women's clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

, a corselet or corselette is a type of

foundation garment Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

, sharing elements of both

bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, ; ), is a type of form-fitting underwear that is primarily used to support and cover a woman's breasts. A typical bra consists of a chest band that wraps around the torso, supporting two breast cups ...

s and

girdles A belt without a buckle, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle in various contexts, especially historical ones, where girdles were a very common part of everyday clothing from antiquity until perhaps the 15th century, especially for w ...

. It extends from straps over the shoulders down the

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...

, and stops around the top of the legs. It may incorporate

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

in front or in back. As an undergarment, a corselet can be open-style (with suspenders attached) or panty-style. Historically, the term referred to a piece of plate armour covering the torso; see

corslet A corslet or corselet is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "a piece of defensive armour covering the body" and is first attested around 1500. Such pieces of armour have existed in various forms under various names throughout much of hi ...

History

The English word for the piece of armor comes from ''cors'', an Old French word meaning "

bodice A bodice () is an article of clothing traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the ...

". The modern term probably originated by the addition of the

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

suffix "

-ette A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle som ...

" to the word ''

corset A corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ is a support garment worn to constrict the torso into the desired shape and Posture correction, posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of Baleen, whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in th ...

'', itself of similar origin to "corselet". The corselet as an item of women's clothing began to gain popularity in 1914, as a substitute for wearing two separate pieces (a

with either a

girdle A belt without a buckle, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle in various contexts, especially historical ones, where girdles were a very common part of everyday clothing from antiquity until perhaps the 15th century, especially for w ...

or a corset). The bust uplift cups were first introduced in 1933, but did not become common until 1943.

Merry widow

A corselet was released by Warner's in 1952, named after ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'', a 1905

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

which has been adapted several times into feature-length films. "Merry widow" remains a common generic term for a corsetry-type garment in the United States, or a "

basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

" in the UK. It is usually strapless, and stopping on the hips, rather than extending below the hip line, like the typical corselet. A merry widow type garment is normally fastened by hooks and eyes at the rear, and because it is strapless, it needs to be well boned to prevent it from rolling over, the boning helping to support the demi-cup section. A merry widow/basque would also incorporate suspenders/garters for attaching to stockings. This type of lingerie is also known as a torsolette, and is used in bridal lingerie, much like the

bustier A bustier ( , ) or bustiere is a form-fitting garment for women traditionally worn as lingerie. Its primary purpose is to push up the bust by tightening against the upper midriff and forcing the breasts up while gently shaping the waist. Nowa ...

. The original merry widow was a corselet incorporating slim panels of black, elastic yarn netting. A heavy-duty

zipper A zipper (N. America), zip, zip fastener (UK), formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and oth ...

was inserted behind a

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

-backed hook-and-eye flange, and the entire garment was lined with

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

voile (; French for veil) is a soft, sheer fabric, usually made of 99% cotton or cotton blended with linen or polyester. Named for its light weight, the fabric is mostly used in soft furnishing. In tropical climates, ''voile'' is used for window tr ...

. Nine long, spiral wires were encased in black

satin A satin weave is a type of Textile, fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back; it is not durable, as it tends to snag. It is one of three fundamen ...

Lana Turner Julia Jean "Lana" Turner ( ; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. ...

, star of the 1952 film adaptation of ''The Merry Widow'', is reported to have said in 1989, "I'm telling you, the merry widow was designed by a man. A woman would never do that to another woman."

Interval and rebirth

Around 1960,

tights Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concep ...

and

trouser Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants ( American, Canadian and Australian English) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending ...

s began to replace corselets. However,

Maidenform Maidenform Brands is a manufacturer of women's bras, underwear, and shapewear founded in 1922. History The company was founded in Bayonne, New Jersey in 1922 and sought to appeal to the flapper subculture of the time. Maidenform converted ...

and other mainstream lingerie and undergarment manufacturers have sold corselets as "control slips" since around 1975.

Variations and relatives

*A short corselet without garters or shoulder straps, which ends above the waist, is a

(covering the bust) *A long corselet extending over the hips, with or without garters and/or shoulder straps, is a torsolette (covering the

) *A corselet in two parts is a brassiere and a girdle. *A corselet with a stiff back and laces is a

corsage A corsage is a small bouquet of flowers worn on a woman's dress or around her wrist for a formal occasion. They are typically given to her by her date. Today, corsages are most commonly seen at homecomings, proms, and similar formal events. In ...

or a corset. *A soft corselet is a

slip Slip or The Slip may refer to: * Slip (clothing), an underdress or underskirt Music * The Slip (band), a rock band * ''Slip'' (album), a 1993 album by the band Quicksand * ''The Slip'' (album) (2008), a.k.a. Halo 27, the seventh studio al ...

Other than apparel

In biology, the term refers to the thorax of an insect, or a protective band of enlarged scales in the shoulder region of a fish.

References

External links

Complete corselette pattern or eight section corselette
{{Historical clothing Corsetry