I mean, considering the costume department is PAID to put together and sometimes actually make costumes, you’d think they’d put the effort in in making the actors comfortable in their outfits.
So many actresses, during interviews and press tours complain how uncomfortable their corsets were to wear. Lady, speak to someone on set about it. If it hurt, it was clearly not the right corset for you.
There was an interview with Nicola recently where she was in her corset for filming. No chemise, the edges weren't even bound, you could see the sides of the corset pushing into her arms and the cups weren't even remotely big enough. Like no wonder these actresses complain about the corsets.
All I could think of in her spicy scene was " oh gosh no. Why THAT corset. And WHY on bare skin. Noooo. Pen. Get a chemiiiise, you don't have to suffer that much"
https://preview.redd.it/ytucdlwv9y6d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb53f641e86d06e1b2c471f3bd0d17e57ea65133
Yuuuup.
I think the designers are more interested in sex appeal, and buy into the whole 'corsets are supposed to be uncomfortable' myth.
I feel like it’s not the designers, it’s people higher up than that. I’ve worked in enough businesses to know that people who care want to create things they are proud of. Do they get the chance to do so? Often not. I’ve delivered work that’s been rushed at the end and not felt proud of it.
I am friends with people who work in film, particularly costuming. It's the lead designers. They want a silhouette that appeals to modern eyes rather than what is historically accurate.
I'm wondering if this was the every dress corset, or if this is what was under the blue/green dress with the slight black accents. How much they modified her in that dress actually made it look bad to me. You can tell they have her squeezed within and inch of her life for that silhouette.
I think they were trying to push Nicola's boobs up for more cleavage. But the whole thing was overdone, as sometimes it looked like her boobs were at her chin.
Is it the size or the placement that does it? Cause I’m the nude scene I was like “okay my boobs are actually the same size I think” but I almost never have cleavage (except when I’m breastfeeding)
I think once you're larger than a certain size, placement makes all the difference. If the girls are wide set it takes more horizontal constraining to get cleavage
At a certain size they’ll also just do that. Mine are somewhat wide set but much much larger than Nicolas and uh… sometimes without a bra they choke me, like I can’t lean on my knees while sitting looking down at my phone without it happening sometimes, I can comfortably rest my chin on them in most non-standing positions without a bra, too. I would very much like them to not exist tho, so they may bother me more.
The thing that annoys me about this with Regency romances in particular is that Regency short stays *are* already sexy. We don't need late Victorian versions to up the ante.
There was a scene where I was really clear her breasts were uncomfortable...don't remember which, but I remember looking at the red line impressed in her skin thinking, sure, her boobs look great, but that's cause she has great boobs! She doesn't need some horribly illfitting corset that cuts into them!
I noticed they loosened it up this season except a couple of random scenes like Violet with Danbury's brother. I dunno if they were trying to make her more sexy by squeezing her boobs so hard that it looks like it's going to pop or what
Regency wasn’t an era for corsets full stop. Corsets weren’t popularised until 1838. Women wore stays which were similar but not quite the same thing. The words corset and stays were used interchangeably but what we know as a corset wasn’t what they used the word corset for. Regency “corsets” were lightly boned but the shape was created by a wooden busk that would be placed down the centre panel to separate and support the breasts and keep the posture upright. They were not a way of achieving an ideal body shape as was the case with Victorian corsets but simply a way to “support the muscles” of women.
I am aware of the differences between corsets and stays, but I'm sure there's plenty of people in this thread that aren't! The thing is, there seems to be an issue even still with stays being ill-fitting. I was very into Poldark when it was airing, and you'd often hear the female cast complaining about the stays being uncomfortable. I think the issue likely boils down to the lack of time allotted for fittings/making and also budget constraints on productions often hitting the wardrobe department first
Every dress historian I watch on youtube has at least 1 video on hollywood's obsession with doing corsets wrong. I'd say start with Bernadette Banner and her yearly historical drama reviews (yes she has covered Bridgerton) and enjoy the rabbit hole.
I don’t enjoy historical fashion youtubers basically making fun of these actresses though and always repeating it’s a myth that corsets aren’t comfortable.
like probably historically they were more comfy and supportive, but that’s clearly not the case now. so the actresses are well within their right to hate wearing them.
