I can't remember when I first heard about the Swiss Waist, Fashionable Reader.
 |
| From my personal collection |
Popular in the 1860s this was a boned belt, with at least one peak (either up or down). It usually laced like a corset, only up the front, sometimes is was exactly corset-like with a busk up the front and laces up the back. The Swiss Waist was worn
in addition to the foundation corset. It is, so far as I can determine historically, the only corset-like garment that was worn on the
outside of a dress.
 |
| Daguerreotype from my personal collection |
1860s The Victoria & Albert Museum Swiss Waist; my own version from Dark Garden
Here is a retrospective on the idea of the Swiss Waist. They aren't necessarily exactly this article of clothing, but they all suggest the peaks that I associate with this garment.
 |
| 1829 Kerry Taylor Auctions |
 |
| 1872 Godeys Sept 1872 Dicky |
Described as:
"Overwaist of blue silk, trimmed with black lace; it is to be worn over a black silk dress, and is very dressy and pretty." |
| Tea Gown 1875-1880 The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
,+Valentine+Cameron+Prinsep+_+British+Paintings+tumblr.jpg) |
| [stage costume] Leonora of Mantua (1873), Valentine Cameron Prinsep via British Paintings tumblr |
 |
| 1880 Striped Princess Bodice |
 |
| 1889 Evening Dress The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
1890-1895 The Goldstein Museum of Design; Liberty & Co. dress, 1893-94 From the Victoria & Albert Museum
 |
| 1895 Golf Ensemble The Kyoto Costume Institute |
1896-1899; 1900 Ball Gown Driscoll both The Metropolitan Museum of Art
 |
| 1900 Dress Jean-Philippe Worth, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| 1900s Gustave Beer, Antique Dress |
 |
| 1901 Ball Gown Jeanne Paquin, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
1900s theoryphotoart tumblr; on our merry way tumblr vintage-impressions- Portrait, ca. 1906
 |
| 1906-1908 Evening Dress Jean-Philippe Worth, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| 1940s Dress I. Magnin, Kerry Taylor Auctions |
 |
| v-isfor-vintage tumblr 1950s style sass |
 |
| 1950s Timeless Vixen Vintage blue |
 |
| 1950s Timeless Vixen Vintage |
 |
| 1950s Carrier airconditioning advertisement. via theniftyfifties tumblr |
And now for the modern age...
2013 Aigner Fall 2013 collection via nymag.com; 2013 Ralph LaurenSpring-2103
 |
| 2013 Nidhi Sunil in Jimmy Choo Over The Knee Boots. Vogue India, 10.2013 via Booted Up |
 |
| 2013 Willow cutout waist belt at theOutnet.com |
(A quick note, I had a whole piece prepped for today on wide belts and why they do and don't work on us curvy ladies, but blogspot ate it. I was particularly proud of it, but one keystroke and it's gone, no recovery. Note to self, do not use keyboard shortcuts in blogger! Argh. Anyway, I am hugely overworked theses days and have neither the time nor inclination to rewrite it. So we skip wide belts entirely, sorry....)
Retro Rack is also on
facebook where I post additional images and fashion thoughts.
