Artifact: Woman's Corset (Stays)
Materials: Silk moire, silk cording and ribbons, linen lining
Dimensions: Center back length: 15 in.
Date: Circa 1730-1740
Origin: England
Collection: LACMA
License: Public Domain
Ledger Entry: Woman's Stays
Department: Clothing
Customer: Nathanial Smith
Ledger Page: 111
Imported From: Most of the clothing accessories sold in the Ramsay store would have been imported from England.
Product Description
Stays are a form of undergarment which utilize stiff boning to alter the wearer's posture and body shape worn in the eighteenth century by women and young children. Eighteenth century stays molded a woman's torso into a conical shape resulting in a thin waist tapering up to support the bosom. The level of shaping caused by the stays varied based on the fashion, function, and the class of the woman. Women dressing in the height of fashion laced their stays tightly to achieve the desired effect, but for every-day practicality and especially for working women looser less restrictive stays were also available. Several credits to women customers for stays mending in Ramsay’s accounts indicate that some form of staymaking or repairing was associated with his business.
Citation: Linda Baumgarten. Eighteenth-Century Clothing at Williamsburg. (Williamsburg, Va: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1986),18.;
Historical Price: 2 pounds, 11 shillings, 6 pence; Modern USD: $577
Product Variations
