"Cure the pearl clutching" is a blog post over at Mode Historique about corseting, and the myths that surround it.
...the “torture device” B.S. just needs to stop. REALLY. Right now. The only time wearing a corset is torture is if it is poorly fitted or laced too tightly.
Word to your mother.
I'm known to don corsets for various purposes myself, and definitely I can say the rumors about how they will kill you, you can't breathe, etc. are greatly exaggerated.
That's not to say corsets are always the coziest garments around, but in my experience, the problems and perils with them are not what people pretend they are.
Only in very tight corsets do I generally feel any special discomfort -- and usually it's the stomach or lower back that troubles me, not the lungs as often presumed. Personally, my biggest issue with corsets is the lacing on the back -- I'm always dreaming of being able to get a corset that laces up the sides (and this was apparently a known problem -- there were many Victorian and Edwardian "health corsets" made this way.) The trouble is, if you're thin and boney like I am, that the laces are right on your spine and can cut into your skin if you slouch or of they become loose and allow any opening at the back for your skin to peek through.
Additionally, in the case of very tight corsets (and not all corsets are as tight as optical illusion might suggest) I do notice they can cut off your circulation, making vigorous activity in them rather unwise -- you will wear out more easily because your heart is trying to pump harder already to keep your blood flowing. This can lead to shortness of breath, just like any overexertion, but it's *not* that you "can't breathe" (at least not if your corset is made correctly for your measurements.) Notably, if you were to wear a corset all the time like women used to, your body would adjust to this -- in fact some women participate in "waist training" even today to be able to fit into smaller and smaller corsets.
Looking at old-time clothing catalogues, the fact that most garments are not offered ready made with anything smaller than a 20 inch waist (including corsets) is testament to the realities of how women laced and looked. I mean, when I was in my early 20s I had a 20 inch waist without any help from corseting -- it's not an unnatural measurement, particularly in an era when people averaged a few inches shorter in height than they do today.
Stop spreading these bad rumors about corsets!
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