Whilst many films and tv shows present the corset as a tightlacing terror inflicted of helpless

women who pant and gasp for breath. And historians tell gruesome tales of damaged organs
and 18" waists, there is a growing uprising of those passionate about victorian dress who beg to
differ. To view their findings and learn the so-called truth of the matter. as a subject of the
historical costuming interest, I see video recommendations popping up in my youtube feed
presenting an increasingly popular debate against the stereotype. titles like "I grew up in a
corset", "I wore a corset every day for a month", and "I wore a corset for a week (spoiler alert: I
didn't die" are coming up more frequently in the costuming and historical enthusiasts topic
lists. this, brings us to question the truth of the matter, could it be possible that this stereotype
is fiction? well, to gather evidence from all sides of the story I researched three different points
of view; film, historians, and costume historians. and this is what I found. in most historical films
with corsets, you would find a scene which is reused time and time again. a servant friend or
mother yanking on the characters corset laces while the character gasps or screws up her face.
one such one is in the pirates of the Caribbean where Elizabeth swan on hearing that her stays
are the latest fashion in London quips "women in London must have learned not to breathe.
later the character faints due to lack of air. a point contradicted by our next point of view
historians. in absolute history's video on hidden killers of the victorian home, there is a brief
quote which goes along the lines of people couldn't tight lace before the victorian invention of
metal grommets because the material wasn't strong enough and would break, fray or stretch.
now seeing as pirates of the Caribbean is set in the 18th-century grommets weren't available.
but even so, let us assume that the costume designers just made a mistake on that one and the
victorian ones are indeed accurate. now that is where the historians come in again. in that
same hidden killer's video, the historian talking about corsets mentions an interesting thing
quote "tightlacing is something a minority of people did" so now the historian has admitted
that it is a minority. so why the stereotype? for a stereotype to form something has to be
common, right? well, most of the time unless it was a scandal that caused its birth? in the
historians' video, they mention how without your corset you were considered a loose woman.
now, here is where the costumier/historians come in. Karolina Zebrowska's video's are
frequently debunking this myth and I highly recommend you refer to her and other reenactors
for further study.
*costuming drama busting myths: size inclusion with extant garments.