Topic Proposal
Advanced Research Seminar
My image archive features an assortment of Victorian motifs in addition to modern interpretations. There are many corsets, both traditionally made and costume-inspired mixed in with various textile pieces. Most of the images are rather dark and macabre or just surreal.
What was the purpose of the corset and how has it evolved?
How has the social attitude regarding the corset changed over time?
How has the structure and materials used for corsets altered?
Corsets have drastically evolved over time from being garments that are carefully crafted and used for bodily deformation, to modern-day haute couture and wedding gowns, and finally to items of fetishism and ridicule.
The research methodologies I plan on using for this paper include potentially interviewing people who wear corsets for fetishism to see how their preference differs from the ones listed in Victorian etiquette books. I will also examine various corsets, historically and those used for fetish, to see compare and contrast the materials and structures.There are also documentaries on fetishism and Victorian culture that would be beneficial.
Steele, Valerie. Fetish: Fashion, Sex, and Power. Oxford University Press, 1996.
Kunzle, David. Fashion and fetishism : a social history of the corset, tight-lacing, and other forms of body-sculpture in the West. Rowman and Littlefield, 1982. This book explores the uses of corsets for sexual and physical adjustments throughout history. Evolving from a forced societal beauty standard to an accessory for fetishes, corsets have been made for a variety of reasons. This book details those reasons until the present day.
Steele, Valerie. The Corset: A Cultural History. Yale University Press, 2001. Valerie Steele, a curator at the Fashion Institute of Technology, has written many books about various fashion trends. This particular book follows the importance of corsets, including materials and shapes, throughout their progressive lives.
Summers, Leigh. “Corsetry and the Reality of ‘Female Complaints’.” In Bound to Please: A History of the Victorian Corset, 87–120. Dress, Body, Culture. Oxford: Berg, 2001. Accessed February 19, 2018. http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.newschool.edu/10.2752/9781847888655/BNDTOPLS0007. While more about feminism and the physical properties of corsets, this book does mention how corsets work as well as some textile and construction details. The book focuses mostly on how the body is affected by corsets and the feminine issues caused by them.
Beaujot, Ariel. ““The Beauty of Her Hands”: The Glove and the Making of Middle-class Womanhood.” In Victorian Fashion Accessories, 31–62. London: Berg, 2012. Accessed February 19, 2018. http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.newschool.edu/10.2752/9781472504517/Beaujot0003.
This periodical focuses on fashion in terms of etiquette. Corsets were a major part of femininity and etiquette in addition to the other accessories, such as the titular glove.
Bryden, Inga. “All Dressed Up: Revivalism and the Fashion for Arthur in Victorian Culture.” Arthuriana 21, no. 2 (Summer2011 2011): 28-41. Humanities Source, EBSCOhost (accessed February 19, 2018). This book details the importance of dress in the Victorian era.
Haulman, Kate. Politics of Fashion in Eighteenth-Century America. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011. Accessed February 19, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central. This excerpt mentions the rituals of dress during the Victorian era. Since corsets were designed originally to shape the body into a desirable form, there were specifics that had to be followed while dressing.
Mendes, Valerie D., Amy De La Haye, and Valerie D. Mendes. 2010. Fashion since 1900. London: Thames & Hudson. Although focusing on fashion history in the Western world, this book frequently mentions the progression of corsets as well as the importance of textiles. Through the ever-changing influence of fashion, there are various designers and styles that play an important role in the late 1800’s that are crucial for fashion today.