The+Girdle

The girdle replaced the corset as the type of foundation garment preferred by women. This was due to new fashion trends (a curvacious figure fell out of favor and was replaced by the more modest or respectable silhouette)

__Materials__ Girdle seen with stockings and a non-attached brassiere
 * The girdle is made of an elastic fabric, not meant to constrict the figure or to push the breasts upward, but just to flatten the body into the desirable body shape
 * Some girdles used a hook and eye closure
 * Other girdles had hooks to attach the straps to stockings
 * Some girdles incorporated a brassiere

__The Girdle/Foundation Garments Today__ Today there are many types of foundation garments that women wear to achieve a more flattering/fashionable body sillhouette including
 * Brassieres
 * Pantyhose
 * Camisoles

However the girdle has seen a bit of a modern resurgence in the early 2000s due to the popularity of a shaping garment called [|Spanx]. Spanx have flooded the mainstream media, with popular magazines, celebrity tabloids and even such popular television programs as Oprah touting the garment's benefits. The brand stocks a wide variety of shaping garments, from those which just cover the waist, to suits that fit from the thighs to breasts. The popularity of this brand can be due in part to the popularity of thin, jersey type fabrics, which cling to the body, and women wish to eliminate their bodies' 'imperfections' with garments such as this. Spanx body shaper