The+Edwardian+Corset

The Edwardian Corset is the corset style that emerged at the turn of the 20th century, after concerns about the safety factors of the Victorian Corset were raised. The Edwardian Corset (also called the S-curve,health corset, straight bend or swan bill corset)

__Materials__
 * Some of the same materials from the Victorian Corset were used
 * Less boning/steel was used
 * Some corsets also only used quilting and cording as its means of support in place of steel or whale bones

__The New Silhouette__
 * The Edwardian Corset forced women into a new, less natural type of body posture. [[image:1900_Corset_vs_1800.gif width="406" height="692"]]
 * As seen in the image, the Edwardian Corset forced a woman's hips much farther back then proper alignment of the body would allow, and also pushed the bust forward to maintain the illusion of large hips and bust with a small waist.

__The End of the Corset as a Mandatory Undergarment__
 * The Edwardian Corset is the last corset that is used ubiquitously as an undergarment. This is due to many reasons including
 * The World Wars (steel was in short supply, and every bit was needed to create weapons/artillery)
 * The Flapper Era praised a less curvacious woman's figure, so girdles and brassieres fell into favor
 * However the corset does see a revival as a fetish garment in the late 20th century, but it is not worn as an undergarment at all times, but instead worn on its own to garner sexual attention of some kind.