A wiggle dress gets plenty of attention, but we think its supporting cast deserves a little applause. Beneath those fitted bodices and curving skirts, vintage foundation wear has always had a job to do—and few pieces bring everything together quite like a corselette.
With our corselettes back in natural leopard, pink leopard and black velvet, it seems the perfect moment to get better acquainted. There’s history behind those suspenders, along with some very good reasons to give this all-in-one a place in your lingerie drawer.
What is a corselette?
A corselette, sometimes spelled corselet, is a foundation garment combining a bra and girdle in one piece. Traditional open-bottom styles also have attached suspenders, bringing bust support, body shaping and stocking-holding duties together.
Instead of finishing at the bra band or starting at the waist, the garment continues down the torso and over the hips. That uninterrupted construction is central to its appeal: you don’t have a separate bra and girdle meeting, overlapping or leaving a gap around your middle.
Our Revival corselettes have lightly padded cups, adjustable shoulder straps and six adjustable suspenders with metal clips. Their stretch bodies are designed to fit closely and shape, with a step-in construction that needs no fastenings.
From the 1920s to the curves of the 1950s
The corselette wasn’t invented for the wiggle dress. Earlier versions were already being worn in the 1920s, when fashion favoured a straighter silhouette. Combining bust and hip control in one garment helped create the smooth line those clothes required, with elasticated or rubberised panels playing their part.
As fashion changed, foundation wear changed with it. The same all-in-one principle could be adapted to define curves rather than minimise them.
Christian Dior’s New Look, introduced in 1947, helped set the scene for the following decade, with its emphasis on a raised bust, narrow waist and fuller hips. Foundation garments were part of achieving those carefully considered proportions, whether beneath a full skirt or a closer-fitting dress.
The corselette’s appeal was practical as well as glamorous. Combining several jobs in one garment gave women a continuous foundation beneath their clothes. Developments in elastic fabrics also gave manufacturers more ways to create flexible shaping, although construction and firmness varied considerably between styles.
That is the vintage idea we still love: thinking about the lingerie and the dress as an outfit, rather than leaving everything underneath to chance.
Corselette or corset: what’s the difference?
Despite their similar names, a corselette and a corset are different garments.
A traditional structured corset uses boning and often lacing to shape the torso, designed specifically for waist reduction. A stretch corselette combines bust support with shaping through the body, bringing the hips into the same garment.
Our corselettes use a close-fitting stretch body and powermesh, with no lacing or fastenings. Choose one for an all-in-one foundation and a vintage lingerie silhouette; don’t expect it to behave like a waist-reduction corset.
Basques and bustiers overlap with some of these features, and lingerie terminology can be wonderfully inconsistent. Looking at the actual construction, length and fit will tell you more than the name alone.
Why wear a corselette today?
If you enjoy fitted dresses, pencil skirts or vintage clothing, a corselette gives you another way to build the line beneath them. The continuous body can help smooth the transition from bust to waist and hips, without adding a separate girdle waistband.
It also makes sense if stockings are already part of your wardrobe. With the suspenders attached, there’s no separate suspender belt to include in the outfit.
Then there’s the pleasure of the garment itself. Some lingerie earns its place by being useful; a leopard-print corselette gets to be useful while looking as though it might have rather interesting evening plans.
You don’t need to dress entirely in vintage to enjoy one. Try it beneath a contemporary fitted dress, or make it part of your favourite retro outfit. Check the neckline and straps against your dress, and try the two together: different fabrics, seams and textures will sit differently beneath close-fitting clothes.
Meet our Nottingham made corselettes
All three styles are made in our Nottingham factory, with lightly padded cups, adjustable shoulder straps and six adjustable suspenders finished with metal clips. Each steps on without fastenings and measures approximately 19 inches / 48cm from centre front to hem.
How to choose your cor
selette size
A corselette fits more of your body than a bra alone, so it’s worth checking both the bra sizing and the dress-size guidance.
Our styles use traditional +4 band sizing: add four inches to your snug underbust measurement to find the band indicated by our guide. For example, a 30-inch underbust points to a 34 band. You’ll also need to choose the appropriate cup size and check the body fit against the dress-size chart on the product page.
The stretch fabric is cut small to shape, so the garment will look smaller off the body than it does when worn. There’s no need to deliberately size down for extra control.
If your bust and dress measurements point towards different sizes, contact us before ordering and we’ll help you work through the options.
Our first three corselettes are back, with more to come. Whether you’re drawn to natural leopard, tempted by pink or already imagining yourself in black velvet, your stockings are about to find very good company.