Corset, Pannier, Chemise

c. 1760-1770, c. 1775, c. 1780-unkown (Country)

Material: 

Corset of brown cotton satin with 162 whalebones inside; pannier of cotton chintz with oval rattan hoops and padding; linen chemise.

Throughout the eighteenth century, the silhouette of a woman's dress was formed with a corset or a pannier. In order to push up the bust for a feminine outline, the corset was framed with pieces of whalebone. First appearing in the early eighteenth century, the pannier became a mandatory item for court dress up until the time of the French Revolution. As the skirt widened in the mid-eighteenth century, the pannier was modified and split into left and right halves. Such huge panniers frequently became the subject of caricatures.

Inventory Number(s): AC337 77-12-51, AC7682 93-1-4, AC6289 89-4-6