KCIDigital Archives

The KCI Digital Archives on the KCI website presents image and text information for the objects in the collection, arranged in chronological order.

Corset

© The Kyoto Costume Institute, photo by Takashi Hatakeyama

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Corset

1880s - France

Material
Blue silk satin; steel busk; bone.
Dimension
76 cm (bust) / 49 cm (waist)
Inventory Number(s)
AC212 77-11-52AB

This corset is a vivid reminder of the painting, "Nana," by Edouard Manet (1832–1883). The center-front busk and bones mold the curve from the waist to the abdomen, while neatly arranging the lower abdomen, as well. Women used corsets in an effort to get closer to an ideal physical form of the time; until the beginning of the 20th century, their waists were tightened by the corset. With the development of modern technology, people applied their creative originality and corsets by new devices were born. In particular, the invention of eyelet in 1828 allowed great improvements in the tightening of the waist on a corset.

1870s-1880s