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Investigating the Physical Reality of Wearing Early 20Th-Century Women’S Clothing

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Investigating the Physical Reality of Wearing Early 20Th-Century Women’S Clothing St.Onge 1 Wearing History: Investigating the Physical Reality of Wearing Early 20th-Century Women’s Clothing Isabella St.Onge Journal – pp. 1-6 Concluding Thoughts – pp. 7-13 Journal 13 July 2020 – Day One 8 a.m. - Putting on all the layers took about ten minutes. Putting on the corset was not difficult, and my body adjusted to the sensation quickly – no pinching or pain and breathing seemed normal. It was important to put on the corset BEFORE eating anything as this made a big difference in how comfortable it was to wear laced to 23 inches (2 inch reduction). Eating also seemed fine, I normally cannot manage a very large breakfast so my small one was normal. I did notice it took longer for me to get hungry for lunch. I ate a snack at 11 and then didn’t eat lunch until 1 (at least an hour later than usual). Riding in a car was uncomfortable as you have to sit straight up and down with the Edwardian corset which is difficult with modern car seats. I found the long skirts to be no trouble while walking. In my studio I felt a little hotter than usual, but rolling up my sleeves helped. I also actually took 45 minute long nap in the corner of my studio on some fabric I’d laid down and had no trouble falling asleep or laying comfortably even on the floor in a corset. I must say that eating my normal size lunch did cause some discomfort during the last three bites or so and I had to sit for 20 minutes to let my stomach settle or shift or digest before I felt able to move about as usual. Sewing at my machine and using my laptop in the same chair were both comfortable, but I could not cross my legs as I am accustomed to because of the long, straight front of the corset. By 3 p.m. I had become uncomfortable on the front right side of my lower ribcage. I felt a rubbing sensation and that that point received uneven pressure. I arrived home and took off all my Edwardian clothes at 5:30. As I had suspected based on how the corset had rubbed and felt uncomfortable, on examination of my torso I have found that my ribcage in that area is quite asymmetrical with the right side protruding further and lower. This accounts for the discomfort, and I hope my corset forms to my body. I wore the corset for 9.5 hours, and suspect that it will become more comfortable as the days go on as going in cold turkey to a full day was a bit of a bold step. Interested but slightly apprehensive to see how I fare tomorrow. I have the feeling it may take 3-4 days to adjust to the corset. 14 July 2020 – Day Two 8 a.m. – I laced my corset loosely before I did my hair to try to give my body longer to adjust before lacing up for the day and this made me more comfortable – I laced what I think was slightly looser than yesterday as hooking my skirt took a bit more effort. I ate a larger breakfast St.Onge 2 than yesterday as well. As I sat at the computer for most of the morning on a hard chair I noticed increased annoyance with the length of the corset at center front and at the sides. It prevents me from crossing my legs and tends to shift around awkwardly as I move my legs. I think because I have a long waist but high hip joints, the corset pattern could do with some alterations. I ate a snack at 11 a.m. and found there was some pressure on my right front ribcage again, as well as a bit on my left hip bone. These are points on my body with very little “padding” so it felt like the bones of the corset were rubbing on my bones. These symptoms decreased though as I re- adjusted on a trip to the bathroom and moved to standing work. On that note, I put my drawers on under my chemise and corset and found that using the toilet was easier (I didn’t have to move my tucked in chemise out of the way) but there was less oomph to my skirt and the bottom corset line was more obvious as the drawers lent no volume over the corset. I began to suffer from an upset stomach before I ate lunch at 1 p.m. and this continued until 3 ish. I found a way to lean back in my softer office chair that was comfortable to read in and kept my body comfortable inside the corset (though my hips are pushed back and chest forward when I stand this straight back lean helped maintain that and keep pressure off my ribs and hip). The car ride home was miserable as the long corset front pushed the whole garment up, creating pressure upward into my ribs, but as soon as I got out this was alleviated. Additionally, I have to be very careful of my long skirt as I shut the car door. I also wore a new pair of lace up boots which were comfortable and looked nice. I took off the clothes at 6 p.m. still before dinner for a total of 10 hours. Also, I have begun a sponge bath routine for the first 4 days to test Victorian cleanliness. I wore the same chemise, drawers and corset cover as yesterday and actually feel that I am cleaner today than days in normal clothing where I have not showered for 48 hours. I will be wearing a new chemise etc tomorrow as there is now light body odor. On a side note though, I have yet to spend a significant amount of time outside in the summer heat – my usual 3-4 mile evening walk is the main source of my daily sweat, but I have not yet worn Edwardian clothing for such exercise. Hopefully I will be able to test outdoor conditions in the next day or two as my body has become more comfortable in the clothing. Additionally, the next two days are projected to have high temperatures of 90 and 87 degrees which would definitely be a test! 15 July 2020 – Day Three 8 a.m. – got dressed and place some small hand towels as padding in the hips and bust. This seemed to make my corset more comfortable and I also felt like I laced looser that previous days. I wore an antique blouse and silver belt and felt I looked more authentic that days previous, the confidence boost was lovely. Unfortunately at 11 a.m. I was stuck with acute, sharp stomach pains. I couldn’t tell if they were gas or hunger pangs or something different, but I had to just sit and focus on breathing because it hurt quite a bit. This was followed by a bout of dizziness and I decided I had to tap out for the day. I removed my belt, skirt and blouse and loosened by corset over a period of 15 minutes, fully removing it by 11:30. This alleviated my dizziness and light headed feeling and once I removed the garment I felt like I could expand my ribs and stomach to breathe in a more normal way that I had not realized was not occurring while I wore the corset. My stomach pains also subsided over the next half hour and I ate lunch. I spent the rest of the day in my drawers, chemise, petticoat, and corset cover – a far cry from Edwardian propriety, but St.Onge 3 I did not feel able to put the corset back on. To be honest I’m dreading putting it on tomorrow because I believe it does not fit or function properly. I think I need to make a new one, shorter with less emphasis on the extreme S-bend shape. It makes sense that a working woman would not have worn the newest corset model, and as the S-bend was only super popular from 1900-1908ish I think it is reasonable to assume that women who moved about, lifted and generally worked a lot continued to wear more practical hourglass models. In The Cult of Chiffon, Mrs. Eric Pritchard even advises fashionable women that the S-bend doesn’t suit all body types and some women should stick to the old style of corset for the sake of proportion. I worry too that by throwing my body into unfamiliar clothing full time instead of gradually increasing the hours total per day I wear the clothes I have handicapped myself. I didn’t consider the fact that I am a thin, semi-athletic 21st century woman who only wears a bra once a week at most. Because of Covid-19 quarantine my clothes have been even more comfy than usual and the extreme change in clothing must account for a lot of the discomfort I’m feeling. I would also like to ask the Instagram historical costuming community about their experiences with long (more than 9 hours) days in corsets as well as how consecutive days in corsets feel. Additionally, I’d like to know if there is any indication that body mass changes how comfortable corsets are. Because I am quite thin my hip bones for example have only a layer of skin, chemise and one layer of corset fabric between them and steel, and my ribcage seems to face a similar situation.
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