imported>MikeEnnen: Fixed broken link to thomaspaine.org page "Did Thomas Paine make corsets for a living?".

2025-08-10T00:09:50Z

Fixed broken link to thomaspaine.org page "Did Thomas Paine make corsets for a living?".

New page

{{Short description|Specialist tailor who makes corsets}}
[[Image:Planche II Interieur de la boutique d'un tailleur de corps(cut).png|300px|right|thumb|Corsetiers cutting out and fitting in the 18th century]]

A '''corsetmaker''' is a specialist [[tailor]] who makes [[corset]]s. Corsetmakers are frequently known by the French equivalent terms '''corsetier''' (male) and '''corsetière''' (female). '''Staymaker''' is an obsolete name for a corsetmaker.

==Design and distribution==
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2023}}
The best corsetmakers are highly skilled tailors with a knowledge of [[Human anatomy|anatomy]] that enables them to make well-fitting, long-lasting corsets. Corsetmakers who reproduce historical styles must be familiar with historical fashions and [[costume]]s that span centuries of history. Individual corsetmakers often favour a certain style, and frequently have differing theories and opinions about the physical impact and benefits of various corsets, thereby influencing their corset design and creation.

[[Image:Barcley custom corsets02 .png|350px|right|thumb|Corsetiers cutting out in 1928.]]
The main consideration of corset design is duration of use. For short-term use, e.g. used for a special event such as a [[wedding]], a corset will be worn briefly and so is not subject to wear, therefore need not be of the highest quality of construction. For long-term use, e.g., by [[tightlacing]] or waist training, corsets must be made to exact standards and are best custom-fitted and designed for the individual wearer. Single weakness or flaws tend to be visible. Some custom-made gowns have corsets built into the design; a talented [[dressmaker]] may also be a skilled corset-maker.

Some companies had travelling saleswomen, corsetières who ordered the tailored corsets from the company. Well-known are [[Spirella]] (1904–1989), [[Barcley]], and [[Spenser company|Spenser]].

==Notable corsetmakers==
*[[Roxey Ann Caplin]] - British writer and inventor<ref>[[s:Caplin - Health and Beauty (1864)/Appendix A|MADAME CAPLIN'S INVENTIONS FOR THE ADAPTATION OF THE DRESS TO THE BODY; THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH; The Cure of Deformity, and the Display of Beauty.]]</ref>
*[[Catherine Allsop Griswold]] - a Connecticut corsetmaker who held 30 patents, the most of any woman in America at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1992/1/1992_1_22.shtml |title=AmericanHeritage.com / THE CHAMPION OF WOMEN INVENTORS |access-date=2008-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113140854/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1992/1/1992_1_22.shtml |archive-date=2008-01-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://staff.lib.muohio.edu/shocker/FemInv/most.html Most prolific women inventors - 1790-1895] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704190756/http://staff.lib.muohio.edu/shocker/FemInv/most.html |date=2008-07-04 }}</ref>
*[[Thomas Paine]] - American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He trained to become a staymaker as a teenager, as it was his family trade, but did not stay in the profession after his teen years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Did Thomas Paine make corsets for a living? |url=https://www.thomaspaine.org/resources/did-thomas-paine-make-corsets-for-a-living |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=thomaspaine.org |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{commons category|Corsetiere}}
*[[Corset]]
*[[History of corsets]]
*[[Hourglass corset]]
*[[Tightlacing]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Books==
* Doyle R. (1997)''Waisted Efforts, An Illustrated Guide To Corset Making''. Nova Scotia, Sartorial Press Publications, {{ISBN|0-9683039-0-0}}
* [http://www.haabet.dk/TightLinings_andBoning/index.html ''Tight Linings and Boning'' Mary Brooks Picken, 1920] [https://web.archive.org/web/20200129032747/http://www.haabet.dk/TightLinings_andBoning/index.html Archive link]
* [http://www.haabet.dk/The_Practical_Corsetiere/index.html ''The Practical Corsetiere'' Mme Ruth A. Rosenfeld 1933] [https://web.archive.org/web/20210126150121/http://www.haabet.dk/The_Practical_Corsetiere/index.html Archive link]
* The Basics Of Corset Building, A Handbook For Beginners by Linda Sparks (Author) {{ISBN|0-9737358-0-5}}
* [[s:Index:Caplin - Health and Beauty (1864)|Caplin - Health and Beauty (1864)]]

{{Corsetry}}

[[Category:Corsetry]]
[[Category:Artisans]]

Corsetmaker - Revision history

imported>MikeEnnen: Fixed broken link to thomaspaine.org page "Did Thomas Paine make corsets for a living?".