Isn't this just like every time another startup "reinvents" a more comfortable bra design and it's just...another bra exactly like every bra you've worn in your life
I've recently been seeing ads for bras designed by a woman and gynecologist approved for mature women. The bras are buttoned up the front and boast wide shoulders and wide elastic bands. There's nothing new under the sun?
The idea that people were like “corsets are bad because the weight of your clothes is on your hips instead of your shoulders” is so baffling to me as someone who wore the wrong bra size for years and therefore had no underbust support in my bras. Just the weight of my own boobs made my shoulders ache.
Exactly! Weight on my shoulders is one of my main headache triggers. I couldn’t imagine suspending the weight of a Victorian ensemble from my shoulders.
yyyyyup. I always figured the corset redistributing the weight of your gown FROM your shoulders TO your hips was kind of the whole point 😅 (fashion aside)
i thought it was some kind of "oh no not the child bearing hips, they are strictly for delivering babies!". but yeah if you have ever carried a large heavy backpack you know the hips is exactly where you want the weight placed.
@@Tryllvor especially for those of us WITH child bearing bodies. My legs are SO much stronger than my upper body, when I was working out on the regular I could squat my body weight easily, but I couldn't do a single pull up. It is infinitely preferable (for me) to have weight supported on my hips like I'm carrying a toddler, as opposed to hanging it off my shoulders like a bloody monkey 😆 Maybe if you have masculine upper body strength this makes sense, but for me? nah fam. (actually, that checks out. Men have been designing corsets and bras based on male bodies and strength distribution all along! I'm kidding... but only kinda)
@@impishrebel5969 The worst one is looking up the first dental drills, which were powered much like the first sewing machines. And used by amateurs. Eek!
When I was learning about backpacking. They emphasize putting the weight on your hips rather than your back. Because leg muscles are stronger than back muscles. So it’s interesting that they are trying to put some weight on the back.
Lol, I was reading this and my mind actually said "Hey, yeah! That's right!" And pictured all the hiking packs with literal weight belts built into them...
Also don't put the weight on shoulders because those are literally meant to move and are inherently unstable due to how mobile they are. Especially compared to resting the weight on your illiac crest at the top of you hips and pelvis which is structurally very stable!
Not to be nitpicky...but the leg muscles being stronger isn't really the point. I mean, think about it. The leg muscles have to carry the weight of you *and* your backpack in any case. It doesn't matter, if you carry it on your shoulders, your hip or on top of your head. It's always on your legs. The difference is, whether or not your back and shoulder muscles have to strain against the weight as well. That is simply an additional effort and discomfort, that's unnecessary. Plus, carrying the weight against your hip lowers your center of gravity, which is an advantage if you stumble or lose your footing in some way. Again, sorry about being 'that person', I truly hope I didn't annoy you by making this amendment. Happy hiking!
When i told my mother i aas making a custom corset for under my edwardian clothes she was like “but thats gonna make your organs shift”. After i explained to her in all details and words i had that that is not how corsets worked then and that women wore those corsets to work and it was just a support garment and it wasn’t tight laced and it was not damaging she said “but you are not wearing it for several hours, right? So your organs don’t shift”
@manuferguson6564 That's frustrating 😅 I would ask her if she worries that modern bras cause the lungs to shift, since corsets are just better bras. But you can't always win 🤷♀️
Marketing professional here: yes, exactly! If the alternative IS healthier, scientists are wacky, and they usually just make the healthiest thing into the main thing (obviously within limits, there are shenanigans aplenty, but nutritionists don’t call the food pyramid a healthy alternative to the four food groups & the meatopia era, they just say “here’s the food pyramid. We use this now.”)
Old Timey (I assume) male doctors / health experts: Ommmgggg Corsets are so bad cause they put weight on the hips not on the shoulders! Every curvy girl who ever wore a bra before: ..... Yes. That's the point. Seriously the amount of pain in my shoulders and back I get wearing bras now...
my brain spinns off in a fuzzy sort of speculation that maybe in those men's heads hips were connected to female fertility. and they might have thought that the uterus and in extension the hips were fragile? maybe. I mean.. clearly they wouldn't have had an idea of how sturdy the uterus and the hips have to be to handle the whole fertility buisiness. when, even I who doesn't even need a bra to carry my boobs because they are small, know that putting weight on your hips is so much more comfortable. when I carry big stuff or have to stand holding a big package up.. where do I put it?... on my hips. because when I'm just standing, my legs are basicly pillars holding up my hips and everything I put on them.
I don't recall if it was around the same time period, but there was a whole era where doctors thought all illnesses and bad things happening to women was due to a 'wandering woumb' so.. eyah wouldn't be surprised if they had some wild theories about that.
@@KacielNolwen They also thought for a while that driving could be dangerous to women since going so fast would cause the uterus to fly out.. wtaf.. 😳🙄
wandering womb eh? Sounds like what happened when I fell while delivering my last baby and tore my psoas and several internal ligaments. Definitely causes both physical and mental illness (and was caused by dumb doctors not listening to me or even reading the birth plan).
My 80 year old mom says she can remember her grandmother wearing a "corset" but from her description of it stretching, it sounds more like it was a girdle.
I'm 72 and remember looking at Sears and Penny's catalog s illustrating these elaborate "girdles" that had lacing and being quite horrified that women, probably old ladies, would wear stuff like that. I remember my mom put me in a stretchy latex girdles which I hated. She believed that it would keep muscles trim. I didn't wear them long. But I would like to get a hold of those catalogs from the 1960s.
To be fair, if you look through old catalogs and magazines the difference between those two garments was often kind of vague - in fact, "girdle corset" seems to have been a used term.
So tinfoil hat theory, the late Victorian period has also been linked to the origins of fast fashion. What if part of the drive to create corset "alternatives" was just to get people to buy more stuff? Suddenly you don't just need a corset, you need a comfy lounging corset, a sports corset, a day to day corset, an evening corset, etc.
the real tinfoil hat theory is male clothing tycoons wanting to take over women's undergarments from female corset shop owners via delusional feminist and making it more unhealthy in the process
Hey psst, just wanted to let you know that once upon a time when I started following your channel my brain went brrr in a "textile... historian.. make self... by hand... job?" way, and now I'm looking into changing careers into historical textile restoration. So, Abby = literal influencer, yay!
