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I Wore 18th-Century Clothing *Every Day for 5 YEARS & This Is What I Learned (Corsets Aren't Bad!)

Published on Sun, May 10th 2020 Howto & Style Rectangular HD

I wore 18th-century women's clothing, all day, 5 days a week, for 5 years of my life. Over those 5 years, I learned *a lot* about my body, fashion in the 1700s - the good and the not so good, and how we can take these lessons and improve modern fashion.

***Trigger Warning: I do talk about body image in this video (as a reflection of my own, long, long journey with my own body & how wearing historical clothing has given me a different perspective on body image) which may or may not be upsetting for some. ***


*Ok, so not "every day" but you get the idea...😉

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More Videos:

🎉🎉 Answering YOUR FAQs from THIS Video: https://youtu.be/SN3agbKZVP0
"Becoming an 18th-Century MEME LORD" https://youtu.be/a0pRE3uXWu8
"Historical Costumers and Their Hogwarts Houses" https://youtu.be/vxmRsc9Qj8M
Rachl Maksy - "Born in the Wrong Era" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5GAJl_vXxI&t=4s

A lot of these photos of me were taken by the lovely Fred Blystone. You can see more of his photography here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1366436863373421

Also, @Edwardian Tailor (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBSfVqWpiSbFfJgOeNKg_MA)

We like to assume that the people in the past are "stupid" (it's normal human behavior), and one of the ways that we, as a modern society, do this is by judging the past for their fashion trends and practices. We've been taught to demonize corsetry (or in this case, stays) for being restrictive and a tool of oppression towards women, and take pride in our culture of diet and exercise, without considering the issues that can be found in our body-obsessed culture. We praise jeans and a t-shirt, as being "comfortable" but the insecurities that so many of us have about our bodies are put on display in our 21st-century uniforms. We take for granted our modern homes, and how that has made us lazy in dressing for the seasons, resulting (in part) the loss of various types of textiles and weaving technology. I learned a lot over those 5 years, including how to indulge in an Indian Buffet while wearing my 18th-century stays, and I'm excited to share my insights with you. Also, can we just discuss how stupid modern underwear is?? 😉


Images Used:


*Summer Dresses, 1783, Object Number - J,5.139, Asset Number - 79588001 © The Trustees of the British Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_J-5-139


*Sheer Cottton Mull Italian Gown, 1780s, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.107.6a, b, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/90485?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&when=A.D.+1600-1800&what=Dresses&ft=*&offset=100&rpp=20&pos=101


*Kofta, 1760s-90s, Nordiska Museet, NM.0186311, https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023691001/kofta


*Women 1790-1799, Plate 052, Fashion Plate from August 1796, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Library Costume Institute Fashion Plate Collection, https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll12/id/3490/rec/35


*Robe a l’anglais c. 1780, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982.291a, b, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/90385?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&deptids=8&ft=robe+a+la+anglais&offset=40&rpp=20&pos=58


*Attributed to Isaac Cruikshank, Cestina Warehouse or Belly Piece Shop
April 16, 1793, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 59.533.475 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/398504?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&deptids=9&when=A.D.+1600-1800&ao=on&ft=fashion&offset=20&rpp=20&pos=27


*Stays, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
2009.300.3330a–d
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/158256?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&when=A.D.+1600-1800&ft=corset&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=14


*The Bum Shop, Attributed to R. Rushworth (British, active 1785–86), July 11 1785, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970.541.12, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/392859?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&deptids=9&when=A.D.+1600-1800&ft=the+bum+shop&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=1


*Chemise, 1780-1800s, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005.368 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/126840?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&deptids=8&ft=chemise&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=1


*Corset, 1880s, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009.300.3497a–c
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/158440?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&when=A.D.+1800-1900&ft=corset&offset=40&rpp=20&pos=60