A day spent in the clutches of the Internet

[dragonlady7]

I started off and made a grand start on my middle-bit-of-Barbarians-Novel this morning, which was nice. But then it got hot, and I got distracted, and sticky, and grumpy. I did a whole shitload of dishes, did some indoor gardening (repotted some plants), but dared not venture out of doors into the hazy muggy sunny heat. Urgh.
So I lounged in my bed and looked up patterns for chemises online. My new corset doesn't really match my old shift, which my mother made me from the pattern she'd learned for Revolutionary War reenactments. I like it a great deal-- it has the underarm gussets common in well-made historic chemises, along with details I personally prefer: a length just above the knee (which is suitable for wearing with more modern skirts, and doesn't overheat me in the summer), and sleeves that end just below the elbow. Whenever I am dressed I find myself pushing sleeves up to just below my elbow if I can at all. I hate having loose fabric around my hands and wrists. I even do this sometimes with light jackets outdoors, unintentionally.
But I digress.
The new corset should properly have an ornate 16th century shift, but I'm not real into the historic stuff at this juncture. I'll probably make myself something basic, comfortable, and understated enough that I can wear it with modern outfits.

But I spent all day on the Internet, really. The costumers are well-represented in the www. My favorite pages:
The Fine Art of Lacing a Bodice, by a Rev War reenactment group in the Midwest.

This piece may at first appear to be for the ladies, but -- as any of you soldiers who regularly bring your significant other to encampments know -- this is not the case. No sir, bodice lacing is a MAN's job!

Has diagrams, which is useful. Apparently lacing it like a shoelace is incorrect. I wonder why; maybe the old way is better. I'll have to try it-- or, more properly, Z will.

Here's what I was actually looking for, and found right away, but of course, that's not where I stopped. How To Make A Late 15th C. Italian Chemise. With checklist and all!

Early Bronze Age Clothing. What can I say? I cast my net unneccessarily wide when I research. What I want to know is, was the climate warmer or did women just gain more insulation from their pubes? Because that string skirt is unlined and there ain't no undies. I didn't spend way too long peering at the modern model in the reconstruction AT ALL.

And these guys: Smoke and Fire. They're a supply catalogue for Rev War / French and Indian War reenactors, and a lot of their stuff and jargon made me think of my folks. I mean... 18th century kitchen gadgets, fashions, footwear, writing implements... How can you go wrong?

Interestingly, this looks useful: How To Make An 18th Century Corset. I will have to read it over, though.

Comments

[galadhir.livejournal.com]

It's nice to meet a fellow corset wearer - though mine can't claim to be historical in any way; it's a modern one with the steel latches up the front. Are 18thC ones better?

I like the bronze age look though definitley think it would be improved with underwear :) Thanks for the interesting links!

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

I actually want one of the modern ones with the steel latches. I just have generally preferred the styling on the historic ones, and have more easily found information about them. (Although I believe there's a very large active community of corsetmakers on LJ who are both historic and modern in interest.)

The appeal of historic ones for me is that they're based on things people acually wore every day, so you're generally assured a reasonable fit. Modern corsets are often more lingerie or fetish wear than everyday, so you have to be more careful when shopping for them-- I just don't have enough experience with them to be thoroughly confident choosing one, or choosing a pattern to make. Given that I don't even really know how to thread my sewing machine, I'm not about to make one anytime soon, but I am working up to it, with the chemise.

Do you wear yours often? I'd love to wear mine more often, but I just don't have occasions to dress up much. My work uniform simply wouldn't work with one, and when I'm not at work I'm usually slobbing around in jeans or, well, underwear.

[galadhir.livejournal.com]

I tend to wear mine at weekends only, because it's a dressy one with a purple silk outer, meant to be worn on the outside of things - and during the week I'm usually washing up and doing messy stuff with the children for which it's not really appropriate. This is what it looks like:



though I've lost a bit of weight since then and had it taken in 2"

I got it from a corset maker who had a stall at the re-enactor's fair we normally go to,

http://www.livinghistoryfayres.com/index_files/Page484.html

and she measured me up for it and made it to measure. I find it quite comfortable, and wear it all day long Saturday and Sunday. But I admit it took me a while to wear it in public without feeling as though I was some wierd fetishist, and it does attract some notice (usually from women, and so far always positive) :)

That pattern you linked to is *sooo* complicated! But on the other hand, it has to be more affordable to make them yourself, and I'd like to try an 18th Century style if only because it looks as though it would go better over trousers.