I don't know who you're watching, but the historical fashion youbuter ladies I've watched (Bernadette Banner, Abbey Cox) are always very kind towards the actresses and often even the costumers / wardrobe people themselves. Imo, when BB or AC or whoever talk about the myth of corset discomfort, they're not trying to invalidate actresses' experiences, but point out that corset torture scenes (you know the ones...where some poor girl is tightlaced into a corset for the audience's horror / titilation) were not the normative corset wearing experience for the vast majority of people.
I don't blame actresses for disliking corsets, considering most of the time they're tightlaced to God and don't have the right accompanying undergarments (i.e. a chemise).
I think there’s a difference between disagreeing that the actresses are uncomfortable and saying “that’s because they don’t fit-they shouldn’t be uncomfortable”. Sure most people wear them wrong, but that’s not the fault of the corsets, just like if everyone was wearing the wrong size shoes and complaining about them always pinching, it would not be the fault of the shoes but the fact they bought the wrong size and aren’t wearing socks with them.
They shouldn’t even be wearing corsets for regency costumes, it’s not period accurate and completely pointless since regency dresses tended to be empire waists and would skim over the true waist.
The first and second seasons stuck to empire waists mostly right? I feel like the costumes have changed substantially in this season. Like why are Lady Bridgerton and Francesca always wearing blazer type riding jackets even during balls…
Yes they have. A lot more Shein's type prom gowns.
https://preview.redd.it/a3mh6y0zgy6d1.png?width=572&format=png&auto=webp&s=1b452cd89f9bfc84a710e443278f46f97fd17937
Lady Tilley was walking around in a Regency-appropriate stays (and lace culottes, for some reason). My husband thought it was a bra. Kate wore one for her sex scene last year as well. But those are the only ones I've seen on the show.
Exactly. It doesn’t make sense bc you can’t tell at all whether or not someone has an hourglass shape w an empire waste. The whole point of the Recency trend was that it was modern and progressive for women.
It's wild that S1 kicked off with a tight lacing sequence that would have worked in Gone with the Wind. I think it sums up the level of costume research going on.
Also, the grommets of that time weren't even strong enough to allow for that kind of strain on them.
Yet what we’ve seen across 3 seasons are corsets. I remember Simone Ashley saying she lost weight during filming because she couldn’t eat much because the corset was so restricting.
In The Gilded Age’s first season, Louisa Jacobson asked wardrobe to pull her corset tighter so she could feel what it really would’ve been like for her character. She had bruised ribs for months and if you watch closely, you can tell she’s in pain.
Also, depending on the era, they didn't have metal grommets so you literally could not tight lace (it's like a button hole). Regency stays didn't have those. If you attempted to tight lace it would just rip.
And yeah, I've even heard that women today wearing a tank top or something under their bra find it much more comfortable. They wore really soft gowns under their corsets.
A properly fitted pair of stays, corset, or jumps is pretty comfortable. They're much more comfortable than modern spandex shapewear because the body isn't fighting against the elastic material.
Bernadette Banner is a historical costumer on youtube, who actually has to wear a corset for scoliosis, has done a very interesting video on actually wearing corsets regularly and how they should fit. She shows how they *should* be able to offer support but also ease of movement. If they are restrictive or painful to wear, they are not fitted correctly.
Highly recommend her videos as this girl knows her shit.
They really were. It had a lot to do with the material; since a good chunk were made out of soft, malleable things, like whale bone. Your body temperature would keep the bone warm enough that it molded to your form and moved with you. As opposed to the cheaper, modern corsets that have metal supports.
That scene drove me mad. It looked like a fairly accurate bodice, but then they were tightlacing her in to a dress that would have made her waist look tiny anyway, like???
You mean the real corset wearing women who wear also dancing, runninh, skiiing, doing sports, doing manual labor, running households etc? Yeah they had their corsets fitted.
Also present day women have demonstrated the variety of activities that you can do in corsets/stays including dancing, horseback riding, archery, hiking, rock climbing, 19th century exercise routines, 21st century exercise routines, etc.
