Cathie Jung (born 1937), wearing a sterling silver corset, holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest waist of any currently living person, at 38.1 centimeters.

Tightlacing (also called corset training and waist training) is the practice of wearing a tightly-laced corset to achieve extreme modifications to the figure and posture and experience the sensations of a very tight corset. Those who practice tightlacing are called tightlacers. Some tightlacers call the corsets they wear training corsets. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x774, 33 KB)Cathie Jung, a famous tightlacer, wearing a sterling silver corset cover. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x774, 33 KB)Cathie Jung, a famous tightlacer, wearing a sterling silver corset cover. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Guinness World Records 2008 edition. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... A luxury hourglass corset from 1878. ... A tightlacer is someone who practises daily tightlacing, Some people choose tightlacing for aesthetic reasons. ... This is an example of a training corset. ...

Description

The most frequent aim of tightlacing is a slim waist. Depending on the silhouette desired, the shape of the ribcage may be altered as well. Wearing a corset can also change the bustline, by raising the breasts upwards and shaping them, flattening the stomach, and improving posture. However, these effects are only temporary and will be lost on removing the corset. Indeed, excessive corset wearing has been claimed to weaken certain muscles, making it more difficult to maintain posture without a corset. This article is about the bones called ribs. ... For other uses, see Breast (disambiguation). ...

Although some tightlacers aim to get their waists as small as possible, others prefer to reduce their waists to a certain point and go no further as they consider that proportion and aesthetics are more important than achieving the smallest possible measurement. For example, cross-dressing males may seek to create a more feminine-appearing waistline through tightlacing, but do not want to make their waists too small, as this would look unnatural. This articles is about cross-dressing in general, that is the act of wearing the clothing of another gender for any reason. ...

History of tightlacing

Two unscientific sketches from 1884: A, the natural position of internal organs. B, when deformed by tight lacing. In this way the liver and the stomach have been forced downward, as seen in the cut.

See also: History of corsets

Corsets were first worn during the 16th century and remained a feature of fashionable dress until the French Revolution (1789). These corsets were mainly designed to turn the torso into the fashionable cylindrical shape although they narrowed the waist as well. They had shoulder straps; they ended at the waist; they flattened the bust and, in so doing, pushed the breasts up. The emphasis of the corset was less on the smallness of the waist than on the contrast between the rigid flatness of the bodice front and the curving tops of the breasts peeking over the top of the corset. There are no records of tightlacers at this time. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3072x2800, 815 KB) NEW PATHFINDER NO. 2; PHYSIOLOGY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ADAPTED TO INTERMEDIATE CLASSES AND COMMEN SCHOOLS. page 84 Fig. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3072x2800, 815 KB) NEW PATHFINDER NO. 2; PHYSIOLOGY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ADAPTED TO INTERMEDIATE CLASSES AND COMMEN SCHOOLS. page 84 Fig. ... The word corset is derived from the Old French word cors, the diminutive of body, which itself derives from corpus - the Latin for body[1]. A corset is a garment that girds the torso and shapes it according to the fashionable silhouette of the day. ... A luxury hourglass corset from 1878. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... Year 1789 (MDCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The corset then went into eclipse. Fashion embraced the Empire silhouette: a Graeco-Roman style, with the high-waisted dress that was unique to this style gathered under the bosom. The waist was de-emphasised, and dresses were sewn from thin muslins rather than the heavy brocades and satins of aristocratic high fashion. An example of Classical attire 1811 dance dress with empire silhouette An analysis of clothing pressure points (shown in red) of ca. ... Greco-Roman refers to the culture of Ancient Greece and Classical Rome and reflects the essential unity of the Mediterranean world at the time when those cultures flourished, between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD. Categories: Historical stubs | Ancient Rome | Ancient Greece ...