Honestly that's the biggest difference I see - not having to spiral lace the thing behind you would be easier if you're getting dressed alone. But that's not an insurmountable problem, and I don't think it was ever brought up as one of the "health" concerns.
Usually this kind of sponsorship is contracted for multiple videos, so she probably knows, but is still in the contract. All she can do is ride out the rest of the contact and then never work with this company again.
@@crow-jane at one point I started unsubscribing from creators who accepted them as a sponsor but I quickly ran out of high quality content. At this point, we all know about them. I'm just here to respect the creators need for income and my need for quality entertainment 😅
@@NoDecaf7 Oh, yeah. I follow a mixologist who flat-out admitted, after an absolute reaming in the comments section, that because his revenue fell off a cliff right at the beginning of the year, he was taking sponsorships from whomever would work with him. I respect that creators need that green, but it feels like they’re getting exploited, too.
She's used them many times. Once I can forgive, but twice, no. Many people expressed their disappointment in her last video, yet she here she is again. It seems she only cares about that $$$
Just wanted to say that because of you and the other Dress Historians on RUclips, I've been looking into going back to school for Dress History. Y'all are a fucking inspiration.
20:14 i expected John Green to show up as soon as you mentioned TB. He mentioned in a live stream that you invited him to come over and learn about corsets and TB misconceptions so I was REALLY hoping to see a collab video.
"Because a four inch-wide band is so much more supportive than a ten-inch band," said someone who's never worn a bra. 🙄 Weight distribution is a thing!
Totally unrelated to the topic at hand but that moment at 9:40-ish where you stopped working and walked out, leaving all your stuff out and closing the door made me so jealous. Having a dedicated space for your sewing where you don't need to pack everything away at the end of a session is something I hope one day to achieve. Just gotta wait until those kids leave home.
It's pets, not kids that are my reason for being unable to leave projects out, and I know for certain that I'd be tackling far more projects if i didn't have to set up and tear down/put away everything multiple times a day, lol:")
My dedicated "sewing" space (not cutting, just stitching) is in front of my parents' fireplace or my armchair. My dedicated cutting space is my craft room, which only has the space because there's nowhere to sit there. On the other hand, i do have an entire room dedicated to books and book related things (ie xie lian and wangxian figures and some geology related stuff) so it's a problem of my own making
I love this new video format you’ve been doing!! Listening to the history of an item in your collection while also watching you reproduce it and test it at the end is so fun🥰
My mom received a sewing machine for her 16th birthday, (1936) and I Iearned to sew on that machine. Your sewing machine looks almost the same as hers. I don't remember where it ended up after her death in 1992. Thanks for bringing back happy memories
This video had a really nice flow to it. I don't know anything about recording and editing, but I imagine it has got something to do with that. So I don't know what you did, but it worked really well for me at least :)
I laughed so hard when you started talking about the barbie😂 Yes I remember that doll. For your sake, I am glad this one fit better than the last pattern you pulled from a historical garment. I am not surprised by the men 'inventing' something that women had made previously. Overall I appreciated learning about a support garment I was unaware of.
LOL so yeah, I became aware of this doll as a kid, because my much older stepsister talked about it once (and maybe even showed it to my mom one Christmas but I wasn't allowed to see it??), and for whatever reason that information burned into my brain. Have I ever seen this doll in person? No. Did I know its actual name until very recently? No. But have I been aware that there was a doll with inflatable tatas for *years*? yes.
@@AbbyCox Interesting that Abby only likes and replies to comments except for those commenting on your immoral sponsorships. I was one of those people until I educated myself a while ago. Only once can I forgive the ignorance behind supporting and promoting a morally reprehensible company, but twice, no. Many viewers expressed their disappointment and anger at the ignorance displayed in your previous videos sponsorship and explained why. So, you have no excuse for being ignorant a second time. I'm only glad it happened 6 minutes in and I didn't have to be unknowingly and unwillingly complicit. Be careful my dear because as we all know, pride always come before a fall.
I'm making a 14th century 'Bohemian Bathhouse Babe' chemise and they have a lot of structure them not too dissimilar to the waist your making. Some of them even have cups sewn into the bodice.
Love this 😀 That cup fit reminds me of the first time I tried on an old school unlined cotton bra. 😂 I'm glad it was at least comfortable, for all the hard work you put into it. ❤
I don't know how "old school" you mean, but even in 1987 I remember my first bras having a very papery cotton feel. I'm sure some of it was synthetic, but my mother set me up with the equivalent of a foot-long Kotex! Considering how engineered my current 36J/M bras are, it's a quaint unlocked memory. 😌
@@gasparinha Mid 80's is spot on. Long before the days of modern push-up bras: and honestly it seems like nothing had lycra in it back then. If it was too small you couldn't breathe and if it was even a little bit too big it looked like you left room to pack a snack 😳
My great grandmother used to make corset, how ever where she was in Sweden , they used wood , due to the slow growing , it was strong flexible and removable or horsehair ribbons.
Do you think it's possible that the extra volume in the "cups" was to help get the pigeon breast look without the extra layer of a corset cover? The timing seems to line up for your piece.
Alcohol or things like acetate or hair spray will take that marker ink out of fabric .as long as the fabric can handle it. Synthetic , some of them will melt with stuff like nail polish remover. I found this out the hard way and it wasn't the cheap synthetic fabric either 😂
Acetate specifically will melt in nail polish remover. Alcohol is generally safe on fibers but could affect the fabric dye. Club soda is less effective but safest overall.