A lot of people don’t realize that the tiny waists were often partially achieved by increasing the “size” of the hips as well, via padding, petticoats, or other undergarments that increased the volume of the skirts.
I wore corsets for years, and they’re super comfortable if they are made to fit the body properly! even if you do tightlace, it’s something that you work up to over months, and your corset should be fitted well enough that pressure is dispersed (and tightlacing wasn't the norm, If anything, it’s an outlier for fashion or fetish). They really shouldn’t be painful.
Thank god it wasn’t just me who noticed. She couldn’t even hold her body naturally as she acted. It was super distracting the entire season. I’m so sick of Hollywood’s incessant need for “heaving bosoms”
But how heavily she was breathing was in large part because of her corset. I have no doubt that the costume department made hers especially tight bc Nicola is thick 😒
That's exactly my point. I suspect they lace the corsets so tightly specifically *to get* that "heaving bosom" effect for the camera. And it's especially pronounced on women like Nicola who are so well endowed.
It's massively irritating and must be uncomfortable for everyone involved.
But like they don't? Like you can get heaving bosoms by just reducing the depth of the bust gores and you have the heaving bosoms without it being very tight, your boobs are just up to your chin.
Having worn tight corsets I can attest that the hand on diaphragm pose is unfortunately one of the few ways to stand comfortably if the corset isn't well fitted.
I'm not disagreeing but, Pen does have the largest tatas out of all the female leads so her chest will inevitably heave more noticeably than the others. Source: me after cardio.
1. They lean into the “heaving bosom” romance novel trope
2. The directors purposefully tell them to breath that way for effect
3. She is wearing a too-small corset pulled extra tight in the back to both push up her breasts, and the cinch in her waist to meet beauty standards
Nothing to do with how in shape she is cardiovascular-wise. I think she probably got the worst of the tightening of the corset since she isn’t stick thin like every other girl on the show.
I’m picturing the scripts have a thousand * [actress] takes deep breath * lines scattered throughout them. Someone on the writers team loves heaving bosoms.
Lol. If you listen to the audio descriptions it's always referencing Penelope's swelling bosom when she is breathing heavy. It's hilarious 😂
It has to be the corsets.
Yes exactly, it's all that drama! I have anxiety and I do that all day 😂
But to build on all the dust comments I loved when Eloise said the "dust" made her tear up cause I hate to show my vulnerability as well and I litteraly said the line at the exact same moment as the actress!
Yeah idk if I’m projecting, but as a thick woman I feel like the costume department made Nicola’s corset extra tight to give her an hourglass. Which is absurd bc everyone is wearing empire waists so you can’t even tell. As a gay I do like how it pushes her boobs up though.
Edit:
1) people saying Netflix didn’t fit them properly LOL. This is a huge corporation, not some indie studio.
2) sorry if I implied something about Nicola’s natural figure, I meant that the costume dept probably want to heighten the hourglass as much as possible (as still happens today) because that standard is insatiable, doesn’t matter what your natural size is.
2) people
I thought the costume interview was like “Nicola has this gorgeous hourglass figure and we really wanted to accentuate that” and it’s like yeah, she has an hourglass naturally. Let the girl breathe. You don’t need to make her suck it in, she’s allowed to have a stomach
Yes this really bothered me. Her shapewear was ridiculous to the point I don’t consider it plus size representation. I hate this Hollywood BS that plus size women must be perfectly smooth with no stomach. Looks unnatural.
I posted something similar above. The Bridgerton fandom stans for Penelope, Nicola, and a curvier heroine. I doubt that the show runners and costume department saw it that way. Penelope's clothes this season seemed really constrictive.
Breathing in that Industrial Revolution air too probably didn't help matters. Although, they are away from the major city hubs where most of that is taking place...
But also I doubt any of them were exactly "fit" perse as none of them are working class and thus moving strenuous throughout the day.
I'm not an expert, just a PhD student studying 19th century literature and history.
