Whenever I see corsets I think of the torture that women went through wearing those things, squishing their internal organs and pinching and whatnot. Little wonder they got 'the vapors' and fainted frequently, especially in the summer! It might have made their figures hourglass-perfect but killed their health.
I loved the chapter in Louisa May Alcott's Eight Cousins about the new 'revolutionary' women's fashions in the 1870s that were corset-free and allowed girls to run and jump and do physical things that made them healthy. Rose's guardian, a man, was quite progressive and fully backed such sensible clothes for women and girls.
Interestingly, Dr. Warner was a corset reformer, first lecturing against the evils of steel corsets, then designing new, flexible corset styles that allow more natural breathing and movement.
Also--this is the company that eventually became Warnaco. And engaged in a long history of human rights abuses when it came to their employees.
That's very interesting! Corsets were big business, of course. I believe there was a Royal Corset Company located in Worcester, Massachusetts, back in the day. Not surprising, since Worcester was a city with many manufacturing industries, including lunch cars/diners and Valentines! ;)
There was a company involved with NASA for the space suits, I think. All the old factory buildings are being gentrified into apartments and restaurants now. And it's a city of the '70s (locations appeared in American Hustle). ;)
Whenever I see corsets I think of the torture that women went through wearing those things, squishing their internal organs and pinching and whatnot. Little wonder they got 'the vapors' and fainted frequently, especially in the summer! It might have made their figures hourglass-perfect but killed their health.
I loved the chapter in Louisa May Alcott's Eight Cousins about the new 'revolutionary' women's fashions in the 1870s that were corset-free and allowed girls to run and jump and do physical things that made them healthy. Rose's guardian, a man, was quite progressive and fully backed such sensible clothes for women and girls.
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Also--this is the company that eventually became Warnaco. And engaged in a long history of human rights abuses when it came to their employees.
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There was a company involved with NASA for the space suits, I think. All the old factory buildings are being gentrified into apartments and restaurants now. And it's a city of the '70s (locations appeared in American Hustle). ;)
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