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Wearing History:

Investigating the Physical Reality of Wearing Early 20th-Century Women’s

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 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 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 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, , 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 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 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 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. Things just seem to rub and have a lot of pressure. The psychological temptation to quite and not lace that corset back on tomorrow is very strong, but I will instead institute a plan. I wore Edwardian clothes from 8-11 a.m. today (3 hours) so tomorrow I will go from 8-12 adding one extra hour. In this way I will try to let my body adjust slowly. This has also provided me with the important revelation that actors’ bodies must be given a long period of time to gradually adjust (like 2 weeks) to prevent them discomfort and to help them get used to the psychological side of historical clothing. Just something to keep in mind as I move forward as a way to be a kinder, smarter costumer. Also, I decided for my own comfort I had to take a shower, which felt magnificent.

16 July 2020 – Day Four 8 a.m. – I got dressed and headed into my studio. I laced as loosely as possible with my skirt still fitting and wore the corset until 12 p.m. and while it felt good to remove the corset, and many warm layers I was not as uncomfortable as Wednesday. But I did feel like 4 hours was my limit. As I spent most of the day in AC I was pretty comfortable. I will continue with my plan to increase time.

17 July – Day Five I had a car ride in the morning, so I dressed at 2:30. Despite having eaten lunch, I felt comfortable. I then rode to the grocery store in a care which was not comfortable, as usual. I think that the car seats push the corset up which then forces the narrowest point up onto my lower ribs. I then had to make a dash through the rain! My clothes seemed to dry without mishap though. Additionally, I wore my reproduction glasses for the first time! They were actually not too bad – my eyes adjusted to the small lenses and my ears to the sprung steel, but the metal nose St.Onge 4 piece was very straight and sharp and was the only part that put pressure on my nose. I took off the clothes at 7 p.m. for a total of 4.5 hours. I’ve found that soft chairs are not comfortable to sit in and metal or wood chairs provide the best support and keep my back from collapsing or bad angles that cause pressure from occurring. I was definitely ready to take off the clothes at 7 p.m. At around 8:30 I began to have stomach pains that seem to be the result of a mixture of period cramps, lactose intolerance (I ate some ice cream), and possible gas pressure buildup caused by the corset. Additionally, my back muscles are very tight, and my ribs are still tender.

18 July – Day Six 11:00 a.m. – slept in and put clothes on later. Everything as normal, but with period pad belt added for obvious reasons. Went on a 2.5 mile hike in the hot humid weather (87 F) with hat and full clothing to see how I dealt with heat and physical exertion. The hat and long sleeves blocked the sun nicely, but I think the extra layers especially over my legs counteracted any benefits. I found that while moving and walking the air over them kept things ventilated but when I stood still the heat trapped beneath was almost insufferable. In the shade and on flat ground I felt fine but as soon as I climbed a hill and entered a sunny meadow I became very out of breath and this combined with the sun made me feel slightly faint. Re-entering shade was a wonderful feeling. Overall decision was to avoid hikes in the heat in Edwardian clothing as I believe the corset both overheated me and reduced my lung capacity to the point that a small hill made me out of breath (while my boyfriend was not winded at all). Upon arrival at home I realized that while sitting, my corset had somehow pushed the front of my chemise into close enough proximity to my pad that I had a large, hand sized blood stain on the front hem. Apart from that though, the pad had been comfortable and absorbent with no issues. I’m still not sure how it happened. This compounded with the fact that my whole torso was soaked through with sweat induced me to remove everything a little earlier than I had planned as I felt it necessary to clean my chemise before it spread blood onto my petticoat as well. This was at 2:30 p.m. for a total of 3.5 hours. Taking everything off was a huge relief, and my corset was literally soaked through with sweat. I hung everything to dry and washed my chemise. Throughout the afternoon and evening though I continued to experience tenderness and discomfort on the right side of my ribcage. I’ve never felt this before and think it is probably caused by the corset, unfortunately. I’m at the point where I don’t really feel like putting the Edwardian clothes on tomorrow. It’s such a hassle, eating as much as I want feels bad, my period is harder to manage, my legs are hotter, my ribs hurt. It’s hard to see pros at this point. I’m hoping this is the low point and things improve from here.

