The 18th and 19th century

Undergarments and ideals

Something that was very common during this period of time was crinolines, corsets and petticoats. It was fashionable to have a waist that you could wrap your hands around. (Observe, hands!!) Women would use corsets daily since very young ages and they would wear them so tight that their organs would move and disrupt. Some women would even punch their ribs so that they would break and they would have an even smaller waist. Then they would just let their broken ribs rattle and clash inside their bodies. It was very common that women died in their twenties, because  their organs shut down or if their ribs destroyed other organs.

   

Fashion and paintings

The fashion during this time was big and dramatic and it would look very luxurious and elegant. Ruffles, bows and ruche became more popular and fashionable. In the 1850´s, Empress Eugénie of France wore 103 ruffles on her ball gown.

A lot of painters and artists throughout history "beautified" their models to make them look more like the ideals that were at the time. Below, is a painting of Eugénie by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in 1854 and a photograph of Eugénie in 1854.

Marie Antoinette, 1780´s

   

 

xoxo