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Did Dresses Always Have Pockets?
Symptomatically, in our times, apparel comes in a broad range of sizes and tones, which also applies to shapewear. As you’d expect, prevailing shapewear styles throughout centuries weren’t the exact reflection of what women needed but were instead mirroring male designers’ imagination about it. Wearing rigid materials used to craft shapewear that created a woman’s shape from scratch instead of shaping it — like unbreathable corsets and tight laces — wasn’t the female’s favorite part of the culture they lived in. The oldest shapewear was Minoans’ leather belts that date back to 1300 to 1450 B.C, designed to keep the waist small while highlighting breasts and hips.
The first true corsets, with the same «hourglass silhouette» scope, were seen in Europe throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. The materials used for evolving designs were stiff paste, metals, and linen reinforced with whale bones. Luckily, after decades of cultural and physical adjustments, stretchy, comfortable, size-inclusive, and classy shapewear is nowadays within our reach.
Over time, it became more relaxed, and brands started to listen and understand what women need and that they come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. A wide range of nude tones to reflect all skin tones is another fancy, innovative part of this industry’s offer.