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

I like the design of that one, and I'd like one like that-- it's a nice, simple, pretty design and you look lovely in it.
I actually think one like that might be easier to make than the complicated pattern I linked to.
But yes-- the old-fashioned ones were meant to be an inner layer most of the time, which means that they're easier to wear under things. I bought the one I did partly because it doesn't go down very far in front-- more comfortable for sitting, and I could probably wear it with trousers. I didn't get it custom-fitted at all so it was only around $100.

The corset maker informed me that corsets are all the rage over in the British Isles-- she'd been there recently and girls were wearing them with their jeans. Shrug!

I think-- ah yes, corsetmakers. I was looking at them a while back.
And via them-- holy cow-- The Elizabethan Corset Generator (http://www.elizabethancostume.net/custompat/index.html)-- give it your measurements and it spits out a pattern for you! Oh my. *runs off to poke that some more*

[galadhir.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Yes, it's easy to put on and off by yourself too, which is a must for me because I refuse to ask for help getting dressed! I must try it with hipster jeans, because the point at the front makes it too difficult to get high waisted trousers done up, and I think if I was to go for another one it would be a shorter one which I could wear under things, with trousers.

Fashion corsets are all the rage at the moment, yes - the kind that look like corsets but don't really pull you in at all; meant to be worn by skinny girls who don't really need them, as a T-shirt alternative. I nearly bought one for £10 (about $15?) just to see what they were like, but it was white and glittery - far too girly for an old woman like me, so I saved the money :)

I like the Corset generator! And the pattern looks easier than the other one, but I really want the waist-pulling-in effect, so that one wouldn't do. OTOH, it would probably be a good pattern to learn on. Thanks for the link!

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the new one-- I tried it and I can get it on myself, if I work at it, but I can't quite get it tightened down all the way. However. I actually read a good technique for self-lacing a rear-lacing corset-- tie really long laces to the normal laces, lace it up all the way very loosely, then pull it tight until you can remove the extra-long laces, pull the normal ones tight, and bingo! I think that might work better with a different lacing pattern than the shoelace one I have going on now, and also with slippier laces than the rawhide ones I have at the moment. (Also if it tied at the bottom...)
Another method is to pull out big loops in the middle, secure the ends of the laces at top and bottom, and then use the big loops in the middle of the lacing to tighten it down, and tie those two loops off in a bow.

Obviously I've been wasting a lot of time on corsets on the Internet. Apparently it was the Victorians who invented tightlacing-- before that, waists weren't generally much reduced, the corset was just to shape the body and control the bust. So they're way way comfy, which works well for me.

Oh yes, fashion corsets. I must admit I dearly love the look, and there are times I wish I were a skinny little girl. But I'm not, so, I should learn to make my own. :) (I also can't wear white glittery things well.)

Hipster jeans = good idea.

[maggiehoneybite.livejournal.com]

Wow, you look beautiful in that!

[galadhir.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D I must admit I was very dubious about the idea of corsets, and I only tried one on at a re-enactor's fair just to see what they felt like (whether it was as painful as films like PotC made out). But when I saw myself with a waist again (something I haven't had for about the past 5 years) I was an instant convert :) Also they don't feel unpleasant at all - in fact they feel as though someone is hugging you. And they give you great posture!

Not that you need one - you're etherial and perfect enough without high-tensioned steel reinforcement :)

[mother2012.livejournal.com]

The reason for not using shoelace-style is because it bunches up together. Or at least I surmise that's the reason, since it does with me. You have to have horizontal lines to partially prevent that.

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

That might be a reason.
The corsets I've bought have the lacing eyelets set in steel boning, so they don't bunch up regardless of the pattern, but I think steel boning with eyelets is a newish invention. ^.^
(Historically, eyelets were done similarly to buttonholes, and the boning was beside them, so. Good theory.)

Apparently spiral or offset lacing is also a lot easier to do yourself, if you've got to get into a back-lace corset without assistance. I have yet to experiment to verify this.