… when the Civil War ended. Although a fictional character, Scarlet O’Hara told the tale of the extreme of women’s fashion. At the time of the early to mid Victorian era, the American south did indeed lead the fashion movement in the U.S., although the dictates still came from England and Queen Victoria.
(Photo: the actress in her reproduction corset, chemise, and drawers (left) alongside a real 1862 corset (right). Most women did not have 13″ waists, although 18″-19″ was not unusual because of the movement of internal organs by corsets.)