Corset’s History
To maintain the slender and conical form under the bodice, what would be called, depending on the time or region, payre of bodies, corps, or vasquina, among other names, would be introduced; a reinforced and rigid bodice worn like underwear, which today we call a corset. The rigidity was the principal attribute of the corset. The reduction of the waist was minimal, but the bust was raised and pressed, and the back kept a straight and distinct posture, as was expected of a lady. Such rigidity was reached by heavily starched cloth, leather, reeds or starched ropes inserted in channels sewn between the layers of cloth. To maintain the shapes even straighter, the busk, a narrow wooden or ivory plate, was introduced in the front, and it could be removed (some could even be sculpted in the shape of daggers, to help the lady protect herself from undesirable admirers). There is also a surviving corset made in metal, like an armor, but no one knows whether it was common or an orthopedic model.
