ABSTRACT
Staymaking was an occupation which was important not only to the tradesperson for his or her own livelihood and that of his family, but his work a ected many others, both directly and indirectly. Although stays were worn by women from all walks of life throughout their lives, and although they altered the natural shape of women’s bodies, no one has carried out an in-depth material analysis of the artefacts themselves. Yet this is necessary in order to understand not only the importance of stays to all involved in their production and consumption, but also to comprehend the magnitude and all-consuming pervasiveness of the trade. e chapter will rst analyse how the staymaking trade tted into the trades structure of London, with some emphasis placed on regional production for comparative purposes. It will move on to discuss the architecture of stays, with the last section bringing to light something of the raw materials and construction of stays.
