence, and if, in the face of this accusation, any women or class of women persist in wearing them, he urges the establishment of a corset tax, so that the State may derive an income from obstinate vanity.’ (Table Talk, 1896)

1920s & Today

Even in 1922, Lindlahr says that a woman who wears a tight laced corset plants ‘the seeds of cancer in the child’. And today, it’s said that underwire bras cause breast cancer which is just a myth (Gorski, 2014; American Cancer Society, 2014).

A Well-Fitting Corset Is Good For The Health

On the other hand, well fitting corsets are thought health-promoting. Corsets are now ‘”therapeutic agents” recommended by many physicians.’ A tight laced corset isn’t bad as long as there’s no ‘nip in’ in the waist with a ‘downward pressure on the intestines’. Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia, 1910-2c)

‘The bones and fabric of a well fitting and well made corset or corset-waist are protective of the tender skin of the flesh beneath them, since they come between it and the bands of the skirts, which must necessarily be moderately tight to insure a proper hanging. The reverse is true when the skirt bands are worn underneath the corsets, for then even a light pressure will produce welts and marks from these bands, often almost causing an abrasion of the skin.’ (Beauty – Its Attainment And Preservation, 1892)

A long, stout corset – not made from net – protects from chills and abdominal diseases in the tropics. Furthermore, corsets shall increase ‘a woman’s brain power’ because they bring stagnant blood near the intestines to the brain (Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia, 1910-2c).

References

• Alcott, W. A. (1836), ‘Sec. 2. Form Of The Dress. Continued.’, The Young Mother. Management of Children in Regard to Health, available at http://chestofbooks.com/health/children/William-A-Alcott/The-Young-Mother/Sec-2-Form-Of-The-Dress-Continued.html#.VZXxBkbcB7z, accessed 3/7/2015
• Alsaker, R. L. (1916), ‘Prenatal Care. Continued.’, Maintaining Health, available at http://chestofbooks.com/health/nutrition/R-L-Alsaker/Maintaining-Health/Prenatal-Care-Continued.html#.VZadkkbcB7z, accessed 3/7/2015
• American Cancer Society (2014), ‘Bras and Breast Cancer’, available at http://www.cancer.org/aboutus/howwehelpyou/bras-and-breast-cancer, accessed 6/7/2015
• Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia (1910-2a), ‘Hygiene In The Home. 3. Some Suggestions For Dress Reform’, available at http://chestofbooks.com/food/household/Woman-Encyclopaedia-4/Hygiene-In-The-Home-3-Some-Suggestions-For-Dress-Reform.html#.VZaUFEbcB7x, accessed 3/7/2015
• Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia (1910-2b), ‘The Art Of Wearing The Corset’, available at http://chestofbooks.com/food/household/Woman-Encyclopaedia-2/The-Art-Of-Wearing-The-Corset.html#.VZXvGkbcB7z, accessed 3/7/2015
• Every Woman’s Encyclopaedia (1910-2c), ‘Smart Dressing And Health’, available at http://chestofbooks.com/food/household/Woman-Encyclopaedia-2/Smart-Dressing-And-Health.html#.VZbad0bcB7x, accessed 4/7/2015
• Gorski, D. (2014), ‘One more time: No, wearing a bra does not cause breast cancer’, Science Based Medicine, available at https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/one-more-time-no-wearing-a-bra-does-not-cause-breast-cancer, accessed 6/7/2015
• Johnson et al. (1909), ‘Muscular Exercise’, Household Companion: The Family Doctor, available at http://chestofbooks.com/health/reference/Household-Companion/The-Family-Doctor/Muscular-Exercise.html#.VZaTkUbcB7z, accessed 3/7/2015
• Lindlahr, H. (1922), ‘Good Nature Cure Doctrine from an Allopathic Authority’, Nature Cure: Philosophy and Practice Based on the Unity of Disease and Cure, available at http://chestofbooks.com/health/natural-cure/Henry-Lindlahr/Nature-Cure/Good-Nature-Cure-Doctrine-from-an-Allopathic-Authority.html#.VZaaf0bcB7z, accessed 3/7/2015
  
• Munn et al. (1846), ‘Deerfield Bridge’, Scientific American Vol II. No. 1, available at http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/scientific-american/II-1/Deerfield-Bridge.html#.VZabaEbcB7z, accessed 3/7/2015
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