Bad Garb

[Evil_Little_Cupcake]

I wasn't making a joke i mean it he ia a garb Nazi! And yeah if done ight they coset should if right, but you try finding a corset that fits right if you where a big girl. Us big women wanna feel sexy just like the littl skinny girls. SO MEH TO YOU!  

[Dragostae]

That's the problem...most corsets aren't meant for voluptuous women (which I never got, honestly...it's supposed to keep things strapped in and pulled up). That, and corsets are undergarments.

I think too many people get the erroneous idea that corsets are overgarments from both burlesque (nothing wrong with that) or Ren fairs, both of which the SCA is not. Even in highly out-of-period Victorian England, seeing a n** of a corset was crazily scandalous. It's like running outside to your front yard in your nuddy-pants today to a crowd of your neighbours in the middle of winter. It's simply not period, nor appropriate.

I think it's fine if you want to wear them, but I'd rather not see them on the outside. As it stands now, corsetry wasn't something we saw until the 1600s, when they were introduced as stays. If you're like my friend Constance, who's all English Ren, it works. I've never seen her corset, just the effects of the garment.

Call me a Garb Nazi if you want (even though half my garb's cotton, machine sewn, and definitely out of period for my persona), but that's just my opinion.  

[Evil_Little_Cupcake]

I am a Bellydancig Pirate if that makes any sence. and i where a period shirt under my corset. so nothing is really poping out any where. plus i wear a bodice sometimes.  

[Dragostae]

But corsets are underwear, not overwear. That, and pirates are really out of the period the SCA covers.

(so says the gal from Constantinople, sixth century.)  

[Dragostae]

talnari forsaken

I have found a new low in garb history emo
jeans and long hockey shirt worn as a "very late period T tunic"
...

...you cannot be serious.

Dear lord.  

[Evil_Little_Cupcake]

I am Done Debating this you Nazis have you fun your way and i will my way.  

[Dragostae]

Don't lump me in with the Garb Gestapo. I just think that underwear should be worn underneath clothing, not over.  

[Lady Rayya]

corsets=underwear

I have one, and I wear it as such. as a more erm..... "endowed" woman than most, I find that when worn appropriatly, it makes me skinnier, feel sexier, and makes my husband look at me in a slightly wierd but definitely not unpleasant way. I just wear it under everything as it is meant.

NOT seeing it is actually more... interesting, shall we say? the men will wonder what you did, and be more eager to find out.

My question is this: How do you bellydance in a corset? I can move, sit down, and breathe, but belly dancing requires joints to move in a way not normally associated with corsetry....  

[Dragostae]

Lady Rayya

corsets=underwear

I have one, and I wear it as such. as a more erm..... "endowed" woman than most, I find that when worn appropriatly, it makes me skinnier, feel sexier, and makes my husband look at me in a slightly wierd but definitely not unpleasant way. I just wear it under everything as it is meant.

NOT seeing it is actually more... interesting, shall we say? the men will wonder what you did, and be more eager to find out.

My question is this: How do you bellydance in a corset? I can move, sit down, and breathe, but belly dancing requires joints to move in a way not normally associated with corsetry....

Rayya...

Among other things. razz

And I agree. That's my biggest question of all. (And you can at least breathe...I can't even do that!)  

[Lady Rayya]

mine was made by Sashatec... he is a master of all things wearable ... I like late period corsetry  

[Dragostae]

There is a very good reason why I went early period. Corsetry drives me buggy, and not for lack of trying.

I had a production where I had to be corseted, and I learned from that to never trust those deathtraps ever again.  

[Berzerker_prime]

Uhm, Cupcake... I think if these folks were garb nazis, they would have to ban themselves from events. I know I would, for sure.

Garb nazis are, by unspoken definition, people who say "if you can't document it, you can't wear it." There are a lot of things that seem completely innocuous when it comes to garb that are not technically documentable. A lot of jewelery falls into this category, since I'm fairly certain lobster-claw clasps are not period. That doesn't stop people from wearing necklaces.

Corsets are one of those things that seem innocuous but can get you into trouble really quickly. Even in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, a corset was underwear and a proper lady would never wear one visibly. Wearing one visibly is more an artifact of turn-of-the-century Burlesque. That being said, no one here is haranguing you for wearing one in whatever style you so choose. We just want to be certain you are aware of its history. Learning is, after all, the primary function of the SCA.

Sarah T. Foole.