19 July – Day Seven 9:30 a.m. – got dressed in my (period accoutrements, chemise, corset, petticoat, corset cover). This allowed me to keep my corset a little looser as I cooked food and washed my hair and I never put my full out clothes on as I was just pretty much on the porch washing my hair and then letting it dry. I filmed a video of the hair washing process as well. Not being fully dressed felt a lot more comfortable and I wore the clothes from 9:30-4 p.m. for a total of 6.5 hours. St.Onge 5

The pad was successful as I did not bleed all over myself. I used two pads which is the same amount I’d use in modern cloth pads. I estimate a heavy flow. I was careful to check every time I used the bathroom and was able to catch the first pad just as I began to bleed through the stuffing. Overall success, though the psychological fear of bleeding through to my was enormous compared to my fear with modern pads.

20 July – Day Eight Car ride and extremely upset stomach all day has resulted in no clothing, let alone much more than sitting in a car and sleeping in my bed. I’m currently curled up in an easy chair trying to edit a video while staying in fetal position as much as possible.

21 July – Day Nine 8 a.m. – Got dressed and worked on editing until 9 a.m. when I had to change out of it to test drive vehicles – modern life interfering, unfortunately. As I was out of Edwardian clothing, I was hit with acute stomach pains, cold sweat, and lightheaded weakness. I have no idea if this was related to the corset, but it made putting the garments back on impossible and I again spent the day on the couch trying to edit a video. 1 hour total.

22 July – Day Ten I did not in Edwardian clothes again due to the same health issues. I am seeing a doctor on the 24th and hope to return to the project but am leery of aggravating any symptoms so I may not wear the clothes until I know what is going on medically. If need be I might wear the clothes for a little longer – perhaps into the write-up period. It is a little discouraging – other costumers, on social media, Youtube, etc seem to be able to wear Edwardian corsets with ease, but I am running into so many complications. I don’t know if this is a psychological thing or purely a medical coincidence. I may have some medical condition that is happening at the same time as this project that could not have been avoided, but is unrelated… I hope to know more on how to proceed by Friday.

23 July – 27 July I am under treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome and can’t wear tight garments around my abdomen, so I’ve had to suspend wearing the garments until I recover.

28 July 8 a.m. I was feeling better stomach wise, so I wore the clothes until 11 a.m. (3 hours) During this time I was cleaning my studio space and moving a desk and heavy bins into my car. I found the corset actually provided back support, but that the long skirts got in the way going up and down stairs while carrying heavy items. Unfortunately, when I took the clothes off I noticed the mild discomfort in my ribs on the right side had been aggravated to painful touch sensitivity. After some research and medical consultation, I’ve concluded I probably have mildly bruised ribs – this is most likely because of the boning placement rubbing in my corset, mixed with a corset that doesn’t fit my body as well as it could. This corset does not account for my long St.Onge 6 torso, and I’ve discovered by comparing to my sister that I have very rigid ribs in comparison to her quite flexible ones. I think these things, compounded with my corset not being “broken in” and molded correctly to my body when I (foolishly) tried to wear it for 8-10 hours a day with no preparation or acclimatization, led to mildly bruised ribs. I am questioning the wisdom of continuing to wear the clothing as I gained many valuable insights in the time I did wear them but worry greatly about aggravating my injury. Additionally, bruised ribs take 2-6 weeks to heal so waiting until they do is out of the question with regards to timeline.

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Conclusion – The first, and most obvious, yet unexpected thing I learned was that nothing ever goes according to plan! I could not have foreseen stomach problems or bruised ribs, but despite the truncated length of wearing time, I am still able to draw valuable conclusions from my experiences.

Research – Beginning with my research period, limited though it was in terms of in-person examination of artefacts by Covid-19, I still poured over thousands of photographs through online museum catalogues – the most valuable being photos taken by Hugh Mangum housed in the Duke University Libraries, and the many and varied photographs of working-class New York housed in the Museum of the City of New York. My first impressions were of the individuality expressed through clothing choices, especially as seen in Mangum’s work. Though the photos are in black and white, bold prints, unique hairstyles, and quirky posing are evident. Additionally, the sly street photographs taken by Edward Linley Sambourne give images of women unaware of the photographer while going about their daily business. I was surprised in looking over these that hem lengths were shorter – a practical ankle length – than posed photos taken in studios and those seen in plates and photos. It makes sense that best and high fashion were long while women walking London streets had shorter hems to avoid the dirt, dust, and manure. I was struck by how common skirt and blouse combinations were – far more common in the photographs than the delicate white dresses that leap to mind when the Edwardian era is thought of. This influenced the items I decided to include in my wardrobe – two skirts and 5 blouses, which resulted in a mix-and-match capability while still staying minimal and realistic.

