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    Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me about the Past, the Present, and Myself
    Unavailable
    Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me about the Past, the Present, and Myself
    Unavailable
    Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me about the Past, the Present, and Myself
    Ebook401 pages4 hours

    Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me about the Past, the Present, and Myself

    By Sarah A. Chrisman and Sue Lean

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    How a nineteenth-century garment changed the life of a twenty-first century woman.
     
    On Sarah Chrisman’s twenty-ninth birthday, her husband, Gabriel, presented her with a corset. The material and the design were breathtakingly beautiful, but she was not happy. Although she had been in love with the Victorian era all her life, she had specifically asked her husband not to buy her a corset—ever. She’d heard how corsets affected the female body and what they represented, and she wanted none of it.
     
    However, Chrisman agreed to try on the garment—and found it surprisingly enjoyable. The corset, she realized, was a tool of empowerment, not oppression. After a year of wearing a corset on a daily basis, her waist had gone from thirty-two inches to twenty-two inches, she was experiencing fewer migraines, and her posture improved. She had successfully transformed her body, her dress, and her lifestyle into that of a Victorian woman—and everyone was asking her about it.
     
    In Victorian Secrets, Chrisman explains how a garment from the past led to a change in not only the way she viewed herself, but also the ways she understood the major differences between the cultures of twenty-first-century and nineteenth-century America. The desire to delve further into the Victorian lifestyle provided Chrisman with new insight into issues of body image and how women, past and present, have seen and continue to see themselves.
     
    “Reading this book reminded me of just how much what we wear shapes us—both figuratively and literally.” —WORN Fashion Journal (Toronto)
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateNov 1, 2013
    ISBN9781628735628
    Unavailable
    Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me about the Past, the Present, and Myself

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    Reviews for Victorian Secrets

    3.5/5

    17 ratings2 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend this book to others. It is a personal journey of the author, and how wearing a corset changed her life. Whereas this is not a diet book, she learned to eat better and healthier and set boundaries on how much to eat at one time. She learned that smaller meals are actually healthier for you and you can still enjoy ice cream at times. This along with her exercising (walking or bicycling everywhere) she was able to lose weight in a healthy manor and to be able to keep it off. Also, because the corset causes you to “sit up straight,” her posture improved. Before wearing the corset the author describes herself as a less assured woman who slouched and was not noticed as much. However, once she posture had improved others perceived her as a confident, self-assured woman. The “side effect” of this is, she became that confident, self-assured woman. Another “side effect” is it appears to have to open a door to foster a better relationship with her mother.I like how she did the research on corsetery and addressed the myths like: “the removed ribs to make them that small.” I am a Living Historian and I wear a corset very often and I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that statement (and many of the other statements the author describes) and sometimes have to do some major convincing to people regarding how false these statements are. And as far as being on the receiving end of unkind statements, I understand how she was hurt by people who have been unkind to her. I have been on the receiving end all too many times. Yet she seemed to be very hard on them. It is very easy to be hard on them, but when we do, we stoop to their level and she has come too far to stoop that low.The author, along with her husband, collects vintage clothing and has done research on them. They enjoy showing them off to the public and have received positive responses when doing so. However, with all her research, why doesn't she talk about the chemise or wear a chemise under her corset? According to my research, and the research of many others, this was a very common practice to protect the corset from being soiled due to the fact that corsets are challenging to clean.There was a point when I became confused. It was when the author was addressing complaints that she has received from women who have never worn a corset. Was she criticizing reenactors, in general? Or, the women who have seen reenactors wearing corsets? And, if it was the reeanctors, what were these events, where these women were seen? Were they events like Renaissance festivals, where accuracy is not always encouraged or an event like an American Civil War reenactment, where accuracy is strongly encouraged? I am a “Living Historian” but because I mostly dress in the 1860’s style it is usually at events and it is sometimes easier to call myself a reenactor (in reality the guys who portray soldiers are the reenactors because they reenact the battles.) We portray, to the best of our ability, what civilian life was like. And outside our events many of us, including me, incorporate Victorian life in our everyday life. Many of us try very hard to be as accurate as we possibly can. Yet, I am also aware of the reenactors that think they are correctly portraying history, but aren't quite there for one reason or another, but we should not all be put into a category that assumes that all of us are incorrect. And I don’t think that is what that author is saying. I think she is saying she had not encountered too many people who are familiar with corseting. My hope is as her journey continues; she gets the chance to meet more people that want, and try very hard, to portray history accurately.Another story that the author shared was the one of the little Russian lady. It was cute story and I understand why the lady had trouble believing that the author was getting enough to eat. I have a dear friend that has Slavic blood in her and, as my friend informs me all the time, "I have the need to feed." It was cute that the author was referred to as a little doll.All in all, it was a wonderful book with interesting stories. I understand the author’s comment and feel the same way about the corset and clothing. They have never been a costume for me either. My final thought is; I hope this book will get others to think about the past and corsets in a more positive light and we can all enjoy incorporating a bit of the past into our futures.
    • 2/5
      Despite the fact that I found the subject interesting, and thought that the author had some valid points, I could not get past the fact that for almost the complete entirety of the book all that the author does is complain. Almost no practical information what so ever.

      1 person found this helpful