Corsetry

thumb|A drawing of a luxury hourglass corset from 1878, featuring a busk fastening at the front and lacing at the back

fashion archetype

thumb|right|Ambrogio Lorenzetti's [[Madonna and Child (1319) depicts swaddling bands]]

any of a range of women's garments fitted closely through the bodice and over the hips; originally a tabbed or extended bodice, and latterly an undergarment similar to a torsolette

women's fashion silhouette

thumb|An advertisement for corsets with waist sizes from 15 to 23 inches (38 to 58 cm) thumb|A woman wearing a tight-laced corset, 1890. Note that Victorian photo editing techniques were likely used on this image, simulating a narrower waist.|alt=A view of a woman in a corset and bloomers from the back with her hands on her hips. She has a very small waist. Tightlacing (also called corset training) is the practice of wearing an increasingly tightly laced corset to achieve cosmetic modifications to the figure and posture or to experience the sensation of bodily restriction. The process origina

Circus attraction based on the trope of the fairness of Circassian women.

thumbnail|right|150px|The inside of a corselette

short girdle reaching from the ribs to the hips

300px|right|thumb|Corsetiers cutting out and fitting in the 18th century

rigid component for the center front of a corset

multiple body piercings in two roughly parallel rows

thumb|right|A Christian (Anglicanism|Anglican) [[priest wearing a white girdle around his waist to hold his alb and stole in place.]] A belt without a buckle, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle in various contexts, especially historical ones, where girdles were a very common part of everyday clothing from antiquity until perhaps the 15th century, especially for women. Most girdles were practical pieces of costume to hold other pieces in place, but some were loose and essentially for decoration. Among the elite these might include precious metals and jewels.

aspect of history

undergarment designed to mold and shape the body to a fashionable silhouette; originally, a combination brassiere and girdle

strip of rigid material used to stiffen corsets, bodices, collars, or other types of costume

corset that produces a silhouette resembling an hourglass shape characterized by wide hips, narrow waist, and wide bust