A Dress Historian Explains the Difference between Corsets and Stays

What's the difference between corsets and stays? What are Elizabethan bodies? When did stays start being called corsets? What did Regency and early Victorian corsets look like? Today, I'm going to go through a *brief overview* of what makes these boned support garments different from each other, explain their origins, etymology, and their evolution. This video is not extensive, and even at 30 minutes long should be viewed as "scratching the surface" because this topic is *huge*!

Boned support garments have been worn by women for hundreds of years, they provided structured back support, chest support, posture control, and helped provide the fashionable silhouette. "Corset" is the most common term that we use today, but not all boned support garments are called a corest. Bodies and stays are also a part of the boned support garment family (as well as jumps and bodice...kinda).

While not extensive as this video could be (honestly, it could be a series), in this video I'm going explain, as best as I can, a brief history of when the boned garment came into fashion for European women during the Elizabethan period, how it evolved into 18th century stays, how corsets and stays existed at the same time in the 18th century but are not the same thing, and then how stays eventually gave way to the Victorian corset when it comes to name and style.

So if you're looking for a brief history on the corset (seriously, very brief, and this video is 30 minutes long), then you've come to the right place!

Don't forget to check out the other creators I mentioned🎉:

@Nicole Rudolph & Samantha Bullat: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiBNdMyAx-stykuPGzEHNgA

Cathrin Ahlen's Blog, Katafalk: https://katafalk.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/lengberg-castle-brassiere/

Also, a huge thank you to Andrew Appel for helping me edit this video! 🙏🏻

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The American Duchess Guide to 18th-Century Dressmaking: https://amzn.to/2GrkAIQ

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(not my book, but you should get it) Fabricating Women: https://amzn.to/3pP0r1h

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🖼References & Images:

Boyer, Abel. Dictionnaire royal, françois et anglois. [1702].
https://on.nypl.org/35RrSiU

Workwoman's Guide, 1838, Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/TheWorkwomansGuide/page/n117/mode/2up?q=stays

https://www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de/index.php?id=1074&L=1
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/elizabeth-i
https://www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de/webgos/bnm_online.php?seite=5&fld_0=00224872
http://www.medievalsilkwork.com/2012/08/15th-century-bra-found-at-schloss.html
https://www.osenat.com/lot/12010/2455974?
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.74.html
https://www.hlmd.de/presse/aktuelle-pressetexte-bilder/detail/news/chic-mode-im-17-jahrhundert-pressebilder.html
https://collections.lacma.org/node/232498
And the rest are from the Met Museum: https://www.metmuseum.org/

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Видео A Dress Historian Explains the Difference between Corsets and Stays канала Abby Cox