A New Old Trend
2021
What is a better time than now to dress up when most of us aren’t leaving the house? With online shopping and internet use skyrocketing in the past year due to COVID-19, fashion trends are experiencing an indubitably interesting era, to say the least. This especially applies to corset tops, a vintage-inspired item that has been garnering attention from all corners of the market.
According to Google Trends, the term “corset top” has been on a steady increase since fall 2019. Since fall 2020 however, the term has reached a higher uptick than ever in searches reaching the engine’s figure of peak popularity.
Finding the source of where all of this is coming from requires a look into both the past and present to see the point where women’s history and TikTok come to an escapism-fueled head.
A Very Brief HistoryVogue UK reports that corsets can be traced back as far as 1600 BC. For the past five centuries, it has existed as a garment worn mainly under clothing to cinch and compress the waist and chest. Worn by all classes, mostly women donned the clothing item for the various useful reasons of bosom support and back straightening to cosmetic and fashion purposes of waist slimming and shaping. The styles and shapes of corsets changed based on the trends of the eras.
The 1920s featured the first radical change to the corset’s structure with the emergence of elastic and the trend towards natural body types. The subsequent decades of the 1900s failed to once again popularize the highly structured corset with more boning and rather transformed into wide-usage of shapewear, which, while slimming, is flexible and moves with the body discreetly underneath clothing. (Britannica).
Much discourse has surrounded the corset— the largest of it being the ethical debate of female oppression. Many have criticized the garment, labeling it as a torture device from the past used to deform women into an unrealistic, controlled societal expectation of female bodies. Others, however, see the corset as a beacon of feminist reclamation.
Mirabel Uzoho, designer and Etsy seller of the in-trend corset tops, is very outspoken about her views on the piece’s empowering abilities. She states, “Corsets have always been [used] to create a certain unattainable look and have been a weapon of oppression. But in the end, that history is what makes wearing a corset top so powerful and liberating. It’s an act of reclaim[ation].”
.jpeg)
The Influence Of Escapism and TikTokWhen examining the drive for us to sport this old-but-new fashion, a deep dive into what endlessly binging Austenian romances really represents is necessary. In the time of COVID-19, the stories of a seemingly flawless past universe feel almost painfully alluring. As the use of streaming services climbs during our time of social isolation, our imaginations are left to travel where our physical bodies can’t go. Imagining other worlds has quickly turned into adopting new aesthetics into daily life. Both Schlums and Uzoho cite increased screen time as pivotal factors in the corset trend.
Schlums bridges period dramas and social media when explaining the reason for the popularity of corsets stating, “I'm sure the rise of the cottagecore aesthetic on [TikTok] definitely pushed this trend. And then recently, I assume [it] comes from the influence of Bridgerton.”
The term cottagecore, which appeared circa 2019, represents the essence of a simple, rustic life that features the coziness of living in a secluded cottage. Schlums believes that the handmade aspect of this aesthetic speaks to an increased interest in sewing, especially corsets. The corsets commonly attributed to cottagecore often feature tight-lacing, straps, and bosom support.
Regencycore, a direct result of “Bridgerton”, first appearing as a search term in Dec. 2020, refers to the essence of Regency-era Britain. Described by Byrdie, the aesthetic drips with high culture and discreet sexual liberation. These corsets mirror those of the Regency era with a prominent focus on outlining the bosom and maintaining a natural-body figure.
On TikTok more than any other social media, the presence of cottagecore and regencycore is domineering. The hashtag #cottagecore boasts an overwhelming 5.4 billion views on the platform and #regencycore features an impressive 1.8 million views. Related terms to the two aesthetics total millions of views collectively. A single scroll through each of the “core” hashtags displays countless thumbnails of women wearing, you guessed it, corsets. The hashtag #corsettop has 34 million views and #corset 815.2 million. This expanding web has continuously pushed the trend of corset tops among viewers, encouraging them to partake, as Uzoho explains, “People have way more time to be on [social media] and be generally stuck in their PJs at home. I think corsets are a trend to take you out of a rut.” Additionally, Schlums says, “[Corsets] may also have to do with wanting to get really dressed up after we finally come out of quarantine. We've been living in sweats and I think everyone has the desire to go full-out and dress up, even if it's not necessarily ‘comfortable.’”
What Does It All Mean?With the popularity of this clothing item being mainly prevalent among young women, many questions are brought forth. How is this iteration of the fashion style different from corsets-past? What does this generation and modern-era gain from donning a style so old-fashioned?
Schlums, says “. . . Nowadays, people wear [corsets] because they look good. And with feminism, it's taking back that power. People wear it for themselves, it's not something anti-feminist.” Uzoho, who describes corsets as “tasteful” and “beautiful,” gives many reasons for adopting the piece into her personal style, stating, “I like how corsets make you feel. They boost your confidence, make you feel empowered, you stand taller, are dressed like a queen and I feel like I have my life a little better together.”
On the topic of feminism, Uzoho has even more to say: “We already have so many unspoken rules, weird dress codes, and guidelines surrounding gender and fashion. In today’s society, women get shamed for showing too much skin, not having the perfect body, being too loud, too colorful, and too ‘in your face’. I think this trend is an act of reclaiming, reconstructing, and redefining your own sexuality, identity, and femininity.”
In Conclusion. . .There is no doubt that the corset top trend is in full swing. The grandiosity of the piece gives us both the ability to upgrade from mundane loungewear and to feel connected to a more romantic existence. Joining the very long ago past with the confusing present works perfectly in a time when nothing really makes sense.
The only consideration to make is your own relationship to the potential feminist dilemmas this trend presents. While the decision to wear or not to wear is, for young girls especially, an understandably personal style choice, it is up to large brands to decide where the corset is carried. Already making its way into the fashion mainstream, displayed by Dior’s SS2021 Regency-inspired collection, the way corsets are reintroduced into fashion should be done attentively. There is a thin line between embracing controversy and reinforcing expectations, and we could do without a new body standard in a time when nobody even sees us.