Dress Historian explains the difference between Bodies and Stays | 16th and 17th-Century ‘Corsetry’

What should we call the torso-shaping female foundation garments of the sixteenth century and seventeenth century? Were they pairs of bodies? Bodices? Stays? Corsets? How were they worn? Were they underwear or outerwear?

Today, I'm going to give a brief overview of the origins, evolution and changing terminologies of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, mainly in England, France and the Dutch Republic.

Why don't I use the term stays to refer to a boned upper garment before the 1680s? Why should we be careful when we use the terms 'smooth covered stays' and 'corset' when talking about foundation garments in the 16th and 17th centuries? Keep watching to find out!

0:00 - Intro
0:41 - Bodies in the 16th century
5:31 - Reasons for the emergence of bodies: renaissance power dressing
10:20 - Bodies in the 17th century
11:51 - Bodies and bodices, under or outerwear?
14:37 - The emergence of stays; or, why we shouldn't use the term stays before the 1680s.
16:32 - The differences between bodies and stays in the late 17th century

For an overview of stays and corsets in the 18th and 19th centuries see Abby Cox's video    • A Dress Historian Explains the Differ...  

For a more extensive overview of this topic, read my book! https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/shaping...

For links to all the images used in this video, see my blog:
https://sarahabendall.com/2023/12/29/...


Dr Sarah Bendall
www.sarahabendall.com
  / sarahbendall_dresshistory  
  / sarahabendall