Corset Gallery

1880s spoon-busk corset. Made of black sateen with a black coutil lining, this corset has decoration as

described in Corsets and Crinolines by Norah Waugh. It has rows of cording across the bust with yellow

stitching in between, yellow arrowhead flossing and black lace trim at the top.

"Cuirass" shaped corset. Named after the cuirass bodice of the 1870s, this corset is very controlling and creates

a perfectly smooth silhouette with which to wear the very tight, tailored bodices of the late bustle period.

This corset is made of white coutil and embellished with red flossing and embroidery on the bust-gores, and

with white lace and red ribbon at the top.

Straight-seam corset. This corset has no bust or hip gores. It come to mid-bust level, and is suitable for most

periods of Victorian dress. It provides good support and easy waist shaping. Shown with flossing along the

lower edge and lace along the top.

This corset has bust gores inserted at the top. Made of iridescent blue silk with gold silk binding, this corset

was commissioned with a "peacock' theme, and has a tiny peacock embroidered on one hip. This shape of

corset is suitable for most of the Victorian period.

This corset is the same as the bust-gore corset but with additional gores added to the hips. Shown in pink silk

with wide lace trim at the top.

This is a circa 1900 over-bust corset. These were somewhat rare in Victorian times as most corsets were mid-

bust length, but examples can be seen from the very late 1800s, around the turn of the century. As it covers

the bust completely, this shape of corset can be suitable for wearing as outer-wear as a formal or bridal

bodice. Shown in ivory brocade.

Single-layer corset. This corset is made from a single layer of fabric, with ribbon bone-channels. As the

single layer of fabric must be very strong, this corset can only be made in coutil. Any of the corset shapes

without gores can be made in this manner.

Circa 1900 under-bust corset. This style of corset was not very common in Victorian times. It come to a center

point underneath the bust. This corset has black ribbon bone channels with machine herringbone stitching on a

black coutil base.

Ribbon corset circa 1900. This style of corset is made from wide strips of ribbon attached to panels at the

front, sides and back and comes to just below the bust. It is not as supportive as the other styles shown here,

and not suitable for waist reduction, but does make a very light and pretty corset.