The Equipoise was marketed as a better alternative to the standard corset. It was very similar to other corsets, but you demonstrated that it was more complicated to manufacture (that tells me that its price should be higher than the other corsets). If its price was higher, women would only buy it if they benefitted from it more than other corsets (it was not marketed as a luxury item). I suspect that the annual number of corsets sold by corset companies does not exist, but sales data would explain if it was successful. You provide very strong arguments that the corset was a bust........ 😁 If the total number of corset companies was small, the other companies could have gotten together and engaged in all sorts of economic shenanigans to string Equipoise along... 😁 I will stop now.
So what's kind of crazy is that the model I had would have retailed for about $2.25 which isn't that much more expensive than a typical mass manufactured 'regulation' corset. The cheapest version (high necked, solid back without boning) sold for $1.75! While I was working on this video, I did start to wonder if maybe any archives from the George Frost Company still survive since I was able to find evidence of the business into the 1980s...it would be really neat to study any sort of documentation that might exist.
I took a little break from your channel and have come back to binge - and I have to say your production value has greatly improved since the last time I was watching this channel about a year ago. I love the transitions you do from voiceover to speaking directly to camera. And all the shots are so well done. Excellent camera work and lighting too - it’s a joy to watch :)
I’m a baby boomer and I had one of the first Growing up Skippers. And I got her before I was 13. Thought she was kind of strange then, but didn’t know Mattel brought her out again.
What confuses me about this garment is if it would even offer the same amount of bust support a corset does because the boning stops below the bust and there is nothing supporting the bust as far as I can tell. It reminds me of those modern corsets like garnments with boob cups we see in today's fashion. For smaller cup sizes sure it might work but for a larger cup size it's not going to offer the kind of support that a true over the bust corset or underwire bra does.
Id love to see a sude quest into the Liberty Bodice. As a reader of early 20 century childrens (girls) fiction they get mentioned quite often. The hatred of the rubber buttons is something I remember particularly.
Was this garment advertised to 'mature' women? Because the full bust support and large cups look like they'd fit my body type (what the edwardians would refer to as "a stout figure") better than the average corset.
Thank you for your videos, and the wonderful backstories! I have a treadle machine that I use to quilt and have a few of the original attachment feet. I really enjoyed this.
Unrelated to OBVIOUS excellent, interesting, educational niche content: 1. WHERE did you get that grey dress, it is stunning? 2. KACHOOWWW Bike Abby 😂😂😂
This whole video is amazing. timestamp 15:50 I've been looking for references on corsets with removable boning. I saw it mentioned somewhere that some workers daily-wear corsets contained slits so that bones could be removed for washing. I need to make daily wear stays/body with lots of support which means washing is necessary. Removable boning would be SO helpful 😮
All I could hear in my head when you said you used a felt tip marker to mark the button holes was "No felt tip markers!" in the same vein as "No wire hangars" from "Mommy Dearest" .. Secondly, seeing an antique sewing matching in action, makes me want to add it to my manual typewriter collection (and sew covers for my typewriters) ..
Highly recommend you to get in contact with Rabbit Goody of Thistle Hill Weavers in Cherry Valley, NY. She’s a textile historian and she’s an AMAZING resource.
A great video about the 'alternatives' . In many ways, we still see this with all the new 'bras' that don't need wires, or padding, or, or, or... Sigh... Loved the righteous rant about making the corset waist. Your fit issues remind me of every SCAer that has tried to make the Lengburg bra.
I totally forgot about that doll! I used to play with her and a bunch of other vintage and antique toys ( /anything really she's a collector of all things old and interesting)
I have an antique Singer sewing machine that was passed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. I don't think it's quite as old as yours, but it is in a table with foot pedals. We did have all the extras & instructions but unfortunately they were lost in our last move which really bummed me out since I wanted to actually try sewing with it. Kind of been on the fence about having the sewing machine removed & use the table as a laptop table since we no longer have all the parts 😢 But the beautiful antique look of the sewing machine just gets me. So much prettier than any of my mom's modern surgers or computerized machines (she stopped sewing clothes & moved onto quilts which she enjoyed much more) While I'm sure "sporting" was a large part responsible for women wanting more freedom of movement in their clothes, it was also a time when women entered the workforce (war years) Tight bodices & corsettry just wouldn't have allowed them to do factory work/ physical labor on par with the men who had more practical & less constrictive clothing. But they still needed undergarments & new designs allowed more movement & more movement effected outer garments too :) It's so interesting to learn history (both socio/political & economic) via fashion.
I think (and could be completely wrong about this) that women working in factories did in fact wear corsetry - corsetry provided much needed back support for long factory shifts. If anything, traditional corsets fell out of favor during the war because the manufacturing materials for corsets were harder to come by.
@@mollymorgan8652 yes. There were wars before the 1940s.Women were taking up the slack during the 1st world war as well & needed to wear coveralls to do the work just like the men instead of the restrictive uniforms of tight bodices & skirts they would otherwise be expected to wear. It's difficult to do farm work or warehouse work in a tight skirt & petticoats. It wasn't always the corsetry that was the problem.
@@yensid4294 Women have done farm and factory work for centuries while wearing corsets or other forms of stays. It wasn't like "suddenly there is a war and women now have to work"!
Crayola super wash felt tips. They really do wash, on cold with no stain remover. I've also successfully done a splash of water hand soap and a rub and it comes out. Cheaper than other fabric pens and the lines are clearer and last while you need them 🙂
@@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396 I still got orange out. But I will say that thinking about it that only came out in the machine and not under the tap with soap and a little rub. I think orange is universally tricky to get out. Interestingly I found the blue and black came out quickest which was a surprise
My friend, Katie, had a Growing Up Skipper doll. I think that was around 1977 or 78. Even back then, as a little kid, I thought it was weird. I think the doll got taller, too. (I may be misremembering that. How would that work?) I just remember that Katie didn't want me to play with it because the arm was wonky - you had to turn it just right - and she was afraid I'd break it. The '70s was a strange time. I also remember a TV commercial in which little boys were catcalling a doll on the beach. My mom hated that commercial and complained about it every time it came on. In retrospect, it was bizarre. Why would any child want a doll that attracted sexual harassment from 8-year-old boys? I would love to know who was on the marketing team that came up with the idea for that ad.
