Miscellaneous Definitions — accessories, trims, tools and general fashion terms from Apparel Search
In corsetry, a bone is one of the rigid parts of a corset that forms its frame, gives it rigidity and helps to shape the wearer's body. Originally bones were made of whalebone, because no other material matched it for flexibility and strength. In the nineteenth century whalebone was superseded by steel. Today many corsets use plastic bones, although steel is still favoured for high-quality corsets, and bones are also called boning, ribs and stays.
In corsetry, a bone is one of the rigid parts of a corset that forms its frame, gives it rigidity, and helps to shape the wearer's body.
Originally, bones were made of whalebone, because no other material matched it for flexibility and strength. As whalebone was expensive, wood and cane were also used. Ivory was another luxury material used for the centre front bone, which was known as the busk. In the nineteenth century, whalebone was superseded by steel. Today, many corsets use plastic bones, although steel is still favoured for high-quality corsets.
Bones, and the substances used for the purpose, are often generically called boning. They are also called ribs and stays.
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In corsetry, a bone is one of the rigid parts of a corset that forms its frame, gives it rigidity and helps to shape the wearer's body. A corset is made mainly of fabric, and fabric alone cannot hold a firm shape against the body; the bones supply the structure that the fabric is sewn around. Each bone sits in a channel or casing in the corset, running generally vertically, so that together the bones act like the ribs of a framework, distributing pressure, preventing the fabric from wrinkling or collapsing, and guiding the body into the silhouette the corset is designed to produce. Without boning, a laced garment would bunch and ride rather than shape. With boning, the lacing tension is spread along firm lines, which is what allows a corset to be tightened evenly and to keep its form through a day of wear instead of gradually folding at the waist.
The terminology reflects that structural role. Bones, and the substances used for the purpose, are often generically called boning. They are also called ribs and stays, names that all point to support: a rib frames, a stay holds upright. When a corset pattern or a supplier lists boning by length and width, it is referring to these individual rigid strips, cut to fit each channel of the garment. The number, placement and stiffness of the bones decide how strongly a corset shapes and how comfortable it feels, because a bone that is too flexible will bend where support is needed, while a bone that is too rigid for its position can dig or poke. Matching the bone material to the purpose of the corset, light support, everyday wear or firm shaping, is therefore one of the central decisions in corset making, and it explains why several materials have remained in use side by side.
Originally, bones were made of whalebone, because no other material matched it for flexibility and strength. Whalebone could bend with the body and spring back without snapping, and it could be cut into thin, even strips that slid smoothly into their channels. As whalebone was expensive, wood and cane were also used, offering cheaper rigidity for corsets where the finest spring was not required. Ivory was another luxury material, used for the centre front bone, which was known as the busk. The busk is the bone at the very front of the corset, so its material was both structural and visible in quality: a smooth, fine busk helped the front lie straight and flat. This early range of materials shows a consistent principle that still governs boning today, balancing flexibility, strength, weight and cost for the level of garment being made.
In the nineteenth century, whalebone was superseded by steel. Steel bones offered consistent strength and flexibility from an industrial material that could be produced in uniform strips, and steel became the standard for firm, durable corsetry. Today, many corsets use plastic bones, although steel is still favoured for high-quality corsets. Plastic boning is light, inexpensive, washable and easy to cut and sew through, which suits lighter garments, costume corsets and designs where moderate support is enough. Steel, by contrast, gives stronger shaping and longer-lasting spring, and it is chosen where a corset must hold its form under significant lacing tension. The history is therefore a progression without a complete replacement at any stage: whalebone set the standard for combined flexibility and strength, wood and cane served as economical alternatives, ivory served luxury at the busk, steel industrialised the bone in the nineteenth century, and plastic widened its use in modern corsets.
A bone is one of the rigid parts of a corset that forms its frame, gives it rigidity and helps to shape the wearer's body. Bones, and the substances used for them, are often generically called boning, and are also called ribs and stays.
Originally bones were made of whalebone, because no other material matched it for flexibility and strength. As whalebone was expensive, wood and cane were also used, and ivory was a luxury material for the centre front bone, the busk.
Today many corsets use plastic bones, although steel is still favoured for high-quality corsets. Steel superseded whalebone in the nineteenth century.