The reign of the Empire waist was short. In the 1830s, shoulders widened (with puffy gigot sleeves or flounces), skirts widened (layers of stiffened petticoats), and the waist narrowed and migrated towards its "natural" position. By the 1850s, exaggerated shoulders were out of fashion and waistlines were cinched at the natural waist above a wide skirt. Fashion had achieved what is now known as the Victorian silhouette. 1811 dance dress 1811 illustration of underclothes, showing one form of Regency stays In the period 1795-1820 in European and European-influenced countries, fashionable womens clothing styles were based on the Empire silhouette — dresses were closely-fitted to the torso just under the breasts, falling loosely below. ... // Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday Evolutionary theorist Charles Darwins expedition on the HMS Beagle. ... 1859 fashion plate of both mens and womens daywear, with seabathing in background. ... Windsor Castle in Modern Times by Landseer depicts the Queen and the Prince Consort at home in the 1840s. ...

In the 1830s, the artificially inflated shoulders and skirts made the intervening waist look narrow, even with the corset laced only moderately. When the exaggerated shoulders disappeared, the waist itself had to be cinched tightly in order to achieve the same effect. It is in the 1840s and 1850s that tightlacing is first recorded. It was ordinary fashion taken to an extreme. 1841 Fashion plate In the 1830s, fashionable womens clothing styles in western/central Europe (and other areas which were culturally strongly European-influenced) had distinctive large leg of mutton or gigot sleeves, above large full conical skirts, ideally with a narrow waist between (achieved through corseting). ... // First use of general anesthesia in an operation, by Crawford Long The first electrical telegraph sent by Samuel Morse on May 24, 1844 from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.. First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi, Northland New Zealand. ...

Corset and Tight-Lacing.—The baneful effects of corset-wearing are now so well understood that few woman will venture to deny that the practice is harmful, but they endeavor to shield themselves by declaring that they are sure their corset does them no harm, that it is very loose, etc., etc. We scarcely ever met a lady who would admit that her corset was tight, and we have had occasion to speak with hundreds, of ladies on this point in making medical examinations. We read the other day in a newspaper of a young woman who actually broke a rib in the attempt to gain another half-inch on her corset string. She well deserved the accident, no doubt; but the chances are ten to one that she would assert in the most positive term, if expostulated with about the matter that her corset was "quite loose," and to demonstrate the matter would show you how much more she could pinch up when she tried, or something of the sort. The fact is, ladies do not really know when their clothing is tight about the waist and when it is loose. The tissues have been so long under pressure that they have lost a good share of their sensibility, and clothing really seems loose to them which to a man would be so uncomfortably tight as to make him utterly wretched.[1]

Advertisements from 1905: "You been lacing up by gentlemen in my corset from Valeine." alternative: "You trap gentlemen by my corset from Valeine."

As it was accepted that a corseted waist was the ideal, it is hard to define tightlacing strictly, or to say what proportion of Victorian women practiced it. Today's waist measurements are unacceptable as a guide, since: Image File history File links Size of this preview: 436 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,235 × 3,072 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 436 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,235 × 3,072 pixels, file size: 1. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ...

A corset, recommend of doctors and nurses for Tightlacing. 1887

• Women's bodies have increased in size since the nineteenth century, so waist measurements that seem small today might not have been considered so by Victorians.^{[citation needed]}

• As corset wearing was the norm in the nineteenth century, it is likely that women tolerated proportionally greater reductions as a matter of course, without thinking of themselves as tightlacers.^{[citation needed]}

Young and fashionable women were most likely to tightlace, especially for balls, fashionable gatherings, and like occasions for display. Older, poorer, and primmer women would have laced moderately – just enough to be decent. Download high resolution version (1058x1427, 55 KB)U. S patent no. ... Download high resolution version (1058x1427, 55 KB)U. S patent no. ...

The Victorian and Edwardian corset differed from earlier corsets in numerous ways. The corset no longer ended at the waist, but flared out and ended several inches below the waist. The corset was exaggeratedly curvaceous rather than cylindrical. It was also much sturdier in construction, thanks to improvements in technology. Spiral steel stays curved with the figure rather than dictating a cylindrical silhouette. While many corsets were still sewn by hand to the wearer's measurements, there was also a thriving market in cheaper mass-produced corsets. The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It is sometimes extended to include the period to the start of World War I in 1914 or even the end of the war in 1918. ...

In the late years of the Victorian era, medical reports and rumors claimed that tightlacing was fatally detrimental to health (see Victorian dress reform).^{[citation needed]} Women who suffered to achieve small waists were also condemned for their vanity and excoriated from the pulpit as slaves to fashion. It was frequently claimed that too small a waist was ugly rather than beautiful.^{[citation needed]} Dress reformers exhorted women to abandon the tyranny of stays and free their waists for work and healthy exercise. The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... During the middle and late Victorian period, various reformers proposed, designed, and wore clothing supposedly more rational and comfortable than the fashions of the time. ...

