Dressing a Lady – circa 1800

2 thoughts on “Dressing a Lady – circa 1800

  1. heather Harrison says:

    I have had some accurately styled corsets made for Tom Jones, a play set in 1750,
    The trouble with putting them on is that they seem to flatten the breasts and I want them to almost ‘bubble over’ the top.
    Do you somehow have to ‘hoick’ the breasts up when putting them on. Is there a special trick to putting them on? Any advice welcome.

    Many thanks

    • Jennifer Rosbrugh says:

      For 18th C. stays you want the top below apex level and tight around the front of the bust. They are designed to make the front of the body flat and conical with the excess bust flesh pushed up and out. Some women don’t “bubble up” due to how their figures are naturally. You could try adding bust pads under the bust inside the stays to help lift the flesh up.

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