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Corset Cover

1908-1914 (made)
Artist/Maker
Spirella (manufacturer)
Place of origin
Great Britain (made)

White cotton camisole corset cover with a cross-boned front creating a monobosom silhouette. Cotton over a wire framework.

Object details

Categories
Fashion
Underwear
Womenswear
Europeana Fashion Project
Object type
Corset cover
Materials and techniques
Cotton with steel boning
Cotton (Textile)
Steel
Boned
Brief description
Corset cover, made by Spirella, Great Britain, 1908-1914
Physical description
White cotton camisole corset cover with a cross-boned front creating a monobosom silhouette. Cotton over a wire framework.
Dimensions
  • Waist measured inside garment circumference: 63.5cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Bust measured inside garment circumference: 68cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Across back width: 32cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Nape waist length: 42cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
Production typeHaute couture
Gallery label
(2013-2015)
The idealised Edwardian woman was statuesque, with hair piled high on top of her head, and a prominent monobosom, small waist and rounded bottom. The monobosom was the result of the S-bend corset that left breasts unsupported, and was exaggerated to create an unnatural 'pouter pigeon' chest that puffed out over the comparatively tiny waistline. Foundation garments like this were developed to help create this silhouette; the bodice shown here is described as a 'bust extender...f=For the person who is deficient in chest development'.

'Bust Extender'
Spirella Corsets
Britain (Letchworth), 1910-4
Cotton batiste trimmed with machine lace trim, with spiral steel boning
Given by Mrs Jean Murray Muir
V&A: T.348-1996
(16/04/2016-12/03/2017)
A 'Bust Extender'

The Spirella Corset Company marketed this style in its 1913 mail-order catalogue as a 'bust extender...for the person who is too thin or scant in chest development.'

Made with a frame of spiral steel boning, it is light, self-supporting and unpadded. This foundation garment was designed to create the full 'mono-bosom' fashionable at the time.

Bust extender
The Spirella Corset Company
Britain, 1910-14
Cotton, spiral steel bones and machine-made cotton lace edging
V&A: T.348-1996
Given by Mrs Jean Murray Muir
Credit line
Given by Mrs Jean Murray Muir
Production
Attribution note: Spirella corsetry was made specifically to measure on a case-by-case basis for the individual client.
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.348-1996

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Record createdNovember 21, 2007
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O140747/corset-cover-spirella/
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