Bustiers and corsets are historical women's undergarments that were popularly worn during the Victorian and Edwardian Periods. They were worn as essential items of their underwear.
They primarily shape a woman's bosom by uplifting and tightening the upper abdomen which then pushes (lifts) up the bust while cinching and shaping the waist, literally carving out the perfect silhouette of every woman's dreams.
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To produce the hourglass figure, women had to wear bustiers and corsets to squeeze their bodies painfully into shape. Almost like a basque which is really a longer corset that's a body-hugging item of lingerie, a bustier is shorter and extends no further than the waist. Bustiers were regarded as fine lingerie and majorly worn by wealthy elitist women who desired lingerie meant to 'mould' and form an ideal body shape but though the earlier women undergarments of the 16th century don't look as edgy and fashion-forward as the bustier-corsets of today, they definitely served the essential purpose of body-shaping. |
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| The trendy fashion-forward vintage inspired underbust corset worn as an outerwear garment over a vintage style bustle skirt. |
This is because they were formed with boning made from whalebone or giant reeds with the aim to squeeze tight a woman's torso until it reaches the desired shape. They usually fasten at the front with hook-and-eyes or with a busque (a rigid element placed at the centre front of the fifteenth and eighteenth-century lingerie which keep the front rigid and upright).
Some bustiers and corsets are still made with boning to retain their shape and clasp the body very firmly, however, instead of the use of animal bone, boning is now made from hard plastic, mesh panels, and steel.
Today, vintage-inspired corsets and bustiers mainly serve as fashionable outerwear and can be worn both formally and informally. They can be worn informally just as you will a camisole top with a pair of jeans, shorts, or mini skirts, or as a formal top for evening wear like floor-sweeping velvet skirts, formal tailored pants, or full-circle evening skirts.
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| A burlesque vintage-inspired corset/bustier made from lace and satin. It has steel bones and a demi-cup for a full lift and support. |
And for the modest who don't like to expose the midriff or a bra under a sheer transparent top, a bustier will serve as a great innerwear. They come embellished, embroidered, lacy, fashionable underbust, sassy, and lace trimmed, and made from materials like embroidered satin, brocade, Jacquard, velvet, mesh, taffeta, and cotton.
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