How Victorian Men Taught Us to Hate Corsets: The Biggest Lie in Fashion History 

sorry if this came off a little agressive! I'm just really tired of all the corset-shaming and misinformation. it seems that no matter how many videos I make on the topic, or how many times I try to suggest to people that they may be repeating a myth, it doesn't do much. I hope that history of corsetry gets more academic attention, especially from scholars involved in medicine! if you're working on corset history related research or project, please link it here in the comments!

so just like plate armor then.

Men: wear corsets to look thin Women: wear corsets for chest and back support Men:... Men: V A N I T Y Epilogue: Trans Men wearing binders off in the distance:“Wot?”

I was with you up to the point where it boiled down to:" Men did it!" That seems rather ill-informed, badly thought-out and vicious. Roughly about as vicious as you claim men were towards women ...

Feminists: Horrible men made us wear evil corsets. Also feminists: Horrible men fooled us into thinking corsets were bad. Also also feminists: Horrible men got us to stop wearing corsets. Listerine: Invents gingivitis, then cures it.

I am willing to bet corsets fell out of fashion because of the work, time, and cost that goes into them. Not because men don't like them. Or that the sole goal was to ridicule women. As you state in the end corsets do shift things and potentially make issues. Not all of those are life-threatening however neither is wearing high heels. Our bodies are designed to adapt but not all adaptations are healthy for us. Over time many things we do can damage our bodies. I imagine there were also extremes at the time given the art of the ideal. It's not like anorexia or other disorders don't exist today to fit our current day "ideal" woman. I believe there were unhealthy ways that women treated others or themselves that could have made some corset wearing dangerous. Hazing wasn't just a modern thing. Anyone who has lived through middle school knows that hazing isn't just a male thing. You have a lot of great points and I believe there probably isn't anything wrong with wearing corsets in moderate use. Practicality of most of them for common women was probably an issue. Getting perfect fits probably was expensive and inconvenient. The "breaking in" time you mention also leads to more inconvenience. People were supposed to be polite in ways and standards we don't hold ourselves to today. Someone declining to mention that it doesn't 'feel right' could have also been a factor. Material use is pretty expensive in many of them requiring whalebone and other specific materials. Throughout history corsets or some variation of them have been around. I imagine they will stick around after all we as humans like presenting our bodies to emphasize certain ideals. Actresses today complain about them for a reason and I believe it comes down to discomforts that can come with wearing them. My sister wore a traditional kimono for a singing competition she had to tell the Japanese ladies helping her get dressed to not pull so tight. Certain traditions/fashions are impractical. Depending on what it is things fall out of and stay in style. Men might have influenced some of that, but we get too much credit for some of this.

Thank you for your video! I found it very interesting and educational. I have loved corsets since my teenage years and have been thinking about buying one for myself, just to wear it sometimes, but, on the other hand, it attracts a lot of attention nowadays!

I can definetely see an advantage to wearing a corset for work when work involves lifting things, it's similar to the belts worn for deadlifting or the 'exoskeleton' for people that work in warehouses that's being preached as this marvelous innovation but ,seeing this, might just have reinvented the wheel.

BRdesk algorithm started showing these to me today and wow, great content. Never have been that interested in fashion, but highly detailed and researched stuff really is interesting and educational to the boot. tl:dr, liked and subbed

11:28 my sleep paralysis demon coming to say hi at 5 am

My friend actually made a corset for this really cool Sarah Sanderson costume he gave me and honestly it was super comfortable, it was especially nice cause the constant steady pressure was really good for grounding (I have horrible anxiety) when we were in a crowd and even helped me with my posture (which sucks)

“We love to feel superior to previous eras” SAY IT LOUDER

So glad to discover you through youtube recommendations. Love your work.

