By the mid 15th century fashion had reached its peak of tall, thin lines and the pendulum of style swung to a new broad, straight silhouette and a more rigid, structured form. Around 1620 fashion grew less formal, and the waist crept up above its natural place. A female body in stays were a decent body. A few years into the 18th century, in 1712, a leather bodice with a stomacher, valued to 2 s,8 d (modern value around £10) was seen as part of the clothing minimum for girls in a London charity school, indicating that it was seen as must even for society’s poorest members. To make-up the stays I cut an extra pattern in cotton. Originally covered in… The most obvious one being to shape the body into a fashionable shape, a foundation to which the clothes were fitted. Upper class stays was constructed from linen canvas, buckram and silk, stiffened with whalebone and perhaps also paste and paper. I'm repeating myself a little here, but bear with me. The ‘pair of bodys’ were now known as ‘a pair of stays’ or ‘stays’ and followed the fashionable waistline but kept the long centre front stomacher as seen in contemporary portraits. This I fitted and arranged the ridgeline roughly following Janet Arnold’s drawing – leaving a gap at the front for the busk. Stays almost disappeared and became incorporated into the bodice itself, which was now mounted onto a stiff whaleboned lining. I again checked for fit and made up the wool and cotton bodice and put the interlining in between the two layers before it was completed. As I did not know whether I would be able to wear the stays with the busk I made a pocket of fabric into which it could be inserted and stitched this to the boned interlining. FIT SAMPLE SALE 1860's Gored Corsets. Even if the boned bodice seems to have been extremely popular, ordinary stays were still worn. Leather stays may not have needed additional boning to give support. It’s made of fustian in cotton/linen and boned with whalebone. The stays were dated in 1993 by Janet Arnold to 1670. These stays are the foundation for the fashionable silhouette of the 1630s-1660s. See more ideas about 17th century, the v&a, 17th century clothing. The Gallery of Costumes, Platt Hall. If laced in the front then there is also the stomacher that goes under the lacing. Gabriel Metsu, Woman Playing Viola de gamba, 1663, A few pictures from the 18th century erotic calendar, 17th century embroidery at the Royal Armoury in Sweden, How to make a robe de cour in six weeks and hopefully not go crazy, part 2, 17th century stays and boned bodices, part 2, 17th century stays and boned bodices, part 1, The Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century, Female Academics in the Eighteenth Century, Stay-ing Alive: Historical Dress Adventures and Ramblings, 1880s Fundy Undies - Petticoat and Corset Cover, Regency ball in Stockholm, my newest gown and the pictures that were taken, Danskurser på Mäster Olofs Gården och Kristinehov. Jan 3, 2019 - Explore Beata Popiołek's board "17th century Corsets,bodice and stays", followed by 498 people on Pinterest. You should not be so tightly laced up that you can't breathe or are in pain! Jul 20, 2014 - Explore SewLoud's board "18th century stays", followed by 216 people on Pinterest. Aug 6, 2017 - Explore In Pretty Finery's board "16th & 17th century - Stays & underwear", followed by 817 people on Pinterest. Interesting and related topics like staymaking as a trade, critique against stay wearing and how stays were worn by different social classes will only lightly be touched upon. Its simplicity makes it most attractive for the beginner. Through family history the stays have been attributed to Mary Chilton Winslow, a Mayflower passenger. “17th Century things are so … one thing I’m curious about is that I’ve seen boned bodices for gowns, and then stays, and then stays with sleeves. 18th century stays - tutorial - part 2 Moving on with the stays . The silhouette grew longer and straighter. (Picture source: http://theeleonoraproject.wordpress.com/) It differs from the German stays in cut and it is laced in front. 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