Comments on: Dispelling the Myth of the Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Waist

By: billie

billie — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 22:09:09 +0000

In reply to DIRK WRIGHT. hello Dirk :) this article refers to the 19th century (1800-1899), not the 19th century (1900-1999). the bikini gained western popularity around the 1960s after debuting in France in 1946. So women had mostly moved on from corsets in favor of girtles, spanx, and early modern underwear like separate bras and panties. This article refers to the fashionable wasp-waisted silhouette of the 19th century, which was achieved via corseting. so bikinis are not really relevant here. the silhouette of a bare human waist is not comparable to the shape and proportion one can achieve via corseting. hope that helps.

By: Joe Lewis

Joe Lewis — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:15:14 +0000

Great article, as it points out we all have a waist, the diets were very different and the lifestyle for the masses was much more active than it is today. I believe that there is still a place in some people’s lives for corsets , I prefer mine as it provides a lot more strength and support without the harsh wires and cutting shoulder straps and when tailored correctly support bust weight themselves over the hips. There is something to be said regarding survivor bias as many garments that come up in the monthly sales often have the size ranges you speak of rather than the super tiny waists. But people do go to extremes as some people still do in the name of fashion.

By: DIRK WRIGHT

DIRK WRIGHT — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 17:46:56 +0000

Your article does not account for the numerous bikini models of the 1950s with small waists. They did not do waist training as far as I know.

By: ELIZABETH B NELSON

ELIZABETH B NELSON — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 02:35:42 +0000

In reply to Jennifer Rosbrugh. So interesting! I purchased a waist trainer last year from Luxx Curves and it is possible to train these things! lol! Isn’t it weird what we consider beautiful? Squishing our colons within an inch of their lives and then wondering why we get colon cancer???

By: Big Butts of the 19th Century – Historical Sewing

Big Butts of the 19th Century – Historical Sewing — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 16:54:43 +0000

[…] Victorian dress. This is pure hourglass shaping! BUT… can you see that even with gored skirts and tiny waists you still find a concentration of excess fabric gathered into the center back […]

By: Character: The beating heart of narrative | Nieman Storyboard - Inergency

Character: The beating heart of narrative | Nieman Storyboard - Inergency — Fri, 12 May 2023 07:51:49 +0000

[…] “telling detail,” that says more than it says, that is both descriptive and evocative. Think Scarlet O’Hara’s 18-inch waist. Think Harry Potter’s scar. In a portrait of the pugnacious teamster boss Tony Provenzano, Jimmy […]

By: Jennifer Georgia

Jennifer Georgia — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 23:13:30 +0000

There’s also survival bias. The things that end up in museums are the ones that weren’t handed down and were worn to shreds, or picked apart to make other things. Every-day clothes, especially working-class clothes that women had to move around in wouldn’t survive. And we should bear in mind that even servants wore corsets — they acted as back support for heavy lifting, much like a weight belt does today.Larger things disappeared. Anything with enough fabric in it would be re-fashioned into a newer style, perhaps for a smaller daughter. Just like when we go into a sale today and the only items left on the rack are teeny-tiny, it’s the same with what survived to get handed down to museums.

By: Vivian Blair

Vivian Blair — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 23:53:28 +0000

Another point to add in: Late Victorian and Edwardian photographs were actually photoshopped! The waist would be painted over to match the background, making it look even smaller. This was especially popular with the “influencers” of the day