It's a Sports Corset! (plus a 'corset shield') - examining our new study pieces

Let's learn about our newest extant study pieces!

First: An 1890s "Khiva" corselet designed for sport
Second: An "Oktis" corset shield, designed to reinforce worn corsets at the waist
Mentions: @virtuouscourtesan, @laracorsets, @laceembraceatelier @hellovintage
Images:
Khiva Corset, John Bright Collection
Tennis, Library of Congress
The New Woman and Her Bicycle, Library of Congress
Khiva Corset Chamber Pot, UK Auctioneers

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[bernadettebanner]

oh my goodness this is fascinating to see one In Person, I've been reading about these all week! 🤩🤩

[mond]

My suspicion is that the tabs secured the cords for hip and bum pads in place as these would still have been worn under sport petticoats and skirts of the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods. Because this corset style is already quite bulky at the waist, and it is so short (effectively ending at the top of the hip), the silhouette would still be maintained by securing the pads below the relatively high waist of the corset.

[cincocats]

I hope you eventually add a pattern for the sports corset to your offerings. It is exactly what I want for everyday wear. And I love that it is short waisted. A great find!

[ameliegonissen]

More info on the “Oktis”shield:
The packaging says “doubles your corsets life time” “number 2, for corsets above 60cm” (above as in longer than)
The shield itself say “Zaroïde supports, does not rust” (Zaroïde must have been the name given to the alloy they were using for the baleen to make it sound more fancy than it actually is, adds still use that strategy currently of using overly scientific names for common things to make them sound advanced, because I can’t find other mentions of it except for a corset being backed by an “oktis” shield in Paris)
“Attach by sewing on the do not stop the extremities of the baleen” (the Paris shield mentioned above is a bit more specific here saying “Attachez cette bandelette marquée à l'intérieur du corset / Les extrémités des baleines doivent rester entièrement libres". Meaning “attach the marked strips inside the corset/ the extremities of the baleens need to stay fully free”, so you were not supposed to sew down the extremities, just the dotted lines, probably because it’s inside another layer of baleen and the ends of it need to be free to stretch in and out a bit when it’s bend one way or another. If you don’t understand what I mean, try putting 2 metallic rulers against each other, you’ll see the ends will slide a bit when you bend them)

[stevezytveld]

Shout out to your awesome Mail Man/human picking up things in the snow.
The snaps remind me of a very old over-stuffed-down-filled sleeping bag my parents had - whatever was attached to the corset must have had a substantial weight to need that many points of connection. Plus the side tabs appear to be there so the wearer could scooch in and pull the corset down into position.
This is fascinating. Especially the replacement bone shields - our grandparents were smarter than we are.
Thank you for sharing! All the very best of the season. And may 2021 be full of joy, laughter, dancing, socializing safely without masks and creativity. Take care. Stay safe. Thank you for the corset patterns...
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown

[silvergypsylady]

I had read about the Otis stay shields awhile ago. I hadn't really thought about "breaking a rib", as a stay before you mentioned it here. That makes sense. I always thought when I read that women would break ribs wearing corsets that they must be in very poor health. Quite a misconception. I'm becoming more educated on historical clothing thanks to you and other members in the community of historical clothing. Thanks so much for sharing.

[SPAMCAN]

The P and S is a corset making company. Underpinning museum has a lot of high def images of their advertisement material which I have waded through in the past

[TheSameYellowToy]

I wonder if the Star of David is in the logo because it might be a Jewish-owned brand? I don't know about other countries, but I know in Germany and Austria, the vast majority (like at least 80-90%) of people in the garment industry pre-WW2 were Jewish. (For a very long time in those countries, there were anti-Semitic laws dictating what careers Jewish people were allowed to have, and the garment industry was one of the few fields they were legally allowed to go into.)

There's a really interesting book about the Jewish garment industry in Germany/Austria pre-WW2 and the effects the Holocaust had on it, it's called "Broken Threads: The Destruction of the Jewish Fashion Industry in Germany and Austria".

[TealCheetah]

Shoutout to that mail carrier for sure!

[AE-ldck]

That sports corset is very interesting. I used to figure skate and I love looking at older images and film of skating around the early 1900s, so it’s fascinating to get an idea of what kind of garment would have been worn for sports like that. I wonder if a skirt or under layer could have been rigged in a way to make a sort of transitional skirt/bloomer, like adding a loop or small openings that could be secured to those flaps somehow? Like in case of the wearer falling or something, so they didn’t show anything underneath. 🤔

[ShannonMakes]

Oh, I've just spent the last two weeks researching Sports Corsets (mostly the Good Sense Waist) in preparation for constructing one myself, and I just now found your video! Great video :-)

[TheMaggieMia]

Abby Cox is so envious of your Worth Dress, and I am amazed by it!

[SPAMCAN]

Also another thing I noted: the hight measures from waist to bust point and to side point are exactly those of modern professional tutu/ballet corsets. I heard you say the measurements and thought, that isn't short... Hopefully this blasted indefinite shut down of the theatre will soon be circumvented

[fitzyfitz]

The corset shield writing reads to 'fix it by sewing on the marks'

[ukehimesama]

I love these interesting corsets. If there was one corset I could magically procure it would be the margaine lacroix corsets. I think they where made from a silk jersey fabric, in one of the adverts the model is bending backwards.

[chee]

The sports corset feels very comparable to an early bra....and it looks quite comfortable

[eman]

I cannot thank you enough for helping me fulfill my thirst for this very specific hyperfixation 🥰

[Sestra_Prior]

Yep, you got Leicester spot on :) Could the tabs have been to connect it to a panty-girdle type arrangement, thus allowing movement in the middle, but keeping everything else well compressed? Perhaps Cathy Hay might know :)

[BurnleyandTrowbridge]

This is truly fascinating! I am now obsessed with wanting to know what the button tabs are for!

[stevemaddern]

Tabs may be to attach a special petticoat that would stay in place during activity and not shimmy down?