Despite the efforts of dress reformers to eliminate the corset, and despite medical and clerical warnings, women persisted in tightlacing as long as it was fashionable. In the early 1900s, the small corseted waist began to fall out of fashion. The feminist and dress reform movements had made practical clothing acceptable for work or exercise. The rise of the Artistic Dress movement made loose clothing and the natural waist fashionable even for evening wear. Couturiers like Fortuny and Poiret designed exotic, alluring costumes in pleated or draped silks, calculated to reveal slim, youthful bodies. If one didn't have such a body, new undergarments, the brassiere and the girdle, promised to give the illusion of one. This article is about the decade starting in 1900 and ending in 1909. ... Jane Morris (The Blue Silk Dress) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1868. ... Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo,(1871-1949), was a Spanish born fashion designer, opened his couture house in 1906 and continued until 1946. ... Categories: People stubs | 1879 births | 1944 deaths | French people ... Bra - front Bra - back A brassiere ( ; , commonly referred to as a bra, ) is an article of clothing that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. ... Youths boxing in a Minoan fresco on the Greek island of Santorini The word girdle originally meant a belt (or metaphorically speaking, something which confines or encloses, as in Tolkiens Girdle of Melian). ...

Corsets were no longer fashionable, but some people still felt that they were sexy. Corsets entered the underworld of the fetish, along with items such as bondage gear and vinyl catsuits. In the 1980s and 1990s, fetish wear became a fashion trend and corsets made something of a recovery. They are often worn as top garments rather than underwear. However, most corset wearers own a bustier or two for evening wear; they do not tightlace. Historical re-enactors also wear corsets, but few tightlace. Two women in handcuffs and latex miniskirts and tops - Latex and PVC fetishism Wikinews has related news: Dr. Joseph Merlino on sexuality, insanity, Freud, fetishes and apathy Sexual fetishism is the sexual attraction for material and terrestrial objects while in reality the essence of the object is inanimate and sexless. ... A model in bondage cuffs with a leg spreader In the context of BDSM, bondage involves people being tied up or otherwise restrained for pleasure. ... A woman wearing a black latex catsuit and thigh-high boots. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Fetish clothing includes any type of clothing and clothing materials which is commonly fetishized. ... A bustier is an article of clothing for women, which is form-fitting and can either be worn as lingerie or as an outer garment. ...

Tightlacing today

under-bust corset worn with renaissance costume, 16" waist.

Modern tightlacing is a minority interest, often associated with fetishistic interest in the corset and BDSM. The majority of tightlacers are women, although some men also tightlace quite extensively. Tightlacers typically wear a corset for at least 12 hours a day, every day, when they are most active, although more serious tightlacers (particually those trying to achieve the smallest waist they can) wear corsets for up to 23 hours a day, taking the corset off only in order to bathe. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 447 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1089 × 1460 pixels, file size: 752 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Tightlaced corset, 16 waist I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 447 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1089 × 1460 pixels, file size: 752 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Tightlaced corset, 16 waist I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Two women in handcuffs and latex miniskirts and tops - Latex and PVC fetishism Wikinews has related news: Dr. Joseph Merlino on sexuality, insanity, Freud, fetishes and apathy Sexual fetishism is the sexual attraction for material and terrestrial objects while in reality the essence of the object is inanimate and sexless. ... Collars are a commonly used symbol of BDSM and can be ornamental and utilitarian. ...

Tightlacers sometimes have a partner, called a trainer, to help and support them. However, it is possible for somebody to tightlace without a partner.

Chest developped before corset worn. A scientific sketches from 1910

Epigastrium of singer dotted fine shows full expansion. A scientific sketches from 1910

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 345 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1770 × 3072 pixel, file size: 213 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 345 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1770 × 3072 pixel, file size: 213 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 381 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1953 × 3072 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 381 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1953 × 3072 pixel, file size: 1. ...

