Although Queen Victoria is credited with what would become known as “Victorian Fashion”, it was really designer Charles Worth, and Englishman with a fashion house in Paris, that initiated the next revolution in women’s fashion. (1868 Gown and sketch by the House of Worth in Paris)

…fashionable silhouette of the day: long bodied from the 1820’s into the 1840’s, and getting shorter and shorter and more and more boned into the 1850’s and 1860’s. (Extant: as with 1815 vs 1825, corsets created the fashionable silhouette of the day)

…who specialized in the making of corsets.  These were called “corsetiers”.  Most corsets, however, were made at home using patterns and instructions found in ladies’ magazines. (Cartoon from 1819 showing women making and maintaining their own undergarments during the Regency fashion era)

…most corsets (general called “bodices” during that time frame) had shoulder straps. (Extant corsets: 1820-1839 examples with different types of shoulder straps)

…side bones and extra back bones were added to support and shape a bit more than for slimmer women.  Older women liked these too, as they were more like the Colonial stays they grew up with. (Portrait: 1834 and extant early 1830’s corset for large busted woman including a bit …

By about 1835, the flat wooden busk that was worn in the earlier Regency corsets to lift and separate the breasts became broad and was supplemented along the sides and in the center back to support lacing with whalebones. (Extant corsets: 1827 and 1832 show the wide wood busk down …

… in late Colonial and Regency corsets, was much like today’s paint stirrer but much thicker and more durable.  Typically made of a hardwood such as oak and maple, it was about 1/8″ thick and 1 1/2-2″ wide early in the Regency era, widening to 2 1/2″ later.  Early it …

…were developed specifically to allow freedom of movement. (Featured Extant 1820’s riding corset.  Note the high cut above the hip and flexible laces along he side of the body to allow for movement in all directions) Below: riding ensembles with which the riding corset was worn – 1815 and 1818.  …

…became fuller in overall shape at the top, and took on a molded, shaped basque area below the waist. (1815 approx long molded corset and the silhouette it created as shown in a royal portrait)

…visually reduce the waist size so the newer silhouette gave the wearer the appearanc e of having a tiny waist.  It was this shift in proportion that would lead to tight lacing for the rest of the century.  (Sketch and photos: 1827-1830 corset starts to shape the waist)