ABSTRACT
In the late i84o's, in France, where lighter-weight corsets were preferred, a new cut was introduced-a corset without gussets, made from seven to thirteen separate pieces, each one being shaped in to the waist. In the 1860's, when the crinoline was at its widest and the main role of the corset was to make the waist small, this type of corset, exceedingly short, was very popular, though more worn on the Continent than in England (38). Stays of the middle of the nineteenth century were lightly boned but stiffened by cording and sometimes quilting; as they were worn over the petticoats and crinoline the centre front busk and back bones were very much curved in to the waist. White corsets were considered more ladylike, though grey, putty, red and then black ones were found more economical; they were generally made of coutil and always lined in white (56-59).
