women's clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

, a corselet or corselette is a type of

foundation garment Kim Kardashian in Shapewear-dress A foundation garment (also known as shapewear or shaping underwear) is an undergarment designed to impermanently alter the wearer's body shape, to achieve what some view as a more fashionable figure. The func ...

, sharing elements of both

bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appea ...

s and

girdles A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts. Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including ...

. It extends from straps over the shoulders down the

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical term for the central part, or the core, of the body of many animals (including humans), from which the head, neck, limbs, tail and other appendages extend. The tetrapod torso — including that of a human � ...

, and stops around the top of the legs. It may incorporate

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

in front or in back. As an undergarment, a corselet can be open-style (with suspenders attached) or panty-style. Historically, the term referred to a piece of plate armour covering the torso.

History

The English word for the piece of armor comes from ''cors'', an Old French word meaning "

bodice A bodice () is an article of clothing traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the ...

". The modern term probably originated by the addition of the

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

suffix " -ette" to the word ''

corset A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it or with a more lasting effe ...

'', itself of similar origin to "corselet". The corselet as an item of women's clothing began to gain popularity in 1914, as a substitute for wearing two separate pieces (a

with either a

girdle A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts. Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including th ...

or a corset). The bust uplift cups were first introduced in 1933, but did not become common until 1943.

Merry widow

A corselet was released by

Warner's The Warnaco Group, Inc. was an American textile/clothing corporation which designed, sourced, marketed, licensed, and distributed a wide range of underwear, sportswear, and swimwear worldwide. Its products were sold under several brand names ...

in 1952, named after ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'', a 1905

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

which has been adapted several times into feature-length films. "Merry widow" remains a common generic term for a corsetry-type garment in the United States, or a "

basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

" in the UK. It is usually strapless, and stopping on the hips, rather than extending below the hip line, like the typical corselet. A merry widow type garment is normally fastened by hooks and eyes at the rear, and because it is strapless, it needs to be well boned to prevent it from rolling over, the boning helping to support the demi-cup section. A merry widow/basque would also incorporate suspenders/garters for attaching to stockings. This type of lingerie is also known as a

torsolette A basque is an item of women's clothing. The term, of French origin, originally referred to types of bodice or jacket with long tails, and in later usage a long corset, characterized by a close, contoured fit and extending past the waistlin ...

, and is used in bridal lingerie, much like the

bustier A bustier (, alternatively bustiere) is a form-fitting garment for women traditionally worn as lingerie. Its primary purpose is to push up the bust by tightening against the upper midriff and forcing the breasts up while gently shaping the wais ...

. The original merry widow was a corselet incorporating slim panels of black, elastic yarn netting. A heavy-duty

zipper A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other Bag, ba ...

was inserted behind a

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

-backed hook-and-eye flange, and the entire garment was lined with

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

voile Voile is a soft, sheer fabric, usually made of 99% cotton or cotton blended with linen or polyester. The term is French for ''veil''. Because of its light weight, the fabric is mostly used in soft furnishing. In tropical climates, voile is used ...

. Nine long, spiral wires were encased in black

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

Lana Turner Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized per ...

, star of the 1952 film adaptation of ''The Merry Widow'', is reported to have said in 1989, "I'm telling you, the merry widow was designed by a man. A woman would never do that to another woman."

Interval and rebirth

Around 1960,

tights Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concept ...

and

trouser Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dr ...

s began to replace corselets. However,

Maidenform Maidenform Brands is a manufacturer of women's underwear, founded in 1922 by seamstress Ida Rosenthal; Enid Bissett, who owned the shop that employed her; and Ida's husband, William Rosenthal. They rebelled against the flat-chested designs of ...

and other mainstream lingerie and undergarment manufacturers have sold corselets as "control slips" since around 1975.

Variations and relatives

*A short corselet without garters or shoulder straps, which ends above the waist, is a

(covering the bust) *A long corselet extending over the hips, with or without garters and/or shoulder straps, is a

(covering the

) *A corselet in two parts is a brassiere and a girdle. *A corselet with a stiff back and laces is a

corsage A corsage is a small bouquet of flowers worn on a woman's dress or around her wrist for a formal occasion. They are typically given to her by her date. Today, corsages are most commonly seen at homecomings, proms, and similar formal events. In ...

or a corset. *A soft corselet is a

slip Slip or SLIP may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole * Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting * Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy Computing and ...

Other than apparel

In biology, the term refers to the thorax of an insect, or a protective band of enlarged scales in the shoulder region of a fish.

References

External links

Complete corselette pattern or eight section corselette
{{Historical clothing Corsetry