Throughout the eighteenth century, the silhouette of a woman's dress was formed with a corset and a pannier (the cage around the hips). In order to push up the bust for a feminine outline (possibly the original Push-up Bra?), the corset was framed with pieces of whalebone! First appearing in the early eighteenth century, the pannier became a mandatory item for court dress up until the time of the French Revolution. As the skirt widened in the mid-eighteenth century, the pannier was modified and split into left and right halves. Such huge panniers frequently became the subject of caricatures. It's amazing they were able to fit through any doors!
The photo above is a corset of brown cotton satin with 162 whalebones inside; pannier of cotton chintz with oval rattan hoops and padding; linen chemise. c. 1760-1780
Source: The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute, FASHION- A History from the 18th to the 20th Century.
No comments:
Post a Comment