The Corset Controversy
Vintage Corset Trade Cards
European women began wearing corsets in the 1500's. In the 1790's there was a break in this tradition that coincided with the French Revolution when the styles changed to Empire waistlines. In the 1820's the styles changed again and the waist became the focal point of fashion and the corset resumed its dominant role in women's fashion. Doctors and much of the media deplored the undergarment.
The Corset Controversy was a series of letters and articles that appeared in newspapers and magazines in the 19th century. The controversy raged for decades. Women wrote to varies media in the United States and Europe complaining about the requirement that they wear them. Laura Ingalls Wilder even wrote about the issue in her book Little Town on the Prairie.
Fashions again changed in the early 1900's and that was the beginning of the end of the corset and the misery of women everywhere!
Here are a couple of corset trade cards
Click on image to download
Click on image to download
Enjoy!