My dad's been a gardener for almost 50 years now and he always wears a corset. Relieves back pain he says.

any recommendations to buy one? I would love to, but I have no idea where to start. Maybe if the fitting is so important I shouldn't buy online? Idk, everything looks pretty online, I'm not even sure what I'm looking for anymore. Any suggestions by corset lovers out there?

Moral of the story: Just wear corsets responsibly

This... completely changed my opinion about corsets. Funny how some of the ideas that we consider feminist now actually originated from misogyny.

You have to wonder if those dressing the actresses were putting the corsets on wrong-if they were just buying a corset that looks the right size, putting the actress in them and just yanking on those laces with all their might because that is what everyone thinks you do with a corset?

“Corsets cause cancer” sounds like something you’d see today on the internet

And women still are women today. Women will still sacrificed comfort in the name of fashion, stilettos I’m looking at one for starters.

I have worn a corset and...its really not that bad tbh

I want to mention the scene in Louisa May Alcott's book, "Eight Cousins," in which corsets are rejected with horror by the heroine and one of her sensible aunts upon the advice of an uncle who is a doctor. Alcott was an immensely popular author, and I am sure she influenced a lot of her readers' attitudes towards corsets.

I really want to wear a corset but I am F cup and not really sure what store to go...

i definitely understand your point but i think that the main thing that people are mad about was the unrealistic expectations for women. As you showed many of the portraits at the time were changed and overly exaggerated to show unrealistic body proportions so i think that the idea that people get is that women felt pressured to wear corsets to fit sociatys beauty standards. At the time women were expected to care and provide for their families, obey their husband, deal with sexist perverts, all while perfectly fitting the beauty standards and keeping this squeaky clean persona. So because of the extremely unrealistic expectations for women it would make sense for women to wear corsets simply to please men. Im sure there were many women who wore it for themselves and not for anyone else but sadly that is not the perception that it gets. i think of it as similar to the way makeup is portrayed, as something incredibly vain only used to please others or to cover up your insecurities when many women(including myself) only use it because THEY want to and it makes THEM feel happy and comfortable, as a way to express themselves. i think that less people are concern about women's health while wearing it(like difficulty breathing, damage to lungs,etc..) but more concerned about their intentions behind it. are women really wearing it because they want to and it makes them feel happy, or is it because they feel pressured to by men? i think less people have a problem with the corsets themselves but more to the reasoning behind it. either way i guess we will never really know but i think it might be a combination of both.

Karolina, you're wrong about one thing... your mistake was at 13:19 ....I've never, ever wanted to work.

I like wearing corsets in royal high, not irl

Oops im late and doubt youll see this but i feel it needs to be noted that Lily James was actually tightlaced into her corset for Cinderella to a ridiculous degree. It wasnt the fault of the corset, but of the costumers. Her waist was cinched to 17 inches or something like that. Loved the video and love your content, but some of these actresses' quotes were taken out of context, or they were given improperly made or fitted corsets, or corsets were used as a tool to produce a modern day mysoginistic aesthetic and put these women in actual uncomfortable positions that made corsets as a concept look bad.

You should make a video on Mary Jacob/Polly Peabody/Caresse Crosby, and how she invented the bra one night in fifteen because her corset didn’t fit her look

I totally have a corset that comes out any time I'm having back pain issues. It's amazing.

Victorian woman: *wears a corset* 21th century woman: look at her!! Oh my god, she poooor thing!! She is not an independent woman, her muscles must be ruined just like her bones. She can't do ANY ACTIVITY because of that HORRIBLE TORTURE DEVICE!!! Obviously she is wearing it without nothing underneath!! Because that's how HORRIBLE CORSETS ARE!!!

I see you feel about 'corsets killed women!' as I feel about 'real vampires burn in the sun!' This was really interesting!

Just have to say thank you for also putting in cm.

@EmmaWatson take a look at this bestie

But who would put corsets to the maids?

