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Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Bridgerton – how period dramas made audiences hate the corset
theconversation.com: When you think of a corset, you might imagine period drama dames sucking in as they cling onto a bedpost as a feisty lady’s maid aggressively laces them in. Nextflix’s hot Regency inspired drama Bridgerton features similar such tortuous scenes.
This is a surprising headline to me. If anything I feel that I have seen the rise of corset-like shapes and structured bodices that feature lacing and ribbing in recent fashion trends. They really tie into the modern trends of simplicity in look, but are very flattering. Modernized corsets create an elegant yet understated look that mitigate concerns of harm to the wearer with a less structured material and slightly less fitted in many cases. This article does raise an interesting concern though of how actor safety/ comfortability must be considered in every piece of the production process. An actor should never have to face this sacrifice for the integrity of the piece. It also bothers me that the media has misconstrued its historical uses, I had no idea about the misconceptions until I read this article, and I wonder how much those misconceptions have affected fashion trends and public consumption.
As someone who has watched the tv series Bridgerton I am always in awe at how much attention to detail was put into the costuming, set dressing, dramaturgy, and so much more to make sure the piece felt authentic and obeyed the time period. However, this article makes an interesting point in that we as a society do not really know the full story behind the corset and what it represents. As mentioned in the beginning of the article, it seems some of the costuming surrounding corsets is affecting actors. As someone with a stage management background, one of my main priorities is that both cast and crew feel comfortable and safe. If there is a costuming piece that is violating that priority, something has to give because there is often another way to accomplish the same goal while keeping everyone safe and comfortable without affecting the end goal.
I will say that the corset gets quite a bad rep within film and theater. The first film I ever saw that depicted a corset or specifically stays from the 18th century as being harmful was in the first Pirates of the Caribbean, where the character Elizabeth Swann faints due to the tightness of her stays and plummets into the water only to be saved by Jack Sparrow. While this is an interesting scene, it perpetuates this myth that stays wherein any way harmful. While, to some extent, Victorian corsets did indeed misshape and harm people in some cases sizing down their ribs. In general, stays were worn by almost every woman in society from poor farmers to the upper class, as a form of support and structure. Everything in this period was tailor-fit as there were no mass-produced garments during this period, so it is very unlikely that someone would be given a pair of stays that fit them unproperly. In general stays and corsets were treated like the bras of the time, and also to a large extent prevented scoliosis which affects so many people today. Stays also provide immense support when doing physical labor, and help prevent hernias. In fact, young children including young boys would wear stays, not to misshape their ribs and waists, but to give them healthier and better posture. While I do think some styles of corsets were over the top and caused more harm than good, I do think that film and theater have stretched the truth about this garment quite a bit.
I feel so conflicted over this article. I think it's mainly because of my own experiences wearing a corset for certain shows, and maybe also that I've been consistently told the sort of Pirates of the Caribbean-esque narrative that corsets are terrible. In my own past, I 've found that corsets make it a bit harder to breath, and especially hard to bend over. Well, at least the ones I've been given, which were most likely ordered and made of plastic rather than the historically accurate + made of highly praised whalebone. So, is it just that I've been given a bad corset? Are some corsets secretly well-designed and beneficial, yet medical myths have caused everyone to throw all of them out? Most recently, I actually saw something of corsets coming back into style. I got an ad one day for corsets that you can wear in your daily life as an expression of style. They're meant to be seen, so either worn as a shirt or worn over a shirt, and come in many patterns. Given that recent business and this article, I wonder if corsets will come back into fashion, or if they'll fade back into the shadows.
The title had Bridgerton in it, so you know I wanted to know what they were talking about… I learned a lot in this article! I, too, was absolutely under the impression that corsets have always and will always be uncomfortable, restrictive garments. But, this article seems to point to the fact that there were some designs that were made for support, not restraint of someone’s body. It came to no surprise that there is a lot of sexism related to gender bias in the medical field. As others have also mentioned, I have seen more and more people wearing corsets as shirts/over shirts/etc, so I’m curious to see how much they come back into fashion or if that won’t grow much bigger than the trend is now. Yet again, historical accuracy in costuming has come up: I’ve been enjoying hearing people's opinions on the topic in these articles recently!
Good to know that the patriarchy has been dictating women’s fashion for years. I did not know that corsets weren’t fashionable torture instruments until quite recently. Fortunately, corsets are making a comeback in modern fashion which will help the general publics’ perception of them. I watched the show in part because of the amazing costumes, as well as for the incredibly talented and handsome Regé-Jean Page. I wish there was some note somewhere that the style of gowns was not really historically accurate for the time it is set in, but I guess since this was written as a dramatic historical fiction piece, it is understandable. Personally, I think that there is a delicate balance to staying accurate to the time period and taking artistic liberty. The general point I’m getting at is that the average viewer doesn’t know the specific standards of fashion for most historical eras, but they will notice when costume choices fail to align with the characters personality.