I found a video of Growing Up Skipper in action. She does indeed get taller. The height is added entirely in her torso, because it's part of the same mechanism that makes her chest grow. It gives 'adult' Skipper weird proportions.
We need to talk about compression! I don’t wear leggings & sucker-inner tanks to be cute, I don’t love the look, but after 50, I crave light compression everywhere. It’s so crazy that it’s 2024 & clothing as functional comfort/pain relief is still bad. My arthritis gloves are so ugly, I am tempted to put faux buttons along the sides. I have reason to wear gloves daily, how am I not wearing beautiful gorgeous compression gloves? Haha in a bucket hat, the gloves & a midi dress, I look like the ghost of a flapper spinster 😂
I love when I see you have a new video because I know I'm going to learn something. Today (shock of shocker!) it was that men said what women made bad, but what men made good but same thing. You could have knocked me over with a feather! 😆
Regarding the felt tipped marker pen marks, "Sharpie" is alcohol ink. Maybe you could diffuse it with alcohol? Hope it works for you!!!! Best wishes!!!!
I did a similar mistake in using permanent marker on the wrong side of the fabric to mark which pieces were which, but it totally showed through on the other side. I was able to mitigate it a little bit with using rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover to try to get some of the ink out. I couldn't use too much because it started to discolor some of the front fabric though. Luckily it was all thrifted material and not too visible.
not on topic, but where did you get your gray dress with the flower embroidery on. the collar and arms? its so cute, and looks very flattering on you! I love your videos, they are soothing and informative at the same time!
I fully support the idea that there were mny different types of corsets, or supporting undergarment. Those who are preserved to day are mostly from the upper class. Working people would use all kind of clothes until they were torn, or used to make another garment. Working women would have hade differnt undergarments with less boning sp they were more able to use their body. This wasn't nessecary for the upperclass until they started bi-cycling and other sports.
I marked with permanent marker once, luckily it’s an undergarment. I did it on a vest and had to buy more fabric and start over. You’ll always remember now.
Ummmmmmm... The little part about the pants not being a good choice while bike riding .... And your partner being like "Yeah I had said something to you earlier..." And proceed to get on the bike and ride ... Was really very very cute and endearing!!.. just sayin.
Good stuff! Always fun, informative, and entertaining. LOVE the drone footage! Also glad you got the opportunity to harvest your weed as part of the content! 🤣
Isn't this just like every time another startup "reinvents" a more comfortable bra design and it's just...another bra exactly like every bra you've worn in your life
Except for when it's a stick-on pasty with a weird little tab to hoist your boob farther up.
Yes and in their adds they show people wearing the wrong size bra.
I've recently been seeing ads for bras designed by a woman and gynecologist approved for mature women. The bras are buttoned up the front and boast wide shoulders and wide elastic bands. There's nothing new under the sun?
@@HeidiBuss-pd8cw nah that style has been around for a long time. My great grandma preferred them.
Absolutely. Not that there hasn't been a reinvention of the bra that actually is very different from a bra - that would be silicone nipple covers.
I love how people just kept inventing ✨alternatives to corsets✨ that in hindsight were very much still corsets
The idea that people were like “corsets are bad because the weight of your clothes is on your hips instead of your shoulders” is so baffling to me as someone who wore the wrong bra size for years and therefore had no underbust support in my bras. Just the weight of my own boobs made my shoulders ache.
Exactly! Weight on my shoulders is one of my main headache triggers. I couldn’t imagine suspending the weight of a Victorian ensemble from my shoulders.
Meanwhile backpacking backpacks make a point of trying to efficiently and comfortably transfer load to your hips for comfort...
yyyyyup. I always figured the corset redistributing the weight of your gown FROM your shoulders TO your hips was kind of the whole point 😅 (fashion aside)
i thought it was some kind of "oh no not the child bearing hips, they are strictly for delivering babies!". but yeah if you have ever carried a large heavy backpack you know the hips is exactly where you want the weight placed.
@@Tryllvor especially for those of us WITH child bearing bodies. My legs are SO much stronger than my upper body, when I was working out on the regular I could squat my body weight easily, but I couldn't do a single pull up. It is infinitely preferable (for me) to have weight supported on my hips like I'm carrying a toddler, as opposed to hanging it off my shoulders like a bloody monkey 😆 Maybe if you have masculine upper body strength this makes sense, but for me? nah fam.
(actually, that checks out. Men have been designing corsets and bras based on male bodies and strength distribution all along! I'm kidding... but only kinda)
Glad all those Victorian women were able to get on with their chainsawing without being impeded by their undergarments 😂
I'm all about double duty: proving a point and getting some much needed yardwork done. lol
@@AbbyCox It's a vibe and I'm here for it.
@@AbbyCox You need to look up what chainsaws were actually invented for. Because it ain't yardwork. Cursed knowledge if you do.
@@impishrebel5969 The worst one is looking up the first dental drills, which were powered much like the first sewing machines. And used by amateurs. Eek!
@@sarahwatts7152 Woodworking drills were powered like that at one time, too.
When I was learning about backpacking. They emphasize putting the weight on your hips rather than your back. Because leg muscles are stronger than back muscles. So it’s interesting that they are trying to put some weight on the back.
Lol, I was reading this and my mind actually said "Hey, yeah! That's right!" And pictured all the hiking packs with literal weight belts built into them...
Also don't put the weight on shoulders because those are literally meant to move and are inherently unstable due to how mobile they are. Especially compared to resting the weight on your illiac crest at the top of you hips and pelvis which is structurally very stable!
Not to be nitpicky...but the leg muscles being stronger isn't really the point. I mean, think about it. The leg muscles have to carry the weight of you *and* your backpack in any case. It doesn't matter, if you carry it on your shoulders, your hip or on top of your head. It's always on your legs. The difference is, whether or not your back and shoulder muscles have to strain against the weight as well. That is simply an additional effort and discomfort, that's unnecessary. Plus, carrying the weight against your hip lowers your center of gravity, which is an advantage if you stumble or lose your footing in some way.
