Few articles of clothing have been as revered and reviled as the corset.
Fans of the figure-hugging garment like the way it smoothes the torso, cinches the waist and pushes up the bosom. Detractors have assailed it as another symbol of the oppression of women, whose bodies must be molded into fashion, at great discomfort, for the enjoyment of men.
Love them or loathe them, corsets are again in fashion, just as they were in the 18th, 19th and early 20th Centuries. Some designs are meant to be worn as undergarments, primarily with wedding gowns and other formal attire. Others are likely to be worn as an outergarment–to dinner at a chic restaurant or with jeans to a trendy nightclub.
Corsets and corset-inspired looks were all over the runways for spring. John Galliano trimmed a boned style in white fur while Valentino fashioned one in pale pink satin and accented it with lace.
Narciso Rodriguez cuts his dresses so snugly to the body that they look like corsets, and Betsey Johnson’s corset-topped dress was rimmed in ribbons. Corset details such as boning and lacing appeared on everything from tank tops to evening gowns. The gown Scarlett Johansson wore to the recent Golden Globes was a nude corset-topped design by Stella McCartney.
Retailers and fashion observers cite several reasons why lingerie influences are no longer under wraps. First, style is all about femininity these days, with cotton-candy colors, girlish prints, soft fabrics and silhouettes and trims such as ruffles and lace.
Second, “corsets minimize the waist and enhance the bust, a look that’s in the forefront right now,” says Nancy Sagar, spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus. “There’s also a mysterious aura to a corset because it’s typically an undergarment, so wearing it out is a very sexy look. Years ago, people wouldn’t have dared to wear something like that. Now it’s normal.”
Women can thank pop-music icons such as Madonna for the continuing popularity of the underwear-as-outerwear trend.
Twenty years after Madonna made her splash, women “have much more freedom and say in what they wear and how they want to look,” says Colette Wong, who teaches intimate apparel design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
Corsets were once thought of as being restrictive and keeping a woman in line, but today, “if this is what she wants, she’s going to do it,” Wong says.
“The fascination with corsets comes from the fact that you become much more regal when you wear it; your stature is much better,” Wong says. “Today’s woman likes that feeling.”
Last-minute lingerie
Along with flowers, sweets and jewelry, lingerie is a popular Valentine’s Day gift. Don’t just grab any old cami or PJs–check out these trends from Colette Wong, a former intimate apparel designer:
– The cheek panty (boy shorts)
– Rectangle bras that look like bikini tops
– Bustiers
– Cotton-candy colors
– Stretch fabrics
– Anything sheer
– Solids with details, such as hand-painted flowers
– Showing skin
– Baby dolls, short with slits
– Short shorts, camisole pajama sets
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Edited by Curt Wagner (cwwagner@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