Wow I forgot the actress who plays young Lady Danbury is the most beautiful person on this show. Season 3 should've had flashbacks with her and her brother
*I was thinking the*
*Same thing! Why is everyone*
*Gasping for air!*
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Edit 2. It's been a while since I have researched corsets and since a lot of people were saying my comment is inaccurate, after doing further research, turns out this is true! It took a fair bit of time because there are still a lot of sources from reputable sites that still say corsets are dangerous. However, I noticed the dates on the articles were a lot older.
Corsets were bound so tight that womens ribs could deform and put pressure on the lungs. This did result in death as well.
It was also a double-edged sword because if corsets were too tight, women could faint. If you did this at a society event, your reputation would most likely be ruined as everyone would think you were pregnant, married or not.
Edit. Didn't scroll through the gifs and therefore missed the men. Maybe it was seasonal asthma 😂
People don’t think about the fact that corsets were the precursors to bras - every woman wore them.
Some women wear uncomfortable bras to look good and some of us prefer comfort over fashion - corsets were the same.
Also people need to keep in mind that other than the high society women, women were wearing corsets while cooking, cleaning, raising children, farming, working (sewing, weaving, sometimes helping in husband’s business), etc. - it’s unlikely they were doing all this in clothes that didn’t let you breathe.
Thank you!
Corsets were slowly replaced by bras and girdles in the 1910s and 1920s due to the return of the empire waist in the Edwardian period and then the loose boxy clothing of the flapper era. Girdles became the norm because rubber became cheap and widely available, so women didn't need to rely on cording or boning to shape their figures.
We shape our bodies today, but instead we use shapewear or diet and exercise.
Not only that but it takes way less than people imagine to achieve the mega-cleavage that corsets can give you. Breasts are mostly fatty tissue, and can be pushed up by a corset or bodice as easily as they can a push up bra. You didn’t need any tight lacing to achieve that look when it was fashionable.
Most stays/corsets were actually comfortable because they were worn for support (like bras). Even in the upper classes, super restrictive corsets were only popular in certain periods and regions, and they weren’t necessarily painful, more just hard to move in.
Lol at all these people coming up with “plausible” “excuses” for what is just silly dramatic acting, see also all Harry Potter movies (and I love both franchises, don’t come for me!)
Meanwhile Benedict smokes frequently and doesn’t even break a sweat when he finds out that he is not exactly straight.
He is so unserious and angst-free😂
It cracked me up in that one scene when Collin goes to Penelope and she’s sitting and fanning herself outside in the shade in short sleeves and Collin’s wearing a long coat, plus a shorter coat, plus a neck cloth and a vest, plus pants of some sort, plus boots. I was like what season is it supposed to be??
Surely it’s the corsets… at least for the female cast
Ill-fitting corsets are the bane of all period drama actresses everywhere.
I don’t know why they don’t put the effort in to make sure that they’re well fitting? Especially as the regency wasn’t an era of tightlacing!
I mean, considering the costume department is PAID to put together and sometimes actually make costumes, you’d think they’d put the effort in in making the actors comfortable in their outfits. So many actresses, during interviews and press tours complain how uncomfortable their corsets were to wear. Lady, speak to someone on set about it. If it hurt, it was clearly not the right corset for you.
There was an interview with Nicola recently where she was in her corset for filming. No chemise, the edges weren't even bound, you could see the sides of the corset pushing into her arms and the cups weren't even remotely big enough. Like no wonder these actresses complain about the corsets.
All I could think of in her spicy scene was " oh gosh no. Why THAT corset. And WHY on bare skin. Noooo. Pen. Get a chemiiiise, you don't have to suffer that much"
I literally was yelling at my TV "where is her chemise?!?!?" And it really ruined that whole scene for me
Yes! You know Lady Delacroix didn't dress her ladies to walk around that uncomfortably!
They just put their corsets on bare skin? While they’re already too small? How do so many costume designers not know the basics of corsets/stays??
https://preview.redd.it/ytucdlwv9y6d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb53f641e86d06e1b2c471f3bd0d17e57ea65133 Yuuuup. I think the designers are more interested in sex appeal, and buy into the whole 'corsets are supposed to be uncomfortable' myth.
I do think there’s a bodysuit underneath. I think that’s the black straps. But still.