Effects of tightlacing on the body

A typical training routine begins with the use of a well-fitted corset (most serious tightlacers have at least one custom–tailored corset) and very gradual decreases in the waist circumference. Lacing too tight too fast can cause extreme discomfort and potential short-term problems such as shortness of breath and faintness, indigestion, and chafing of the skin.

The primary effect of tightlacing is the decreased size of the waist. The smallest waist recorded is that of Ethel Granger, who tightlaced for most of her life and achieved a waist of thirteen inches: a reduction of over ten inches. Such extreme reductions take a very long time to achieve. At first, corsets with waist measurements four inches smaller than the tightlacer's natural waist size are recommended. The length of time it will take a tightlacer to get used to this reduction will vary on his or her physiology; a large amount of fat on the torso and strong abdominal muscles will mean that it takes longer for the tightlacer to wear their corset laced closed at the back. Thereafter, reducing another couple of inches is not much more difficult, but each inch after a six-inch reduction can take a year to achieve.

The diminished waist and tight corset reduce the volume of the torso. This is sometimes reduced even further by styles of corset that force the torso to taper towards the waist, which pushes the lower ribs inwards. As a consequence, internal organs are moved closer together and out of their original positions in a way similar to the way that a pregnant woman's expanding uterus causes the organs to be displaced. This article is about female reproductive anatomy. ...

The volume of the lungs diminishes and the tightlacer tends to breathe intercostally – that is, with the upper portion of the lungs only, rather than the whole (see shallow breathing). Intercostal breathing is what gives the image of "heaving bosoms".^{[citation needed]} Due to the lower portion of the lungs being used less there is often a mucosal build-up there; a slight and persistent cough is the sign of the body trying to clear this (and might also have led to the Victorian hypothesis that corsets caused tuberculosis). Shallow breathing is the drawing of minimal breath into the lungs, usually by drawing air into the chest area using the intercostal muscles rather than throughout the lungs via the diaphragm. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or Tuberculosis) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ...

The liver is pressed upwards. As it continually renews itself, it adapts to fit its new position, and in a long-term tightlacer it can develop ridges where it rests against the ribs. It is also possible that tightlacing exacerbates the tendency of some livers to develop accessory lobes, to the point where the accessory lobe becomes as large as the main portion of the liver. The point where the lobe and liver connect can be quite thin, and again, this might have led to one of the Victorian myths about tightlacing: that a tightlacer can wear her corset so tight that it "cuts" her liver in half. For the bird, see Liver bird. ...

The compression of the stomach reduces its volume, and tightlacers find that eating too much gives them indigestion and heartburn; foods like carbonated drinks and beans can easily cause trapped wind. The compression of the intestines can cause constipation. Many tightlacers will alter their diet in order to avoid these problems. In anatomy, the stomach is a bean-shaped hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. ...

Theoretically, it is possible to fracture the ribs through tightlacing, although the necessary pressure would be brutal and the tightlacer would feel acute pain.

See also

• Body modification
• Corset
• Polaire
• Victorian dress reform

Body modification (or body alteration) is the permanent or semi-permanent deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons, such as spiritual, various social (markings), BDSM edgeplay or aesthetic. ... A luxury hourglass corset from 1878. ... Mlle. ... During the middle and late Victorian period, various reformers proposed, designed, and wore clothing supposedly more rational and comfortable than the fashions of the time. ...

References

• Le corset; étude physiologique et pratique
• Tight Lacing, Peter Farrer. ISBN 0-9512385-8-2
• The Corset and the Crinoline. A Book of Modes and Costumes from remote periods to the present time. Lord William Barry. (1869)
• Valerie Steele, The Corset: A Cultural History. Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-300-09953-3.
• Fashion and Fetishism, David Kunzle, 1982
• Bound To Please: A History of the Victorian Corset, Leigh Summers, Berg Publishers, 2001. ISBN 1-85973-510-X

External links

• Staylace.com, the website of the Long Island Staylace Association (LISA) has some further information on the medical considerations and effects of tightlacing.
• Corsetier talks about effects of tightlacing
• Two overviews of current corseting and tightlacing:
  • Fashion and the Return of the Corset and Tight-Lacing
  • Corset information

Tightlacers

• Photos of Polaire.
• Website for Ethel Granger, who reduced to a 13-inch waist.
• Website for Cathie Jung, modern tightlacer.