Again, sorry about being 'that person', I truly hope I didn't annoy you by making this amendment. Happy hiking!
When i told my mother i aas making a custom corset for under my edwardian clothes she was like “but thats gonna make your organs shift”. After i explained to her in all details and words i had that that is not how corsets worked then and that women wore those corsets to work and it was just a support garment and it wasn’t tight laced and it was not damaging she said “but you are not wearing it for several hours, right? So your organs don’t shift”
@manuferguson6564 That's frustrating 😅 I would ask her if she worries that modern bras cause the lungs to shift, since corsets are just better bras. But you can't always win 🤷♀️
Let's face it, "healthy alternatives" tend to be more about marketing than science.
Marketing professional here: yes, exactly! If the alternative IS healthier, scientists are wacky, and they usually just make the healthiest thing into the main thing (obviously within limits, there are shenanigans aplenty, but nutritionists don’t call the food pyramid a healthy alternative to the four food groups & the meatopia era, they just say “here’s the food pyramid. We use this now.”)
Old Timey (I assume) male doctors / health experts: Ommmgggg Corsets are so bad cause they put weight on the hips not on the shoulders!
Every curvy girl who ever wore a bra before: ..... Yes. That's the point.
Seriously the amount of pain in my shoulders and back I get wearing bras now...
Yep Agreed
my brain spinns off in a fuzzy sort of speculation that maybe in those men's heads hips were connected to female fertility. and they might have thought that the uterus and in extension the hips were fragile? maybe. I mean.. clearly they wouldn't have had an idea of how sturdy the uterus and the hips have to be to handle the whole fertility buisiness. when, even I who doesn't even need a bra to carry my boobs because they are small, know that putting weight on your hips is so much more comfortable. when I carry big stuff or have to stand holding a big package up.. where do I put it?... on my hips. because when I'm just standing, my legs are basicly pillars holding up my hips and everything I put on them.
I don't recall if it was around the same time period, but there was a whole era where doctors thought all illnesses and bad things happening to women was due to a 'wandering woumb' so.. eyah wouldn't be surprised if they had some wild theories about that.
@@KacielNolwen They also thought for a while that driving could be dangerous to women since going so fast would cause the uterus to fly out.. wtaf.. 😳🙄
wandering womb eh? Sounds like what happened when I fell while delivering my last baby and tore my psoas and several internal ligaments. Definitely causes both physical and mental illness (and was caused by dumb doctors not listening to me or even reading the birth plan).
My 80 year old mom says she can remember her grandmother wearing a "corset" but from her description of it stretching, it sounds more like it was a girdle.
my grannie wore a girdle that looked a lot like the edwardian corsets
I'm 72 and remember looking at Sears and Penny's catalog s illustrating these elaborate "girdles" that had lacing and being quite horrified that women, probably old ladies, would wear stuff like that. I remember my mom put me in a stretchy latex girdles which I hated. She believed that it would keep muscles trim. I didn't wear them long. But I would like to get a hold of those catalogs from the 1960s.
To be fair, if you look through old catalogs and magazines the difference between those two garments was often kind of vague - in fact, "girdle corset" seems to have been a used term.
So tinfoil hat theory, the late Victorian period has also been linked to the origins of fast fashion. What if part of the drive to create corset "alternatives" was just to get people to buy more stuff? Suddenly you don't just need a corset, you need a comfy lounging corset, a sports corset, a day to day corset, an evening corset, etc.
The beginning of the end 😔
the real tinfoil hat theory is male clothing tycoons wanting to take over women's undergarments from female corset shop owners via delusional feminist and making it more unhealthy in the process
Obviously but why is it a conspiracy? It's just people.
YAY capitalism
Catherine De Medici Time Travelling Society needs to reconvene after this video.
Hey psst, just wanted to let you know that once upon a time when I started following your channel my brain went brrr in a "textile... historian.. make self... by hand... job?" way, and now I'm looking into changing careers into historical textile restoration. So, Abby = literal influencer, yay!
7:42 Alternative Title: The Lululemonification of early 20th Century American fashion
This genuinely made me laugh out loud. 😹
1890s corset manufacturers: "Ours button up the front! It's Totally Different from the 1830s corsets!"
Honestly that's the biggest difference I see - not having to spiral lace the thing behind you would be easier if you're getting dressed alone. But that's not an insurmountable problem, and I don't think it was ever brought up as one of the "health" concerns.
Love the video, but please look into your sponsors.
I’ve seen people tell her multiple times on various videos. It’s clear she doesn’t care
Usually this kind of sponsorship is contracted for multiple videos, so she probably knows, but is still in the contract. All she can do is ride out the rest of the contact and then never work with this company again.
6:53 There’s been some…discourse about having them as sponsors. It’s an open secret at this point. Sorry to be that person
I came to say this. Love Abby, but the sponsor is controversial at best
I’ve seen them on so many channels lately, too.
@@crow-jane at one point I started unsubscribing from creators who accepted them as a sponsor but I quickly ran out of high quality content. At this point, we all know about them. I'm just here to respect the creators need for income and my need for quality entertainment 😅
@@NoDecaf7 Oh, yeah. I follow a mixologist who flat-out admitted, after an absolute reaming in the comments section, that because his revenue fell off a cliff right at the beginning of the year, he was taking sponsorships from whomever would work with him. I respect that creators need that green, but it feels like they’re getting exploited, too.
She's used them many times. Once I can forgive, but twice, no. Many people expressed their disappointment in her last video, yet she here she is again. It seems she only cares about that $$$
"the freedom to live unmolested" it's so terrible we still don't have that now either
Just wanted to say that because of you and the other Dress Historians on RUclips, I've been looking into going back to school for Dress History. Y'all are a fucking inspiration.
20:14 i expected John Green to show up as soon as you mentioned TB. He mentioned in a live stream that you invited him to come over and learn about corsets and TB misconceptions so I was REALLY hoping to see a collab video.
Oh yes, please. That would be fun!
