Corsets and Crinolines

Don't expect much "how to" from this book but it is an invaluable history on the evolution of foundations in our history. This illustrates to me how lucky I am to be a woman born in the 20th century (1940). My mother passed away a few years ago at 100 so she came in on the tail end of the bondage to corsetry, she never really complained about it because it was what she knew and it did give her figure a better line. I remember myself as a young woman wanting to look my best along with the rest of my friends at that age in the 1950's squeezing ourselves into waist cinchers so we could have 18" waists, silly I know, but it did give us a feminine look which we we're all willing to suffer the uncomfortable consequences to achieve, now at 80 I can't fathom torturing myself to be anything but me in my own skin! I have been a sewer of clothing most of my life and interested in costume and the history of evolving styles throughout the centuries. I know now that I can look at any any style from any age and know exactly what the wearer is wearing under the outer garments. I have always thought that the very word foundation is the perfect word to describe what we wear to give shape to all apparel in any given decade. Today, many of us still wear underwired bras because of needed "lift", or we wear Tee Shirt bras for a smoother look. Now a days, especially in America where there is an epidemic of obesity a lot of women could certainly use a little help from the waist down or even from the bosom down but comfort triumphs, I see women (and men) walking down the aisle in the supermarket today looking almost obscene compared to the average person just 50 years ago and compared to 100 years ago todays person most certainly would have been locked up!

This is not a reading on the seller but on the book itself. The seller got it shipped fast arrive before it was supposed to and it's in perfect condition. This seller absolutely deserves five stars.My problem and I wanted to rate this three stars but I didn't want to ruin the sellers rating because it's not a reflection of them as they are not the author, is I really didn't like the book. It's out of print so it's very expensive, I purchased this book because I'm very interested in 18th-century stays in 18th-century sewing, a lot of people who are in historical selling groups that I belong in use this resource and reference it frequently, however I didn't find myself very thrilled with this purchase at all there's a lot of new were books out there that have more information, and easier to read information.There are quite a few patterns in the book available to scale up but I found the construction informational a little bit difficult to follow along with and understand. There's great historical information and historical references in this book so it is a really wonderful book if you're looking for a good historical resources being in multiple centuries but I was looking for one specific century and hoping for more construction and design information than this book offers which is probably why I was disappointed, there's great historical information and historical references in this book so it is a really wonderful book if you're looking for a good historical resource spanning multiple centuries but I was looking for one specific century and hoping for more construction and design information then this book offers.

I was a little disappointed in sifting through this book, especially because I actually really like Norah Waugh's "Cut of Womens Clothes" a patterns book covering dresses and undergarments from 1600-1930. I thought this would be a good addition and maybe show all of the undergarments in more details from the previous book mentioned, it however, does not contain many patterns at all, let alone for hoops and bustles, and completely excluded the farthingale even though it is supposed covered by an entire chapter headlining it.

I recieved a VERY old book, almost falling apart, but the info in it was priceless and worth every tear and yellowed page. There is so much to learn from this book and it is an incredibly pleasurable experience going through it. I have not yet found another book on corsets this well written. It is not for the beginning seamstress trying to sew a corset as far as patterns go, more for an advanced seamstress with some skill in this area but well worth having in your sewing library no matter what level you're at if you're interested in corsetry. It is also a fantastic book for those who are not seamstresses but who are interested in the history and makeup of corsetry over time. One of the best purchases in my rather large sewing library.

I wanted more instruction on HOW to make corsets and HOW they were traditionally made and the period the different styles corresponded to. I certainly have gotten the latter, but the "patterns" that Mz. Waugh generously included (yes, there are little bars that give comparison in size so you can estimate ratio of size of pattern pieces in inches)(that was clear as mud, sorry--there is a little bar, indicating # of Inches, at the bottom of every "pattern"). I liked the inclusion of the advertisements and articles and such of the various periods, and Mz. Waugh definitely made mention of the economics and such involved that influence fashion, but I'd like to read MORE of WHY such shapes might be considered attractive--strengthen the connection between fashion conscience and social/financial status, as well. I will investigate books more thoroughly before actually purchasing in the future, as I have now found that high reviews don't necessarily mean I will totally agree with said reviewers! I encourage all readers to do the same--libraries are free--check out the book in question before purchase! I do like this book, I have learned from it and I will be looking into her other works as well.

A great book to have if you are looking at recreating historical garments, the book includes patterns which you can scale up and then adjust to your size.Although this book is not really suitable for a beginner as scaling up the pattern by hand is not the easiest thing to do but you can scan it onto the computer instead (there are tutorials available on YouTube) then you would have to make a number of mock ups to get your desired size, it is a long winded way to get the final result but these patterns are drafted from original garments so you will be getting a very accurate result

It's alright, but honestly I was expecting more from the reviews. It's fine and I will be scaling up a pattern soon (though it could be clearer). Really though I find it a bit dated and could have more clearer history in addition to improved pattern pieces. It's a good addition to my collection, but I don't know if I would buy it again.

Haven't drafted from it yet, but it's great to have this many patterns to study!

Exactly the book needed to make my nieces exhibition piece. I now know all about inserting bones.

Excellent Item and postage, Thank you.