How the Victorians Faked Tiny Waists (without fainting!)

Fascinating
Thanks!

Your hand sewing videos are fantastic and really work, thanks

No on can say shit about the butt pad spanx now. 😂

You’re so funny, I truly enjoyed this video🥰I love history & women’s feminine style.

Thank you I feel soooo much better now that I know all this 😅

I have a musculoskeletal disability and I used to be a Civil War reenactor. I used padding to engineer my corsets to my disability. Then I found out later that so-called "normal" women were padding their corsets in the 1850s and 1860s too. I felt vindicated.

With the orange band you look great with a very small waist! 😅😊

The example of holiwood stuffing around their actresses that annoys me the most is lilly in Cinderella.

Interestingly I recently got into sewing from old patterns - and I’m finding that the patterns were all sizes like 22” or 24” waists - and while there isn’t much in the way of seeing instructions in these old patterns (I guess all women knew how to sew!), they say that these skirts are meant to be worn with proper undergarments - basically saying you need to be sure to wear your corsets. Also - remember that people in those days didn’t have the abundance of food we have today - people were naturally smaller, had more physical labour, and rarely were overweight. So while those ridiculous 18” waists were likely not too common, having a 22 or 24” waist likely was much more common than we see today.

I had a 23" waist when I was 13. I had almost reached my adult height. 60 years later, multiple pregnancies, it's 28" today (I just measured it.)

Also corsets were to keep good posture not to make your waist smaller. Tight liners were kind of like corsets but they were for making your waist smaller. Some people would get corsets that were too small bc they were cheaper and would do the trick.

When hou put on the widw band it made your waist look so tiny. I was shocked!

I love the Guinea pig portraits in the background. So cute. And thanks for the good info!

I love that, you’ve been doing this for literal years … I’ve been WATCHING for literal years and yet you continue to teach me things.

Hi best friend, I love how sensitive you were about body types and body image. This is strangely comforting... I grew up with the skinny cult in full swing and it's done a number on me and my peers for sure. I still want an hourglass figure, maybe I'll start padding rather than trying to stay away from delicious treats!

I love corsets, i have a short solid core but not an hourglass figure. Im an inverted triangle so the top of the hourglass is there but ahem the bottom is very wanting. Once i got my body shape understood i started adding lowered peplums to elongate my short torso and make the illusion of hips and bum. Now i can convey am hourglass rather than a lolipop. 😅

This is fascinating!! Great information! ❤

As someone built like a rectangle who loves history i quickly solved this mystery by myself through my own tricks which i use on my own clothing to make me look more hourglass 💀

Very informative and interesting!

Awesome video! Great visual explanation of the Victorian waist. Even the ad was stylish and fun to watch. Thank you!

I think we have a lot of misconceptions about the past. Thanks for doing your part to clear them up. 😆

The hamster is an excellent touch :)
Also the VPN advert was amazing! And also you've given me hope on ways to help manage my dysphoria around my hips and waist that doesn't necessarily involve surgery and those risks. Thank you for that so much!

Thank you so much for this.
I love corsets, and have a large ribcage, wide hipbones, and high muscle mass (with a proportionally small waist).
I didn't understand that all these traits combined were the reason behind corsetry fitting me the way it was, and why I need longline underbust corsets to have them alter my shape into anything other than a tube.
I have a congenital spine defect. In the past, I found that wearing corsets helped me, but they weren't comfortable.

This video genuinely changed my perspective. Your work is very much appreciated.

We've been catfished by our GG grandmothers 😂

Many women were smaller. My mom and her best friend were born in the late 1920's. Both had 18 inch waists as teens, without corsets or girdles. Food was costly during the Victorian era, so most people did not get excess calories. Wages were incredibly low.
Ironing, washing, scrubbing, canning etc kept women active, unless they were wealthy. Of course, middle aged women's waists were bigger, but an 18 inch waist isn't rare. As a teen, I was 36-22-36, but I was about 15 pounds too heavy! At age 21 I went down to my ideal size 34-22-34. I think more young women would have the hourglass figure if they ate right and exercised, but some will be shaped like pears with big hips and thighs. Its nice to know these tricks to get an hourglass figure!

I love your jacket 😍

Okay so now I want a corset 😂

I clicked on this video, not because I wear corsets or know anything about them, but because growing up my grandmother would always talk about how she had a 16 inch waist. I was a chubby kid, and have always had a larger figure even when I’m on the skinnier side. The least I can remember weighing is around 130 and that was when I had an eating disorder.. but anyway my grandmother would always bring up my weight and talk about how if she had a 16 inch waist then I could too. This video made me feel so much relief.

Please please, where is your tweed jacket from? I've been looking for something timeless like this for years! ❤

It's also very important to note that garments were made for the individual during that time period, if you bought something from a shop it would likely be tailored to you, which also enhances the shape and fit of something. Celebrities and influencers now have clothes tailored, which helps that illusion that they are small because the clothes are also fitted to them, a regular person buys clothes from a store and can't afford to have them tailored, which is why this kind of look is unobtainable without ingenuity on the individuals part as well.

Victorian photoshop! 😂

You’re amazing ❤. Thank you for this

I actually naturally do fit that measurment of waist being 10inch smaller than bust and 15inch smaller than hips. Without even any bra or anything to snatch my waist, it's not that outrageous. I'm not thinnest, my waist is still 32inches, I wear EU size large. So if I did put on a corset, I could get a big difference with very little reducing.


And this is not like "uuu I got this" it's just "yeah, those are realistic measurements"

The Victorians would probably be proud of how much they've tricked us

But where did you get your blazer?

So the question remains - is she an exceptionally small person or is that an unusually large pot? Excellent illustration 😂

Question…….once the corset is on, do your breasts stay under the corset or are they brought out on top of the corset?? Sorry if this is a silly question 🥴

👍🏻👏

OOh I could get the victorian shape easy! My waist is already 12 inches different to my hips! I just need to take 3 inches off my waist! (i'm also very soft LOL)

I love your videos.. i always find them informative and fun. Victorians are masters of manipulation! Best statement! They have made us belive it was very upstanding and "Godly" time. In fact it was very much the opposite, they put on a good front that even the people back then believe that shit too.

Wow, her hands are so pretty and pale

Saying women didn’t suffer in corsets when there’s literally documented proof of this is weird.

Also the language you use to normalize obesity and try to twist slim women into being the most affected by corsets makes no sense.

As someone who has been a size 4-18 in my lifetime (I’m almost 50) myself and anyone I know IRL who is overweight struggled more with corsets. Slim women are absolutely able to get better reduction there’s nothing in the midsection getting pushed up or down. Corsets weren’t more comfortable for those overweight lol

I really enjoy your content. I like the humor and historical accuracy. You've inspired me.

Your house is gorgeous! Loved the video BTW 😊

Lovely jacket

"why is that pillow wavy" 😂

Your skin is luminous

OMG, that last bit, LOL, I almost died laughing! Thank you for doing all of this for us ❤.

This blew my mind. I have always had a thin waist (24-5 inch) and much wider hips, like every woman in my family, and I have always been very self-conscious about it and have struggled with a lot of body dysmorphia. I still pretty much avoid wearing anything that accentuates this difference in anyway, particularly trying to hide the wideness of my hips in whatever way I can. I wish we could just stop idealizing one body type (whatever that would be) over all other body types.