
© The Kyoto Costume Institute, photo by Takashi Hatakeyama
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Corset, Pannier, Chemise
c. 1760-1770 [Corset] - unknown (Country)
c. 1775 [Pannier] - unknown (Country)
c. 1780 [Chemise] - unknown (Country)
- Material
- Corset of brown cotton satin with 162 whalebones inside; pannier of cotton chintz with oval rattan hoops and padding; linen chemise.
- Inventory Number(s)
- AC337 77-12-51, AC7682 93-1-4, AC6289 89-4-6
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.