--- [log in to unmask] wrote:
> There
> were also fainting couches (bed) which, because of the tight corsettes women
> wore cut of circulation and breathing so women would inevitably faint while
> wearing them, especially the wealthier women, who to them image was
> everything.

This is another misconception about the time period. "Tight" corsets were the
extreme exception, not the rule. The main thing a corset was designed to do is
change your shape, not make you noticably smaller. It can't be done no matter
how hard you try. I have yet to see any strong evidence that tight lacing was
done as nearly as often as people think it was. What you do see are charactures
of the time of women tight-lacing but these were poking fun at the fashion
conscious, not recording something that was widely practiced. Anyone that has
worn a corset knows that if you lace too tight, you do faint and no one wants
to do that on a regular basis. If Scarlet really did lace her corsets as
tightly as was protrayed in "Gone With the Wind", she'd be unconscious within
minutes of lacing up. Women might have been fashion conscious, but they also
wanted to remain that way - conscious. No one looks good constantly passing out
and besides, you can't enjoy the envious looks of your fellow women while you
prominate around either.

And for some periods of the 19th century, namely the first quarter, the
high-waisted fashions didn't use corsets or used very light ones. Other styles
didn't use such structured corsets either. Some outfits even had built in
boning so a corset wasn't necessary.

I'd be interested to know if anyone has done any research on women fainting and
other causes than tight corsets and how that myth got started. Perhaps it was
for pregnant women who became dizzy, the ill or when it was especially hot out.
Or was it another misnomer for a small couch that one could sit on whether or
not she fainted.

Deb

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