The Corset and the Crinoline An Illustrated History

This profusely illustrated fashion history surveys the fascinating range of undergarments that whittled the female waist to its most slender proportions. Discover how the use of wood, whalebone, steel, hoops, and tight laces were a gripping influence on shaping the figures of women from ancient Greece to 19th-century Vienna.

The Corset--Origin; use amongst savage tribes and ancient peopleThe Corset according to Homer, Terentius. The Strophium of Rome, and the Mitra of GreeceFrankish Fashions. The Monks and the Corset. Corsets worn by Gentlemen as well as Ladies in the Thirteenth centuryBonnets. Headdresses. Costumes in the time of Francis ILouise de Lorraine. Marie de Medici. Distended Skirts. Hair PowderLouis XV. À la Watteau. Barbers. Fashions under Queen AnneStays or Corset. Louis XVI. Dress in 1776. Severe Lacing. Hogarth. French RevolutionThe austrian Empress. Viennese Waists. London small-sized CorsetsNo elegance without the Corset. Fashion of 1865. Short Waist and Train of 1867. Tight Corset and Short waistFront-fastening Stays. Thomson's Corset. Stability of front-fastening Corset