Yeah I always figured the rib thing sounded dubious as it's never mentioned as a cause of death. Though I think if you think of them like spanx some scenes make more sense. Like most tight lacing scenes are in the context of young affluent women who are single and need a husband. And since they were less likely to get a job it was like a first date combined with a job interview in importance. Who wouldn't double spanx it? Though the not wearing a chemise thing is a garbage trope and unfair to actresses. Also I wear spanx sometimes but if someone told me I'd have to wear spanx everyday for the rest of my life, I'd be like "no thanks, go away, never speak to me again".

I'm actually doing a thesis for my final school year on this topic. Your links are great, and your video, too. Thank you❤️❤️

I saw a video the other day, about the Cinderella films...the section on the live action Disney Cinderella and actress Lily James. She does appear to have an astonishingly tiny waist in the "ballgown" (blue) scenes and said she was tightly corseted on top of being naturally small-waisted -- and that her waist in that gown was only 17". That is "Scarlett O'Hara", steel corset tiny. So we still hold a lot of surprisingly retro ideals of beauty.

I am not anti-corset but I am old enough to remember my mom and grandma, who wore girdles and garters and long-line bras (which had a form of "stay") -- mid 20th century -- and they complained bitterly about "the pain and suffering to be a woman" -- and I could see how the garments left indents on their skin, even sore patches, red marks -- and no chemises under these things. (A slip in mid 20th century, went OVER your girdle.)

Not sure I get it, are you saying all these actresses who said they had a hard time wearing corsets are lying? I’m sure how tight you wear a corset makes a huge difference and if they make them wear the corsets very tight for movies, it’s very uncomfortable.

THIS IS ALL WRONG! corsets actually cause autism and cancer and death and can cut up your organs. I got depression from wearing a corset and now I’m dead.

Your hairstyle... I love it!

It's amazing. Woman wears corset. Woman likes corset. Women blame corset on men for oppressing them. Woman reclaims corset as not oppressive. Says men made women believe they were oppressive. This is why women don't run the world. No one wants a person who is a perpetual victim.

Waitttttttt, you're telling me that Emma Watson wouldn't wear a corset for "the feminist movement'' even though corsets were hated by men for being 'too suffragette-y'.... Why don't people look at history...XD

Lily James' case is understandable since she was actually tight laced to abt 17 or 16 inches

My corset drowned my kids, stole my 38 subs, stole my toilet paper, ripped my favorite book, and tried to kill me!

"Why would anyone want to live with a rodent in their hair if they could avoid it" - Linguini from Ratatouille is QUAKING

I've started to wear tank tops under bras, since I learned that corsets weren't worn against bare skin. ITS SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE OMG. Like, wearing a bra against bare skin now just feels itchy?

people tend to forget that most paintings have this amazing filter called "I pay you for that portrait"

I love your videos and insight. I learn so much! Thank you for being one of the more rebellious women who make history Karolina!

I was talking to my mom and mentioned that I wanted a Victorian corset and she was visibly trying not to judge me and I was like “bro not all corsets are for tight lacing, the real Victorian corsets are made to fit and be comfortable”

Bet five bucks I could figure out how to touch my toes while wearing a corset! (I no, I’m not gonna cheat and bent my knees)

Let's also take a moment to remember that men actually didn't want women riding trains because they thought women would lose their uteruses 🙄🙄

Sorry, but to respond to your comment, this does seem overly aggressive. If corsets were so great, why did they get abandoned so quickly when garments that allowed people to move more easily came about? Also at the end you mention that they did weaken muscles and shifted organs....?

can we talk about how absolutely stunning Karolina looks. Like a 90s supermodel. I am amazed by her beauty. just wow.

I'm sorry but I hope we never go back to those. No matter what every trend become toxic. Just because people wear them doesn't mean they are safe mentally and physically. You are going off of an era that used to put coke inside of coke drinks.

I broke a rib in high school because I was so sick with flu I coughed until it cracked outward. The pressure of the corset helps sooo much with the pain when it’s cold and my weak rib hurts there.