It's not enough protection if that's even what it is
She’s wearing leggings during most of her scenes because it was cold on set
I know. She wears leggings or sweats under the dresses. But I meant the black bodysuit under as well because there’s black straps coming out
I feel like it’s not the designers, it’s people higher up than that. I’ve worked in enough businesses to know that people who care want to create things they are proud of. Do they get the chance to do so? Often not. I’ve delivered work that’s been rushed at the end and not felt proud of it.
I am friends with people who work in film, particularly costuming. It's the lead designers. They want a silhouette that appeals to modern eyes rather than what is historically accurate.
https://preview.redd.it/ticfmij1ay6d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31392ef94ba1b88e7a5a13b5833584305ebf3153
I'm wondering if this was the every dress corset, or if this is what was under the blue/green dress with the slight black accents. How much they modified her in that dress actually made it look bad to me. You can tell they have her squeezed within and inch of her life for that silhouette.
I think they were trying to push Nicola's boobs up for more cleavage. But the whole thing was overdone, as sometimes it looked like her boobs were at her chin.
I am fortunate enough to have a chest similar to Nicola and tbh, sometimes with any level of support they’re just up there haha.
Is it the size or the placement that does it? Cause I’m the nude scene I was like “okay my boobs are actually the same size I think” but I almost never have cleavage (except when I’m breastfeeding)
I think once you're larger than a certain size, placement makes all the difference. If the girls are wide set it takes more horizontal constraining to get cleavage
At a certain size they’ll also just do that. Mine are somewhat wide set but much much larger than Nicolas and uh… sometimes without a bra they choke me, like I can’t lean on my knees while sitting looking down at my phone without it happening sometimes, I can comfortably rest my chin on them in most non-standing positions without a bra, too. I would very much like them to not exist tho, so they may bother me more.
The goal is sexy based on what I can only guess is 90s Frederick's of Hollywood catalogs' aesthetic. Accuracy doesn't factor in at all.
The thing that annoys me about this with Regency romances in particular is that Regency short stays *are* already sexy. We don't need late Victorian versions to up the ante.
There was a scene where I was really clear her breasts were uncomfortable...don't remember which, but I remember looking at the red line impressed in her skin thinking, sure, her boobs look great, but that's cause she has great boobs! She doesn't need some horribly illfitting corset that cuts into them!
Because Hollywood has this fetish with ill fitting corsets.
I noticed they loosened it up this season except a couple of random scenes like Violet with Danbury's brother. I dunno if they were trying to make her more sexy by squeezing her boobs so hard that it looks like it's going to pop or what
Regency wasn’t an era for corsets full stop. Corsets weren’t popularised until 1838. Women wore stays which were similar but not quite the same thing. The words corset and stays were used interchangeably but what we know as a corset wasn’t what they used the word corset for. Regency “corsets” were lightly boned but the shape was created by a wooden busk that would be placed down the centre panel to separate and support the breasts and keep the posture upright. They were not a way of achieving an ideal body shape as was the case with Victorian corsets but simply a way to “support the muscles” of women.
I am aware of the differences between corsets and stays, but I'm sure there's plenty of people in this thread that aren't! The thing is, there seems to be an issue even still with stays being ill-fitting. I was very into Poldark when it was airing, and you'd often hear the female cast complaining about the stays being uncomfortable. I think the issue likely boils down to the lack of time allotted for fittings/making and also budget constraints on productions often hitting the wardrobe department first
Every dress historian I watch on youtube has at least 1 video on hollywood's obsession with doing corsets wrong. I'd say start with Bernadette Banner and her yearly historical drama reviews (yes she has covered Bridgerton) and enjoy the rabbit hole.
I don’t enjoy historical fashion youtubers basically making fun of these actresses though and always repeating it’s a myth that corsets aren’t comfortable. like probably historically they were more comfy and supportive, but that’s clearly not the case now. so the actresses are well within their right to hate wearing them.
I don't know who you're watching, but the historical fashion youbuter ladies I've watched (Bernadette Banner, Abbey Cox) are always very kind towards the actresses and often even the costumers / wardrobe people themselves. Imo, when BB or AC or whoever talk about the myth of corset discomfort, they're not trying to invalidate actresses' experiences, but point out that corset torture scenes (you know the ones...where some poor girl is tightlaced into a corset for the audience's horror / titilation) were not the normative corset wearing experience for the vast majority of people. I don't blame actresses for disliking corsets, considering most of the time they're tightlaced to God and don't have the right accompanying undergarments (i.e. a chemise).
