Bust Improver thumbnail 1
Bust Improver thumbnail 2
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Not currently on display at the V&A

Bust Improver

ca. 1910 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Bust bodice made from lace and interwoven figured silk satin ribbons, boning, mother-of-pearl buttons.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Lace and ribbon, mother-of-pearl
Brief description
Bust improver, lace, satin ribbons and boning, mother-of-pearl buttons, Dickins & Jones, Great Britain, ca. 1910.
Physical description
Bust bodice made from lace and interwoven figured silk satin ribbons, boning, mother-of-pearl buttons.
Dimensions
  • Bust measured inside garment circumference: 79cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Underbust measured inside garment circumference: 62cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
Gallery label
  • Fitted to the figure Around 1909, the fashionable s-bend silhouette gave way to a more elongated body shape and upright posture. This new figure required differently shaped underwear to control and support it. Bust bodices were designed to lift and contain the bust, which was largely unsupported by the low, straighter, hip-confining corset. Bust bodice Dickins & Jones Britain, London, 1910s Figured silk satin ribbon, machine-made lace, front fastening with mother-of-pearl buttons, boned and laced at the back V&A: T.33-1996 Given by Christina McMillan (16/04/2016-12/03/2017)
  • Around 1910, the voluptuous ideal of the preceding years was gradually replaced by a more slender silhouette, as Parisian couturiers introduced a more elongated line. Foundation garments were increasingly required to compress and smooth the figure. Bust bodices similar to this were advertised as 'bust confiners', designed to wear over the top of the corset to smooth the contours under the blouse or dress and to control and shape the bust, which was largely unsupported over the low, hip-confining corsets. Bust bodice Dickins & Jones Britain, 1910s Figured silk satin ribbon, bobbin lace, mother of pearl buttons and boning Given by Christina McMillan V&A: T.33-1996 (2013-2015)
Credit line
Given by Christina McMillan
Object history
Registered File number 1995/2064.
Collection
Accession number
T.33-1996

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Record createdNovember 22, 2007
Record URL
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