… introduced by Queen Victoria to the public, although they had been worn in the 18th century.  They were not a Victorian innovation.  American women had long ago figured out the advantage of wearing a washable cap, sleeve, and outer petticoat in the way today’s women would wear aprons to …

…fine lace, linen, cotton lawn, cambric, or Broderie Anglaise (cotton with holes that have been embroidered around), were easy to remove and launder. That’s why they were white.  (Plus after romping with a wet dog, they could be dried quickly). (Photo: Museum quality 1860’s engageantes not on a person with …

…large sleeves to make that giant “hourglass with bell” silhouette.  The Engageante false undersleeve balanced out the effect of the cage crinoline or hoop.  They too looked like bells. (Dogs are back!  Here’s an early 1860’s woman with engageantes and a dog who doesn’t care about her sleeves at all). …

… and metal grommets are used in innovative ways.  Corsets are typically worn on the OUTside of the body as decoration and not for shaping (except the odd and rare person who tries to achieve odd and rare things). (photos:  Today’s metal grommets)

… Victorian tight cinching grommeted corset.  Women wore them from age 10 up, and throughout the 19th century, they wore them night and day.  The night corset was a bit gentler, but they had to wear them or their organs would move back into position which could be – and …

.. of the smallest waist of a living person at just under 14″.  Scarlett O’Hara would be jealous. While there are some drag queens approaching the number, it’s not a fair contest since the organ structure of men is different than with women.

… a few women copied Ethel’s “wasp waist” .  Cathie Jung now in her late 70’s, began her obsession with corsets in the the 1960’s.  She set the record in 1999 which still holds for the smallest waist of a living person at 13.91″.

..  in the 1930’s, long after corsets had been tossed out in favor of the new brassiere and girdle invented late in the 1910’s with the application of rubber for apparel at the time of WW1. Here Ethel poses for the world in an odd combination of many fashion eras.

… 33 cm (12.99″) set by Ethel Granger of England in the early 1920’s due to her husband’s obsession with corsets and piercings.  She also pierced her nipples, nose, and had huge piercings in her ears. (Ethel Granger’s 1920’s 13″ waist when she set the record.. and Ethel about 10 …

.. women of legend, like “Gone with the Wind’s” Scarlet O’Hara, were aiming to achieve 13″ diameter waists. (Photos:  the 1864 corset makes the 1864 silhouette)