Against tightlacing

• THE CORSET, questions of pressure and displacement. A medical report from 1887.
• Victorian Corsets
• The Corset Controversy

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	The modern corset: Body modification · Bondage corset · Corsage · Fetish fashion · Modern hourglass corset History: History of brassieres · Hourglass corset · Metal corset · Redresseur corset · Tightlacing Corset parts: Bone (corsetry) · Busk · Spoon busk · Stay-lace Accessories: Bustle · Crinoline · Garters · Lace Related concepts: Abdominal belt · Corselet · Girdle · Liberty bodice · Neck corset · Waist cincher · Waspie Body concepts: Floating ribs · Visceroptosis · Shallow breathing · Spinal adjustment  · Training corset · Wasp waist Corsetmakers: C & S Constructions · Spencer co. · Spirella · Warner's · Wasp Creations Categories: Corsetry · Fashion · Foundation garments A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 472 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (836 × 1061 pixel, file size: 109 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... A luxury hourglass corset from 1878. ... Body modification (or body alteration) is the permanent or semi-permanent deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons, such as spiritual, various social (markings), BDSM edgeplay or aesthetic. ... Discipline Training Bondage Corset 1950s Discipline Training Bondage Corset 1950s A bondage corset, used for BDSM, is a full-figured corset that is sometimes called a discipline corset. ... Corsage refers to the bodice of a dress. ... A woman wearing a black latex catsuit and thigh-high boots. ... Corset 1831 The hourglass corset was a style of corset that was in fashion from 1830 to 1900. ... The word corset is derived from the Old French word cors, the diminutive of body, which itself derives from corpus - the Latin for body[1]. A corset is a garment that girds the torso and shapes it according to the fashionable silhouette of the day. ... The history of the bra is inextricably intertwined with the social history of the status of women. ... Corset 1831 The hourglass corset was a style of corset that was in fashion from 1830 to 1900. ... Example of an iron corset. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... In corsetry, a bone is one of the rigid parts of a corset that forms its frame, gives it rigidity, and helps to shape the wearers body. ... A busk (also spelled busque) is the rigid element of a corset placed at the centre front. ... The pads E will prevent the lower ends of the steels A B from hurting the wearer when she sits down. ... Bustle apparatus (1881) For other uses, see Bustle (disambiguation). ... crinoline patented Cutaway view of a crinoline, Punch magazine, August 1856 Sequence of posed joke photographs of five stages of putting on a crinoline, ca. ... It has been suggested that Garters be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Lace (disambiguation). ... A corselet is a bra, girdle and panty all in one sometimes with laces in front or back. ... Youths boxing in a Minoan fresco on the Greek island of Santorini The word girdle originally meant a belt (or metaphorically speaking, something which confines or encloses, as in Tolkiens Girdle of Melian). ... The liberty bodice (Australian and British English), like the emancipation bodice or North American emancipation waist, was an undergarment for women and girls invented towards the end of the 19th century, as an innovative alternative to a corset. ... A neck corset (sometimes called throat corset or neck lacer) is special type of corset which is worn fitted around the neck instead of around the waist as of with ordinary corset. ... Waist Cincher 1860 Waist cincher is a type of corset that is used to pull in the waist. ... Waist Cincher 1860 Waist cincher is a type of corset that is used to pull in the waist. ... the four floating ribs Four of the ribs (two pairs) in the ribcage are said to be floating ribs because they are attached to the vertebrae only, and not to the sternum or cartilage coming off of the sternum. ... Visceroptosis is a prolapse or a sinking of the abdominal viscera below their natural position. ... Shallow breathing is the drawing of minimal breath into the lungs, usually by drawing air into the chest area using the intercostal muscles rather than throughout the lungs via the diaphragm. ... Spinal adjustment and chiropractic adjustment are terms used by chiropractors to describe chiropractic approaches to spinal manipulation. ... This is an example of a training corset. ... Wasp waist (1885) Wasp waist by hip form girdle (1901) Wasp waist refers to a style of corset and girdle that has experienced various periods of popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries. ... A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. ... Spirella was a company which manufactured made-to-measure corsets. ... The Warnaco Group, Inc. ...

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