I know it sounds bizarre but look up the video about the history of the first dildo. The video actually explains the fainting that would give the corset its bad reputation for preventing breathing. Not to mention most of us breathe incorrectly and do not breathe with the diaphragm but with the chest up and down. Fainting is actually more strongly linked to womens sexual gratification rather then fashions.

I started seasoning my first corset 3 days ago and I freaking love it. Obviously, the girls corset-shaming me are coming from everywhere, suddenly "worried" about my health. Love u

I heard that corsets eat the last oreo

I'm a nurse and I wear a corset on the job daily. I sit up nice and straight at the computer and it supports my back when doing patient care. I Love them!

If these actors can’t breathe in corsets, then just get the right type of corset.

so... in a hundred years, people are going to be like "Bras killed 700 women every day! And OnLy To HaVe A gOoD fOrM! How did they do it?"

Women wearing coat in summer to look fashionable: Victorian Women: 👁👄👁

Models: sweat in heavy makeup, hairstyles, and clothing in the summer Victorian women: First time?

Feminists: Corsets suck Women: Don't wear corsets Feminists: I smell disrespect

This music is giving me the heeby jeebys

Yeah my Corset gave me Corona

It's worth noting that while corsets aren't inherently damaging, they are restrictive. Sometimes, that's a good thing, such as when trying to evenly distribute breast weight or assist with back problems! In my case, it makes my greatest ambition for the entire day getting whatever garment it is off me if I have to cut it off. So, y'know, YMMV.

The people who wear the corsets constantly and make their waists tiny dont seem safe though

I need to invest in a good corset.

As a rather full figured woman with an F Cup, I'd rather wear a corset than a bra. Mostly because the physics of the weight distribution are much better and more supportive than even the best made bras in existence. Since I currently can't afford a corset tailored to my measurements, I just go completely braless, which is still better than wearing a bra. So yeah, the corset was the bad and painful garment.

I was forced to wear a corset for medical purposes for a few years, I was supposed to wear it for 23h a day every day but I rarely did because it sucked.. so hard to breathe and move.. glad I don't have to wear it anymore... :( Also wearing a corset too long weakens your back muscles and makes you weaker unless you work out to prevent that muscle decay ofc corsets can be safe if you do it right, but they can also suck, so you need to be careful!

Eh!?!!? Wow the more you know kids!!!

The problem is that man, never caring to read the manual, wear the corsets on their head...and God knows what they do, if they hear, that a corset has to be "broken in"...

I bought my first underbust corset today! I feel so pretty and comfortable with it, i can walk, i can breath, i can do anything i want but with a good posture and a beautiful body

This is one of those times I *really* wish the voices of the working classes & the poor were better recorded. You're right about corsets not being as "dangerous" as some folks would like to suggest, I agree there's too much vilification. Having said that, there's a difference between the "truth" in terms of wealthier, fashionable women of that time, and your average working woman. You touched on working/poor women only briefly, but my great-grandmother, her sister, and their mother were all poor, working women and all three of them *hated* corsets. All three were indeed treated as ignorant, "sloppy", and even "mongrel" any time they attempted to forego corsets in the interest of easier work (we're talking canning factories, farm harvesting, fish processing, clam digging, and other hard labor jobs like that). For upper-class women with the fortune of leisure, corsets were a whole different thing. I often speculate that corsetry went extinct largely due to the masses of working women who (like my great grandma) were tired of this constraint impeding the hard labor they were doing to *survive*. The majority of written record usually represents the views of the minority of wealthy/middling classes. It rarely reflects the realities of the masses who were poor (when records of poverty do exist, they're often the observations of some third-party writer from an academic background). I understand your channel is about fashion, I absolutely respect that this means the historical records to which you refer are largely going to reflect the trends & tastes of certain classes of people by default. 99% of the time, I have no issue with that at all. It just bothers me a bit with this particular topic, only because I know there's a whole other side to the story from women who are very often ignored completely: The working poor. Corsets made a lot of sense for those who had room to consider appearances a priority, problem was they were also expected to be worn by women for whom every penny was better spent for food, shelter, and fuel for fire, you know? Corsets were often a source of resentment, discomfort, and true social oppression for them. I agree it wasn't shifted organs or tight-lacing madness that ultimately caused the demonization of corsets. I think it may have been the countless numbers of working poor women who were sick to death of being treated as "ignorant proles" for not wearing one, when really, who would want to wear one if you're bending down over a hundred times a day or expected to harvest crops in them? I think perhaps at least some of the ultimate dislike of corsetry may have been the result of the working women passing down stories of suffering, like my great-grandma did, you know? I don't think she would have hated them as much if she hadn't been treated as such a lowly, lazy woman for not wanting to wear one during her hard, every day labor (she admitted to binding her mid-section with linen strips to give the "appearance" of actually wearing her corset sometimes. She refused to wear one during her monthly cycle as she worked, she just couldn't stand it).