Mangum, Hugh, 1877-1922. Duke University Libraries. https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r3st7f10p. St.Onge 8

Sambourne, Edward Linley. 1905-1908. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The Library Time Machine. https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/return-of-the-edwardian- sartorialist-sambournes-kensington-street-style/.

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Making – As I entered the making period, armed with Authentic Victorian Dressmaking Techniques and the Cult of Chiffon, I first made chemises, drawers and corset covers from batiste. The cotton batiste was lovely to work with, crisp and fluffy and surprisingly durable. I used an antique chemise as my pattern and an antique corset cover (a practice which would serve me well in most of the garments I made) and extrapolated a drawers pattern from photographs of museum items. I do wish I had made at least a pair of combinations as these were a common variety of underwear at the time, but I ran low on time and materials. I found these undergarments quite comfortable, and eventually preferred to wear the drawers as the innermost layer. I did realize that the corset covers were a little too small and short at the bottom edge and therefor did not provide much pouf. I usually left the bottom button undone to allow the corset cover to blouse out a bit. The corset was next. I used the Ref W pattern from Atelier Sylphe – it is taken from an antique S-bend corset and has been used by many people in the historical costuming community to what seems to be great success. I did not alter the pattern. It has roughly my expected corseted proportions in terms of bust/waist/hip – 30.7/19.3/35.5 with a 3-inch added lacing gap for 33.7/22.3/38.5 to my regular measurements of 33.5/25/38.5. A 2-3-inch waist reduction is considered normal. Unfortunately, in the wearing of the corset, I quickly realized that the corset was too short for my long torso, and that the bust and hips were actually too large. This left room for some creative padding possibilities, which were common during the era (from handkerchiefs to “gay deceivers”). I found that using soft, fluffy washcloths worked quite well and made the corset more comfortable. I also ran against the practicality issues of such a long-fronted garment with boning. While the corset provided a lovely S-bend shape, I found that the length at the front and over the hips to be excessive and in the way as I sat, bent over, carried things and just generally moved my legs through anything more than the range of motion required for walking. This could, of course, have stemmed from a fit error, but calls into question just how common the extreme S-bend style was among working women. Then came an antique petticoat I’d repaired. This was a delicate but sturdy garment that both held up structurally, but also provided the proper amount of support for my skirts. St.Onge 10

Corset and chemise All layers of underwear

I based one of my two skirts on an antique garment. Both are of black wool with 7 panels and to hide the seams. The second skirt was of blue and self-drafted, using my petticoat as a length/general shape guideline, and had 5 panels and knife pleats all the way around, a feature I noticed in several photos. By following the antique skirt, I decided to pink the seam allowances rather than hemming them and faced the hems with polished cotton. I do wish I had added a pocket in the back placket as that would have been incredibly useful, but as the antique skirt did not have one I simply did not think of it until I was wearing the garments. I did love these skirts though. Ankle length hems add a drama and declarative nature to one’s physical presence and walking with the skirts swirling around the legs is a pleasant aural and physical experience. My shirtwaists were all either ordered from reproduction companies (in plaids and stripes to reflect what I saw in Mangum’s photos) or wearable antiques. I found the collars in the antiques had higher and tighter collars (reinforced with a small strip of boning in center back) than the reproductions did. All were comfortable, with the best style in the summer heat being the three-quarter sleeve. In terms of accessories, I made a small belt with a gentle v-shaped front to wear over my black skirt and wore an antique silver metal belt with the blue skirt. I also wore a straw hat whenever I was outside. Since I wear a hat in the summer quite often normally I didn’t notice much of a change in this aspect. St.Onge 11

I found that the purchased from American Duchess (a historical reproduction company) fit tightly enough that I could pull them up all the way then roll down the two inches to above my knee in a way that essentially self-gartered them. I am aware of 1920s flappers doing this and found photographs of Edwardian women with stockings that did not attach to suspenders on the corset and were instead gartered at the knee or apparently rolled down. This proved to be a very comfortable way to wear them, but I have no comparison of how the corset/ combination works. My shoes (reproductions from American Duchess and Oak Tree Farms) both had heels, an oxford and boot style respectively, but were both incredibly comfortable to wear, much more so than modern heels. I believe this comes with the lower French heel style and the placement of the heel further under the base of the heel for a sturdier base. They required no breaking in, which was a pleasant surprise.