As someone who wants a corset so I can take all that fricking weight *off* my damn shoulders so I can finally stop giving myself nerve damage: lol
Saaaame. I also have spinal damage, so proper corsets actually decrease my daily nerve pain.
"Because a four inch-wide band is so much more supportive than a ten-inch band," said someone who's never worn a bra. 🙄 Weight distribution is a thing!
Totally unrelated to the topic at hand but that moment at 9:40-ish where you stopped working and walked out, leaving all your stuff out and closing the door made me so jealous. Having a dedicated space for your sewing where you don't need to pack everything away at the end of a session is something I hope one day to achieve. Just gotta wait until those kids leave home.
It's pets, not kids that are my reason for being unable to leave projects out, and I know for certain that I'd be tackling far more projects if i didn't have to set up and tear down/put away everything multiple times a day, lol:")
I used to have a dedicated 'work room' for a while. It was heaven. No more, though. Sigh.
My dedicated "sewing" space (not cutting, just stitching) is in front of my parents' fireplace or my armchair. My dedicated cutting space is my craft room, which only has the space because there's nowhere to sit there.
On the other hand, i do have an entire room dedicated to books and book related things (ie xie lian and wangxian figures and some geology related stuff) so it's a problem of my own making
I love this new video format you’ve been doing!! Listening to the history of an item in your collection while also watching you reproduce it and test it at the end is so fun🥰
My mom received a sewing machine for her 16th birthday, (1936) and I Iearned to sew on that machine. Your sewing machine looks almost the same as hers. I don't remember where it ended up after her death in 1992. Thanks for bringing back happy memories
This reminds me of the removable bra pads and underwire debates based on comfort and health in modern bras.
I left a comment yesterday and it isn’t showing? 🤔 …I’ll keep it simple this time: this sponsor ain’t it.
I was wondering at the lack of comments about “you know who”…..
Probably a glitch since there’s a whole thread about it. RUclips also deletes any comments either links do it probably got deleted for that.
This video had a really nice flow to it. I don't know anything about recording and editing, but I imagine it has got something to do with that. So I don't know what you did, but it worked really well for me at least :)
I laughed so hard when you started talking about the barbie😂 Yes I remember that doll.
For your sake, I am glad this one fit better than the last pattern you pulled from a historical garment. I am not surprised by the men 'inventing' something that women had made previously. Overall I appreciated learning about a support garment I was unaware of.
I really can't believe there was a doll that grew boobs if you moved its arms!
LOL so yeah, I became aware of this doll as a kid, because my much older stepsister talked about it once (and maybe even showed it to my mom one Christmas but I wasn't allowed to see it??), and for whatever reason that information burned into my brain. Have I ever seen this doll in person? No. Did I know its actual name until very recently? No. But have I been aware that there was a doll with inflatable tatas for *years*? yes.
My sister had a Growing Skippers!
@@AbbyCox Interesting that Abby only likes and replies to comments except for those commenting on your immoral sponsorships. I was one of those people until I educated myself a while ago. Only once can I forgive the ignorance behind supporting and promoting a morally reprehensible company, but twice, no. Many viewers expressed their disappointment and anger at the ignorance displayed in your previous videos sponsorship and explained why. So, you have no excuse for being ignorant a second time. I'm only glad it happened 6 minutes in and I didn't have to be unknowingly and unwillingly complicit. Be careful my dear because as we all know, pride always come before a fall.
Also a little acetone will remove the hole markings!
or rubbing alcohol.
@@isabelleblanchet3694 rubbing alcohol is my trick for inks!
Al ohol and hairspray also will take ink out.
Please put even half the effort you put into researching these video into researching your sponsors.
I'm making a 14th century 'Bohemian Bathhouse Babe' chemise and they have a lot of structure them not too dissimilar to the waist your making. Some of them even have cups sewn into the bodice.
Love this 😀
That cup fit reminds me of the first time I tried on an old school unlined cotton bra. 😂
I'm glad it was at least comfortable, for all the hard work you put into it. ❤
I don't know how "old school" you mean, but even in 1987 I remember my first bras having a very papery cotton feel. I'm sure some of it was synthetic, but my mother set me up with the equivalent of a foot-long Kotex! Considering how engineered my current 36J/M bras are, it's a quaint unlocked memory. 😌
@@gasparinha Mid 80's is spot on. Long before the days of modern push-up bras: and honestly it seems like nothing had lycra in it back then. If it was too small you couldn't breathe and if it was even a little bit too big it looked like you left room to pack a snack 😳
My great grandmother used to make corset, how ever where she was in Sweden , they used wood , due to the slow growing , it was strong flexible and removable or horsehair ribbons.
Do you think it's possible that the extra volume in the "cups" was to help get the pigeon breast look without the extra layer of a corset cover? The timing seems to line up for your piece.
Alcohol or things like acetate or hair spray will take that marker ink out of fabric .as long as the fabric can handle it. Synthetic , some of them will melt with stuff like nail polish remover. I found this out the hard way and it wasn't the cheap synthetic fabric either 😂
Acetate specifically will melt in nail polish remover. Alcohol is generally safe on fibers but could affect the fabric dye. Club soda is less effective but safest overall.
The Equipoise was marketed as a better alternative to the standard corset. It was very similar to other corsets, but you demonstrated that it was more complicated to manufacture (that tells me that its price should be higher than the other corsets). If its price was higher, women would only buy it if they benefitted from it more than other corsets (it was not marketed as a luxury item). I suspect that the annual number of corsets sold by corset companies does not exist, but sales data would explain if it was successful. You provide very strong arguments that the corset was a bust........ 😁 If the total number of corset companies was small, the other companies could have gotten together and engaged in all sorts of economic shenanigans to string Equipoise along... 😁 I will stop now.
So what's kind of crazy is that the model I had would have retailed for about $2.25 which isn't that much more expensive than a typical mass manufactured 'regulation' corset. The cheapest version (high necked, solid back without boning) sold for $1.75! While I was working on this video, I did start to wonder if maybe any archives from the George Frost Company still survive since I was able to find evidence of the business into the 1980s...it would be really neat to study any sort of documentation that might exist.
