A quick guide to corset & stay styles from 1750 to 1850 - The Dreamstress

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In last week’s (well, almost week before lasts at this point!) Five for Friday post, when I discussed transitional stays, and succumbing to the temptation to make ‘reenactor style’ Regency stays* (which, you will be pleased to hear, I have not!), I didn’t make it clear what either was. So naturally, people asked! I was going to just write about transitional stays and reenactor stays, but how can you write about a transition if you don’t show what something is transitioning from, and towards? And how can I show something is a reenactorism if I don’t show what the reality was? I realised that both needed more background, and deserved complete posts. So, here is the slightly longer, more complicated, post with a history of supportive undergarments (i.e. stays and corsets – read this post for the difference between the two) from 1750 to 1850. This is intended as a very general introduction to the way the types of supportive undergarments period, rather than an in-depth exploration. One could easily write a full blog post …