History of Corsets & Girdles
The corset returned to the center of fashion in the 1860s, and etchings of the demimonde at race meetings of this decade show that corsets were universal for women. In the mid 1870s long corsets dominated fashions and were used as a disciplinary tool as well since they made the wearer more decorous in their movements, and more restrained generally. Corsets for both appearance and discipline became popular for boys and girls alike. The corset came into full flower in the 1880s and 1890s, being worn over a petticoat, and made in beautiful materials such as silk and satin, richly decorated with frills and appliqués.
The recently discovered disciplinary function of the corset came fully into vogue as the 'Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine' advised, "If you want a girl to grow up gentle and womanly in her ways and feelings, lace her tight." And the wisdom of that advice mothers and nannies soon realized applied equally well to boys.
Corset Training
At present I am supplying corsets for eight children, five are girls
and three are boys. The boys' mothers have decided on corsets for them for
discipline or figure training reasons. Two of them, one boy and one girl,
although they wear different clothes at school and in public, at home, their
mother always dresses them identically, either as girls or effeminate boys,
and the children like this. Both now have laced corsets so their mother can
train their figures the same way, so they can continue to wear the same clothes
for as long as possible. Their mother maintains that while they are still
children they should he treated, as much as possible, alike. I make very little
distinction between boys and girls when corseting them. Before the age of
about 13 their figures are similar, and in addition, at that age, being corseted
makes a boy feel somewhat girlish, and I believe this is important in training
him to be well behaved, submissive and obedient. There is no doubt corsets
have this effect on a boy. Many boys, and indeed many girls too, who are
brought to me to be corseted are somewhat rebellious and difficult at first.
Once they are in corsets however, this resistance seems to fade and they
become demure and much more amenable to their mother’s wishes. This applies
even in the case of a male, by treating him as one would a girl, and even
when he is not in a dress or girls' clothes, he should be made to wear heavily
frilled nylon panties, a pretty panty girdle and a girls' short lacy half-slip
under his ordinary boys' clothes. The girlish feel of his lingerie will start
to teach him and remind him that defiant masculine ways are not acceptable.