Two shirtwaist and skirt combinations (featuring my slightly limp hair)

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My linen skirt and reproduction glasses in action A more sedate color palette

Wearing – So, the pressing question – would I want to wear Edwardian clothing every day? No. A corset? No. I believe these clothes are beautiful, aesthetically pleasing, and have aspects (like long, dramatic skirts) that I really enjoy and want to include in my modern wardrobe. But I do not think that a corset is “my thing” so to speak. I have no doubt that a corset can be very comfortable and that there are people to whom the corseted lifestyle is appealing and well suited, but as an active woman who doesn’t even like wearing underwire and would rather honestly not wear a bra at all, I just don’t want to wear a corset outside of a dress-up context. Additionally, I have to reconcile my physical condition with the garments I was wearing. The baseline facts are that while wearing these garments I suffered from Irritable Bowel Syndrome and lightly bruised ribs. Whether my clothes caused these conditions is the question. Because of the nature and length of my IBS symptoms I do not think the corset caused my case, as stress and certain foods are the common triggers (and the world in general has been stressed recently). But I do think that the corset impacted my appetite by making it harder to estimate St.Onge 13 when I was hungry and reducing the size of meals I could eat comfortably – I found that overeating in a corset was more uncomfortable than overeating normally. On the other hand, I do think that my bruised ribs were caused by my improper wearing of the corset. By going straight into 9+ hours a day without both allowing my body to adjust and also not properly breaking in and seasoning the corset, as well as not considering the asymmetry and inflexibility of my ribcage, I believe I caused avoidable bruising to the right side of my ribcage. I think if I had set out a structured process starting with 3-4 hours the first day and slowly working up to a full day, the process would have been much smoother, and I would not have bruised my ribs. This was an error in my procedure that I would definitely go back and change if I could. In regard to real Edwardian women, I doubt that bruised ribs were common in the way I experienced because those women would have worn some form of torso covering support vest as children and gradually adjusted to corsets during their teen years (similar to how girls today wear training bras and then transition to cupped and wired brassieres). This would have allowed for plenty of adjustment and acclimatization, to the point where going corsetless outside the home would have felt un-natural, uncomfortable, and unsupportive. I also found that the corset added welcome support to my back and stomach muscles when I was moving heavy furniture around, and this type of heavy-duty support was probably very welcome to working class women who had to stand at factory looms for long hours, lift heavy washtubs of water or sacks of potatoes. I’ve concluded that it is more probable I bruised my ribs through wearer error rather than discovering a somehow unrecorded common occurrence.

Theatrical Application – Before I did this project, I was very adamant about accuracy in theatre and film . However, this project has really shifted my mindset and, while I think there is a place for extremely accurate and detailed costumes, I think the first impulse for me as a designer when doing a period show must be to capture the spirit and energy of the play and the period. I think there is more room for artistic, creative, and avant-garde interpretations of historical clothing. I do believe that detailed research is still necessary – you must first know the period before you can re-interpret it – but once that research is done then creative license can take over. I’ve learned several things that would help actors in a period show. The most crucial being a long, gradual adjustment period for corsets. I think at least two weeks of gradual physical acclimatization is necessary, as well as proper information on corset basics – slouching will make it uncomfortable, do NOT eat before you put the corset on eat after so you don’t put sudden pressure on a full stomach, when you bend over, rotate from the hip joint instead of trying to curve the spine, lace into the corset slowly and take it off slowly as well to let your body get used to the feeling – are necessary to help actors stay comfortable and healthy. Long skirts should be moved and interacted with gracefully – this will take conscious thought at first, and the effort should be put in to allow the actor to learn to move ergonomically with a lot of fabric around their legs. A tight will not choke an actor, but learning to hold the head in a more erect position, with the chin tipped up, will increase comfort and give them “period posture” with that lovely Gibson girl nose-in-the-air attitude (when appropriate for the character of course). As with all costumes, the clothing should serve to help the actor discover and truly live in their character, and they should be encouraged to work with and learn from the costume instead of viewing it as mere body covering.