@@AbbyCox
That would be very interesting! I don't think, I've seen a video about the business side of making and selling corsets.
This makes me wonder how many corsets the average woman would've owned back then. Would a "sport corset" be a standard thing to own or a niche thing?
Sounds like the sly Mr. Frost foisted a white elephant onto his competitors.
You could keep a sammich and your wallet in those cups.
I was wondering about the feasibility of sneaking snacks into movie theaters.
I took a little break from your channel and have come back to binge - and I have to say your production value has greatly improved since the last time I was watching this channel about a year ago. I love the transitions you do from voiceover to speaking directly to camera. And all the shots are so well done. Excellent camera work and lighting too - it’s a joy to watch :)
The cups looked like they would have fitted my 32Js and no to weight bearing shoulder straps so painful.
Or my 34 H/I
Yeah, cups size was a bit ridiculous. Unless the women of the time wore breast padding?
They do not look like they could fit my 34N cups, but I'm aware mine are ridiculous and stupidly large.
I am in love with how pretty that sewing machine is.
Oh my when you took out that vintage Singer...my heart skipped a beat...😮😊
I’m a baby boomer and I had one of the first Growing up Skippers. And I got her before I was 13. Thought she was kind of strange then, but didn’t know Mattel brought her out again.
just want to say your lighting in this video is worlds better, great job!
I’m really enjoying your videos - you have a great sense of humor, and you are well spoken - I’m glad to have come across your channel. :)
What confuses me about this garment is if it would even offer the same amount of bust support a corset does because the boning stops below the bust and there is nothing supporting the bust as far as I can tell. It reminds me of those modern corsets like garnments with boob cups we see in today's fashion. For smaller cup sizes sure it might work but for a larger cup size it's not going to offer the kind of support that a true over the bust corset or underwire bra does.
I was wondering about that, too...
this is such a good video! i love the editing and story telling *chefs kiss* so good 🤩
Id love to see a sude quest into the Liberty Bodice. As a reader of early 20 century childrens (girls) fiction they get mentioned quite often. The hatred of the rubber buttons is something I remember particularly.
Have I mention how much I adore the PBS documentary vibes your videos have had recently?
3:38 (Flashbacks to Abby and her friends in drag recounting tales of the sewing machine)
That lavender dress is super stunning! Would love to make something like that as it looks sk comfy
I hadn't watched a video of yours since last year and I love your hair! It suits you so well ❤
Was this garment advertised to 'mature' women? Because the full bust support and large cups look like they'd fit my body type (what the edwardians would refer to as "a stout figure") better than the average corset.
The image of you with headphones on while you treadle is, to me, the quintessential image of you and your channel. ❤
7:23 Missed opportunity to play ‘I want it that way’ by Backstreet Boys
Thank you for your videos, and the wonderful backstories! I have a treadle machine that I use to quilt and have a few of the original attachment feet. I really enjoyed this.
Unrelated to OBVIOUS excellent, interesting, educational niche content:
1. WHERE did you get that grey dress, it is stunning?
2. KACHOOWWW Bike Abby 😂😂😂
Me an undergraduate psychology student .... 6:10 for flip sake can i not escape thos man ?
Yeah tbh, I don't care for him.
F.Y.I he bases everything on a Greek Tragedy play: Oedpius.
If you haven't read it, you might want to.
This whole video is amazing.
timestamp 15:50
I've been looking for references on corsets with removable boning. I saw it mentioned somewhere that some workers daily-wear corsets contained slits so that bones could be removed for washing.
I need to make daily wear stays/body with lots of support which means washing is necessary. Removable boning would be SO helpful 😮
Love the video, really informative and relaxing!
the noise with the rapid blinks took me out, i love your editing 😂
What a great living history experiment. Thanks for another quality video. ☺️
6:30 .... Goddamnit seriously? They sell personal information on to every major advertising platform AND aren't good to their psychologist's either
All I could hear in my head when you said you used a felt tip marker to mark the button holes was "No felt tip markers!" in the same vein as "No wire hangars" from "Mommy Dearest" .. Secondly, seeing an antique sewing matching in action, makes me want to add it to my manual typewriter collection (and sew covers for my typewriters) ..
Highly recommend you to get in contact with Rabbit Goody of Thistle Hill Weavers in Cherry Valley, NY. She’s a textile historian and she’s an AMAZING resource.
A great video about the 'alternatives' . In many ways, we still see this with all the new 'bras' that don't need wires, or padding, or, or, or... Sigh... Loved the righteous rant about making the corset waist. Your fit issues remind me of every SCAer that has tried to make the Lengburg bra.
A bit off-topic, but at about 10 minutes in ... gorgeous nail polish colour! I want a Les Paul guitar in that colour. Or a '39 Ford Coupe.
Wonderful video! Thanks, Abby.
I have to admit that I laughed loudly at cups on this thing when you put it on. My first thought was “Room for stuffing!” 😂😂😂
I love your videos. They make me laugh and I learn something new every time.
I totally forgot about that doll! I used to play with her and a bunch of other vintage and antique toys ( /anything really she's a collector of all things old and interesting)
I have an antique Singer sewing machine that was passed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. I don't think it's quite as old as yours, but it is in a table with foot pedals. We did have all the extras & instructions but unfortunately they were lost in our last move which really bummed me out since I wanted to actually try sewing with it. Kind of been on the fence about having the sewing machine removed & use the table as a laptop table since we no longer have all the parts 😢 But the beautiful antique look of the sewing machine just gets me. So much prettier than any of my mom's modern surgers or computerized machines (she stopped sewing clothes & moved onto quilts which she enjoyed much more)
While I'm sure "sporting" was a large part responsible for women wanting more freedom of movement in their clothes, it was also a time when women entered the workforce (war years) Tight bodices & corsettry just wouldn't have allowed them to do factory work/ physical labor on par with the men who had more practical & less constrictive clothing. But they still needed undergarments & new designs allowed more movement & more movement effected outer garments too :) It's so interesting to learn history (both socio/political & economic) via fashion.