6 comments:
This is a surprising headline to me. If anything I feel that I have seen the rise of corset-like shapes and structured bodices that feature lacing and ribbing in recent fashion trends. They really tie into the modern trends of simplicity in look, but are very flattering. Modernized corsets create an elegant yet understated look that mitigate concerns of harm to the wearer with a less structured material and slightly less fitted in many cases. This article does raise an interesting concern though of how actor safety/ comfortability must be considered in every piece of the production process. An actor should never have to face this sacrifice for the integrity of the piece. It also bothers me that the media has misconstrued its historical uses, I had no idea about the misconceptions until I read this article, and I wonder how much those misconceptions have affected fashion trends and public consumption.
As someone who has watched the tv series Bridgerton I am always in awe at how much attention to detail was put into the costuming, set dressing, dramaturgy, and so much more to make sure the piece felt authentic and obeyed the time period. However, this article makes an interesting point in that we as a society do not really know the full story behind the corset and what it represents. As mentioned in the beginning of the article, it seems some of the costuming surrounding corsets is affecting actors. As someone with a stage management background, one of my main priorities is that both cast and crew feel comfortable and safe. If there is a costuming piece that is violating that priority, something has to give because there is often another way to accomplish the same goal while keeping everyone safe and comfortable without affecting the end goal.
I will say that the corset gets quite a bad rep within film and theater. The first film I ever saw that depicted a corset or specifically stays from the 18th century as being harmful was in the first Pirates of the Caribbean, where the character Elizabeth Swann faints due to the tightness of her stays and plummets into the water only to be saved by Jack Sparrow. While this is an interesting scene, it perpetuates this myth that stays wherein any way harmful. While, to some extent, Victorian corsets did indeed misshape and harm people in some cases sizing down their ribs. In general, stays were worn by almost every woman in society from poor farmers to the upper class, as a form of support and structure. Everything in this period was tailor-fit as there were no mass-produced garments during this period, so it is very unlikely that someone would be given a pair of stays that fit them unproperly. In general stays and corsets were treated like the bras of the time, and also to a large extent prevented scoliosis which affects so many people today. Stays also provide immense support when doing physical labor, and help prevent hernias. In fact, young children including young boys would wear stays, not to misshape their ribs and waists, but to give them healthier and better posture. While I do think some styles of corsets were over the top and caused more harm than good, I do think that film and theater have stretched the truth about this garment quite a bit.
I feel so conflicted over this article. I think it's mainly because of my own experiences wearing a corset for certain shows, and maybe also that I've been consistently told the sort of Pirates of the Caribbean-esque narrative that corsets are terrible. In my own past, I 've found that corsets make it a bit harder to breath, and especially hard to bend over. Well, at least the ones I've been given, which were most likely ordered and made of plastic rather than the historically accurate + made of highly praised whalebone. So, is it just that I've been given a bad corset? Are some corsets secretly well-designed and beneficial, yet medical myths have caused everyone to throw all of them out? Most recently, I actually saw something of corsets coming back into style. I got an ad one day for corsets that you can wear in your daily life as an expression of style. They're meant to be seen, so either worn as a shirt or worn over a shirt, and come in many patterns. Given that recent business and this article, I wonder if corsets will come back into fashion, or if they'll fade back into the shadows.
The title had Bridgerton in it, so you know I wanted to know what they were talking about… I learned a lot in this article! I, too, was absolutely under the impression that corsets have always and will always be uncomfortable, restrictive garments. But, this article seems to point to the fact that there were some designs that were made for support, not restraint of someone’s body. It came to no surprise that there is a lot of sexism related to gender bias in the medical field. As others have also mentioned, I have seen more and more people wearing corsets as shirts/over shirts/etc, so I’m curious to see how much they come back into fashion or if that won’t grow much bigger than the trend is now. Yet again, historical accuracy in costuming has come up: I’ve been enjoying hearing people's opinions on the topic in these articles recently!
Good to know that the patriarchy has been dictating women’s fashion for years. I did not know that corsets weren’t fashionable torture instruments until quite recently. Fortunately, corsets are making a comeback in modern fashion which will help the general publics’ perception of them. I watched the show in part because of the amazing costumes, as well as for the incredibly talented and handsome Regé-Jean Page. I wish there was some note somewhere that the style of gowns was not really historically accurate for the time it is set in, but I guess since this was written as a dramatic historical fiction piece, it is understandable.
Personally, I think that there is a delicate balance to staying accurate to the time period and taking artistic liberty. The general point I’m getting at is that the average viewer doesn’t know the specific standards of fashion for most historical eras, but they will notice when costume choices fail to align with the characters personality.
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