Miscellaneous Definitions — accessories, trims, tools and general fashion terms from Apparel Search
A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. Corsetmakers are frequently known by the French equivalent terms corsetier, male, and corsetiere, female. The best corset makers are highly skilled tailors, and have some knowledge of anatomy which enables them to make well-fitting, long-lasting corsets. Corsetmakers who produce historical styles also need to be familiar with historical fashions and costumes from hundreds of years of history, and individual makers often favor a certain style.
A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. Corsetmakers are frequently known by the French equivalent terms corsetier (male) and corsetiere (female).
The best corset makers are highly skilled tailors, and have some knowledge of anatomy which enables them to make well-fitting, long-lasting corsets. In addition, corsetmakers who produce historical styles need to be familiar with historical fashions and costumes from hundreds of years of history.
Individual corset makers often favor a certain style, and frequently have theories about the physical impacts and benefits of corsets that influence their corset design and construction.
Design of corsets
Some of the considerations of corset design are: 1. Duration of use.
For short-term use, e.g. used for a special event such as a wedding. This corset will be rarely worn and will not show visible wear, and therefore does not need to be of the highest quality of construction.
For long-term use, e.g. by Tightlacing or waist training. Corsets of this kind must be made to the most exacting standards, and are best custom-fitted and designed for a sole user. If it has one weakness, it will be visible.
Famous Corsetmakers
Thomas Paine
Daniel Kops
Amy Crowder
Cathrine Griswold
In's Gaches-Sarraute
Fakir Musafar
Learn more about Corsets.
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The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/corsetry). 1/17/06 |
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Corsetry is tailoring narrowed to one demanding garment. A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets, and the specialism is real: a corset is a structured, close-fitting garment that shapes the body, built from panels, stitching, boning and a front busk, and it must fit one torso precisely while withstanding the strain of lacing. Corsetmakers are frequently known by the French equivalent terms corsetier, male, and corsetiere, female, a naming that reflects the historical importance of French corsetry. The best corset makers are highly skilled tailors, and have some knowledge of anatomy which enables them to make well-fitting, long-lasting corsets, because the garment works directly on the ribs, waist and hips, and a seam or bone placed without regard to the body will chafe, dig or fail.
Historical knowledge is the second half of the craft for many makers. Corsetmakers who produce historical styles need to be familiar with historical fashions and costumes from hundreds of years of history, since a corset for one period has a different shape, panel cut and boning pattern from another. Individual corset makers often favor a certain style, and frequently have theories about the physical impacts and benefits of corsets that influence their corset design and construction. Named makers illustrate that individuality: famous corsetmakers include Thomas Paine, Daniel Kops, Amy Crowder, Cathrine Griswold and Ines Gaches-Sarraute, alongside practitioners known for stage and subculture work such as Fakir Musafar.
The first consideration of corset design is duration of use. For short-term use, for example a corset used for a special event such as a wedding, the corset will be rarely worn and will not show visible wear, and therefore does not need to be of the highest quality of construction. The maker's effort goes into appearance and a good fit for the day. For long-term use, for example by tightlacing or waist training, the standard reverses completely. Corsets of this kind must be made to the most exacting standards, and are best custom-fitted and designed for a sole user. If such a corset has one weakness, it will be visible, because daily lacing finds every weak seam, soft bone and poorly set eyelet.
That distinction explains the corsetmaker's place among tailors. An occasional garment can be made to a standard size and a decorative standard; a working corset is closer to a fitted instrument, measured to one body, built from strong materials, boned with corset bone and closed with a busk chosen for daily use. The corsetmaker's related skills connect directly to the other corsetry terms: stays are the earlier form of the garment, the brassiere is a separate later undergarment, and lingerie is the wider category around them. To commission or judge a corset, start with the maker's question: how long, how often and how tightly will it be worn, because the answer decides the construction.
A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. The French equivalent terms are corsetier for a male corsetmaker and corsetiere for a female corsetmaker.
The best corset makers are highly skilled tailors with some knowledge of anatomy, which enables them to make well-fitting, long-lasting corsets. Makers of historical styles also need familiarity with historical fashions and costumes.
A central consideration is duration of use. A corset for a special event such as a wedding is rarely worn and need not be of the highest construction quality, while a corset for long-term use or waist training must be made to exacting standards and custom-fitted to a sole user.