I think (and could be completely wrong about this) that women working in factories did in fact wear corsetry - corsetry provided much needed back support for long factory shifts. If anything, traditional corsets fell out of favor during the war because the manufacturing materials for corsets were harder to come by.
I think corsetry fell out of fashion much earlier than the 1940s.
@@mollymorgan8652 yes. There were wars before the 1940s.Women were taking up the slack during the 1st world war as well & needed to wear coveralls to do the work just like the men instead of the restrictive uniforms of tight bodices & skirts they would otherwise be expected to wear. It's difficult to do farm work or warehouse work in a tight skirt & petticoats. It wasn't always the corsetry that was the problem.
@@yensid4294 Women have done farm and factory work for centuries while wearing corsets or other forms of stays. It wasn't like "suddenly there is a war and women now have to work"!
Crayola super wash felt tips. They really do wash, on cold with no stain remover. I've also successfully done a splash of water hand soap and a rub and it comes out.
Cheaper than other fabric pens and the lines are clearer and last while you need them 🙂
Just don’t use the orange one.
@@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396 I still got orange out. But I will say that thinking about it that only came out in the machine and not under the tap with soap and a little rub.
I think orange is universally tricky to get out.
Interestingly I found the blue and black came out quickest which was a surprise
Corset alternatives? You mean, culottes and a bustier? (Jk)
💀
Could you tell me what pins you use please? Maybe a video on all your tools?
Truly, who better to design a more comfortable, healthier corset than ... two dudes!
18:30 Millennial here, I had that Skipper doll! And yeah, same vibe🤣
Did you find it in like a pile of toys from your cousins? How did you get one?! 😮
My friend, Katie, had a Growing Up Skipper doll. I think that was around 1977 or 78. Even back then, as a little kid, I thought it was weird. I think the doll got taller, too. (I may be misremembering that. How would that work?) I just remember that Katie didn't want me to play with it because the arm was wonky - you had to turn it just right - and she was afraid I'd break it.
The '70s was a strange time. I also remember a TV commercial in which little boys were catcalling a doll on the beach. My mom hated that commercial and complained about it every time it came on. In retrospect, it was bizarre. Why would any child want a doll that attracted sexual harassment from 8-year-old boys? I would love to know who was on the marketing team that came up with the idea for that ad.
I think in the 70s, women were supposed to “appreciate” cat calls as positive male attention.
I found a video of Growing Up Skipper in action. She does indeed get taller. The height is added entirely in her torso, because it's part of the same mechanism that makes her chest grow. It gives 'adult' Skipper weird proportions.
Just wanted to mention with your hair this video you had a very Mary Tyler Moore vibe going & it was awesome!
I tried to watch this but kept getting distracted by how friggin’ cute your hair is at that length!
We need to talk about compression! I don’t wear leggings & sucker-inner tanks to be cute, I don’t love the look, but after 50, I crave light compression everywhere. It’s so crazy that it’s 2024 & clothing as functional comfort/pain relief is still bad. My arthritis gloves are so ugly, I am tempted to put faux buttons along the sides. I have reason to wear gloves daily, how am I not wearing beautiful gorgeous compression gloves? Haha in a bucket hat, the gloves & a midi dress, I look like the ghost of a flapper spinster 😂
Yea, we need a course on corded corset alternative for modern wear, please.
I love when I see you have a new video because I know I'm going to learn something. Today (shock of shocker!) it was that men said what women made bad, but what men made good but same thing. You could have knocked me over with a feather! 😆
OMG I have the same machine and cabinet ❤ and attachment box
abby, as always, your videos are incredible. im sending you a big hug frrom Argentina!
I love all your history lessons
A fantastic episode ❤
This reminds me of that video Morgan Donner did a while back with the sewn in cups that she did..
Love the bloopers!
Abby, you are looking so good. Very happy and healthy.
no cuz the hand to the doorknob is literally the MOST RELATABLE
In terms of patterns, I would loveeeeeee a pattern for a corset with shoulder straps, that is less complicated than this particular garment
Regarding the felt tipped marker pen marks, "Sharpie" is alcohol ink. Maybe you could diffuse it with alcohol? Hope it works for you!!!! Best wishes!!!!
NOTE: cycling, mountain climbing... all for rich women. POOR women got PLENTY of EXERCISE lifting, bending, carrying, hauling... LET US REMEMBER.
I did a similar mistake in using permanent marker on the wrong side of the fabric to mark which pieces were which, but it totally showed through on the other side. I was able to mitigate it a little bit with using rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover to try to get some of the ink out. I couldn't use too much because it started to discolor some of the front fabric though. Luckily it was all thrifted material and not too visible.
not on topic, but where did you get your gray dress with the flower embroidery on. the collar and arms? its so cute, and looks very flattering on you!
I love your videos, they are soothing and informative at the same time!
I fully support the idea that there were mny different types of corsets, or supporting undergarment. Those who are preserved to day are mostly from the upper class. Working people would use all kind of clothes until they were torn, or used to make another garment. Working women would have hade differnt undergarments with less boning sp they were more able to use their body. This wasn't nessecary for the upperclass until they started bi-cycling and other sports.
I marked with permanent marker once, luckily it’s an undergarment. I did it on a vest and had to buy more fabric and start over. You’ll always remember now.
1:08 Mainstream Hollywood actress getting ready for a period drama
Ummmmmmm... The little part about the pants not being a good choice while bike riding .... And your partner being like "Yeah I had said something to you earlier..." And proceed to get on the bike and ride ... Was really very very cute and endearing!!.. just sayin.
The 'ow' at the end sounded like Jennifer Cooladge. lolz.
Are we surprised.🤷🏼♀️ Thanks Abby👏🏻👏🏻🌹
Abby is dress is by Voriagh
Good stuff! Always fun, informative, and entertaining. LOVE the drone footage! Also glad you got the opportunity to harvest your weed as part of the content! 🤣