Items · Palau in the 20th Century · dlib.colo.hawaii.edu

Strip

From the 16th to the mid-19th century, whalebone was the primary stiffening material in the stays/corsets worn by women in Europe. Over all other materials, whalebone was preferred for its malleability, flexibility and comfort during wear. A strip such as this would be inserted into a channel stitched between two layers of linen. The number of whalebone strips used and their proximity to each other would depend upon the style and date of the stays/corset.

Fashion Drawing

Although black tended to be associated with mourning in the 19th century, by the early 1900s it had become an acceptable colour for elegant evening and day gowns. The dress illustrated in this coloured pencil drawing may represent a design for a widow in the final stages of mourning when she was beginning to reenter social life and attend the theatre and other events, as although extremely fashionable in silhouette, it is untrimmed save for a few touches of white, and the wearer is depicted in a reflective, pensive mood. However, it is equally probable that it was simply designed as a "little black dress", a smart, understated black gown, designed to enhance and emphasise the wearer. Although the "little black dress" is popularly credited as a 1920s invention by Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel (1883-1971), images such as this show that the concept existed well before Chanel launched her career as a fashion designer. The fashionable corset of the time had a straight front and a curved back, which pushed out both bust and bottom, creating a "S-bend" silhouette, which can be seen in this drawing, along with the way in which the wearer leaned forward slightly. The dress is designed to enhance this effect, with a trailing skirt and a pouched bodice front, the fabric hanging from the bust and caught up at the waist creating a "pouter pigeon" effect. The sleeves echo the lines in the bodice and skirt, fitted at the top and fuller at the bottom. The high piled hairstyle with a dramatic black hat poised on the top also enhances the wearer's posture and height. The artist, Lucien Guy was a French illustrator and caricaturist active in the early 20th century, who appears to have specialized in portraying elegant, fashionable women of the period.

Corset Lace

Corset lace made from white linen braid. Finished with white metal tags.

Corset

Corset of blue watered silk trimmed with broderie anglaise.

Dress

This dress (bodice and skirt) or reception gown is made of stamped silk velvet, trimmed with silk machine lace and self-fabric rosettes. The bodice of the dress demonstrates the ‘cuirasse’ style, cut to fit smoothly over the torso and hips, worn over a long stiffened corest. There are whalebone strips in the bodice, emphasising the smooth line of the torso, while the skirt is well organised with a flat vertical front, a section of smocking, and swags and puffs supported by internal bones and tapes, culminating in a train. The unknown maker of this dress was highly skilled. The fact that there is no label in the dress suggests that it may have been made by a local dressmaker working independently. Larger dressmaking shops employed seamstresses organised in separate workrooms specialising in bodices or skirts. This dress shows the many different techniques involved. The dress could have been made in London, although it comes from a family based in Cambridge. Before it came to the museum, it was cared for by the same family for three generations, although it is not clear which family member may have worn it originally.

Bust Improver

Fitted to the figure Around 1909, the fashionable s-bend silhouette gave way to a more elongated body shape and upright posture. This new figure required differently shaped underwear to control and support it. Bust bodices were designed to lift and contain the bust, which was largely unsupported by the low, straighter, hip-confining corset. Bust bodice Dickins & Jones Britain, London, 1910s Figured silk satin ribbon, machine-made lace, front fastening with mother-of-pearl buttons, boned and laced at the back V&A: T.33-1996 Given by Christina McMillan (16/04/2016-12/03/2017)

Été 1900

This is a design for a day dress for the Summer collection of 1900. The model is wearing a sun hat and holding a parasol as was the custom for fashionable ladies at that time. The dress has a high neck, and an elaborate front decoration. This matches the diamond patterns found alongside the bottom part of the dress and the top part of the long tight sleeves. This design is an example of the dominating popular S-Bend silhouette present in fashion designs up to until about 1908. In order to achieve this shape, the hips were forced backwards by the tightly laced corset worn at the waist - as a counter effect the woman's bosom was pushed forwards creating what some referred to as the "pouter pigeon" effect.

Day Dress

This style of delicate pale dress was very popular for wear at summer garden parties and fêtes. The Lady's Realm (1907) remarked: 'July is the ideal month in England where dress is concerned, and our thoughts turn to transparent lawns, ethereal muslins and dainty laces which are all associated with summer confections of London and Paris'. The skirt appears seamless but is made up of many almost invisible hand-stitched joins linking the bands of hand-made lace and lawn. The hand-crocheted flowers add depth and texture. This labour-intensive decoration within an all-white colour scheme satisfied the fashion for costly detail. Although this dress looks soft and pliable, the wearer would have worn rigid corseting underneath.

Postcard

A woman dressed in corset and drawers leans over a double bed revealing her bottom through a slit in her drawers

Fashion Drawing

When Lucien Guy drew this elegant lady in 1904, the ideal woman of the period was tall and statuesque, with a small waist, a full imposing bust and a rounded bottom. This silhouette was achieved through corsetry. The early 1900s corset had a straight front and a curved back, which pushed forward the bust and pushed out the bottom, creating an exaggerated "S-bend" silhouette. This drawing clearly illustrates the effect such corsetry had on the wearer's posture, with the sitter perching on her chair and leaning forward from her hips rather than bending at the waist, which would have been impossible. Even standing, the wearer of such a corset would have leaned forward slightly, with her bust thrust forward, an effect clearly illustrated in this drawing. Fashionable dress was designed to emphasise this silhouette. Skirts were worn straight in front, with full gathers and fullness in the back falling into a sweeping train. The bodices were cut full in front, with the fabric draped over the bust and hanging down from it, rather than being fitted to the figure, and the loose fabric was caught up into the waist, creating an overhang, sometimes described as a "pouter pigeon" effect. This is clearly shown in Guy's drawing, with the sitter obligingly leaning forward to emphasise the effect. Her high, piled hairstyle and large, elaborately trimmed front-heavy hat further enhanced her height and posture. Although the hat looks precariously poised, it would have been secured to the hairstyle with long hat-pins. The artist, Lucien Guy was a French illustrator and caricaturist active in the early 20th century, who appears to have specialized in portraying elegant, fashionable women of the period.

Postcard

A postcard of a tinted photograph showing a woman dressing. She wears boots, a white petticoat and black corset and is about to put on her jacket.

Postcard

A postcard depicting a woman smiling at the viewer and resting her foot on a low stool; she wears a blue corset and white and pink undergarments which are artfully falling off her shoulders

Chemise-Corset Léoty

A postcard depicting a woman half-kneeling on a chair; her corset is unbuttoned and reveals her nude body despite clasping her long yellow robe to her.

Fashion Design

Full-skirted lilac silk 'war crinoline' dress trimmed with inset ruched bands. This is one of a group of 59 sketches mainly showing designs for wedding and bridesmaid dresses. Although bound in a volume marked as 1911, the designs date throughout the 1910s.

Cage Crinoline

The crinoline was invented in the 1850s. It was made of dozens of circles of fine wire held together vertically with fabric tape. It replaced layers and layers of petticoats made of heavy horsehair and linen with starched ruffles. The new lighter crinoline was eagerly adopted by women to achieve the fashionably full profile of the skirt.

Bustle Pad

Bustle pad of dark brown glazed calico trimmed with dark brown silk cord. It consists of an almost square pad with rounded corners overlaid with a smaller one held in place by the silk cord. It appears to be stuffed with straw. It fastens with a white waist tape.