Is it just me or does she kinda look like Marzia

I like what she said near the end about how society today wants to be smarter than the past centuries.

Maybe all those actresses were tight-laced because they thought that's how it should be done...

*"MEN'S CORSETS ON THE OTHER HAND"* _21st century anti-corset feminists:_ wait wait wait wait wait.

My Uncle (a long-time smoker): Corsets are bad for your organs and you’re gonna die. Me: 😑

So basically men opposing corsets were kinda the ancestors of pro-life people...

Could you please recommend a place to purchase a good quality corset?

I heard corsets is the reason for global warming and it kills your kids!

I’ve never tried a corset, but I have panic attacks whenever I wear clothing that is too tight. It could be a tee shirt, jeans, shoes or a headband. So I imagine I’d panic in a corset. But this was such an awesome video that I shared it with so many people. Thank you 🙏

"sub and send chocolate pls" why is this so endearing??

i never felt so interested in history

Just sayin', though I know it is not the main subject (but it was evoked soooo...), orthopedic corsets are not exactly comfortable and they do restrain movements. I've worn such corsets for a few years, and though I wouldn't call it a torture device, I can't say that it's comfortable or practical.

I’m glad they took them away :) I would die if I had to wear them

Gives me "Young white american women telling racial minorities when to feel offended" vibes

it really never changes the instinct of men to ruin it for women when women start to get equal treatment, does it? Then: Suffrage? Better belittle the only way they can express! What about medicalizing their moods too? Now: Better living conditions and general recognition of value? Well, what is a woman, really? And why do they want to have some bathrooms and sports all to themselves? We cant f** have anything for ourselves.

I got a diet ad before this video. BRdesk I am about to _throw down._

I can barely wear pants without getting bloated, so the idea of wearing a corset seems crazy

I help make costumes for my high school's musicals, and I had to construct and fit a custom corset for an actress. It was really difficult, but also a super interesting experience because I had to do all this research and stuff, and I had to measure the actress while she was singing to make sure there would be enough room for when her lungs filled up with air. Nowadays people, I think, associate corsets with a slim waist and vanity, and less so with what they actually are: just an undergarment.

I really wanna wear a corset but I can't even wear a slightly fitted shirt without it making me feel sick because I gain like 6 inches around my waist as soon as I sit down 😂😭 any pro tips for wearing a corset while it not being really really loose fitted then pls send them my way

"you wish, Clarissa!" had me laughing out loud. 😂

I have a corset in real life, and it is steel boned. Sometimes I break the rule boots before corset, and I used this for writing a corset for roleplay and character writing. I even based my stuff on real things, real people, and real garments.

Very educational. Nuff said

"the average waist in 1866 was 28-29 inches" oh cool, that's about my waist size "we have to remember they were likely malnourished" *.......oh*

But... Corsets shot JR! XD (jk obvs)