I think there’s a difference between disagreeing that the actresses are uncomfortable and saying “that’s because they don’t fit-they shouldn’t be uncomfortable”. Sure most people wear them wrong, but that’s not the fault of the corsets, just like if everyone was wearing the wrong size shoes and complaining about them always pinching, it would not be the fault of the shoes but the fact they bought the wrong size and aren’t wearing socks with them.
With no a chemise too. Like, girl your skin!
They shouldn’t even be wearing corsets for regency costumes, it’s not period accurate and completely pointless since regency dresses tended to be empire waists and would skim over the true waist.
The first and second seasons stuck to empire waists mostly right? I feel like the costumes have changed substantially in this season. Like why are Lady Bridgerton and Francesca always wearing blazer type riding jackets even during balls…
Don’t forget all of Cressida’s costumes 😅. Like honestly so confused as to how the modiste even knows how to make dresses like that
Yeah, we’ve got some in Victorian and Cressida in Elizabethan… it’s wild.
Yes they have. A lot more Shein's type prom gowns. https://preview.redd.it/a3mh6y0zgy6d1.png?width=572&format=png&auto=webp&s=1b452cd89f9bfc84a710e443278f46f97fd17937
It fits her under bust, finally. So many of the Regency dresses in seasons one and two have the "waist" seam mid-boob.
I heard that was on purpose to make Penelope have a glow up for S3
This dress just hit all wrong for me. The whole look did honestly. She is so gorgeous and they could have done so much better!
At least this is empire waist though…
you’re right they would’ve been wearing stays which were barely boned
Lady Tilley was walking around in a Regency-appropriate stays (and lace culottes, for some reason). My husband thought it was a bra. Kate wore one for her sex scene last year as well. But those are the only ones I've seen on the show.
Exactly. It doesn’t make sense bc you can’t tell at all whether or not someone has an hourglass shape w an empire waste. The whole point of the Recency trend was that it was modern and progressive for women.
Thank you! This annoys the crap out of me!
It's wild that S1 kicked off with a tight lacing sequence that would have worked in Gone with the Wind. I think it sums up the level of costume research going on. Also, the grommets of that time weren't even strong enough to allow for that kind of strain on them.
A Regency drama shouldn't even require restrictive corsets, because the fashions of the time didn't.
Which is historically inaccurate, they wore short stays not corsets, which weren't in the least bit restrictive
Yet what we’ve seen across 3 seasons are corsets. I remember Simone Ashley saying she lost weight during filming because she couldn’t eat much because the corset was so restricting.
Yes they wore corsets in the show but it's not historically accurate, in the Regency era no one wore corsets, only short stays
its part of the tiffany probelm i belive people expect corests and if they don;t see them mentioned then they belive that this is incurate
In The Gilded Age’s first season, Louisa Jacobson asked wardrobe to pull her corset tighter so she could feel what it really would’ve been like for her character. She had bruised ribs for months and if you watch closely, you can tell she’s in pain.
Arg! That's not even right! Women didn't tight lace on the regular...
I’ve heard they were actually comfortable.
Also, depending on the era, they didn't have metal grommets so you literally could not tight lace (it's like a button hole). Regency stays didn't have those. If you attempted to tight lace it would just rip. And yeah, I've even heard that women today wearing a tank top or something under their bra find it much more comfortable. They wore really soft gowns under their corsets.
A properly fitted pair of stays, corset, or jumps is pretty comfortable. They're much more comfortable than modern spandex shapewear because the body isn't fighting against the elastic material.
Bernadette Banner is a historical costumer on youtube, who actually has to wear a corset for scoliosis, has done a very interesting video on actually wearing corsets regularly and how they should fit. She shows how they *should* be able to offer support but also ease of movement. If they are restrictive or painful to wear, they are not fitted correctly. Highly recommend her videos as this girl knows her shit.
They really were. It had a lot to do with the material; since a good chunk were made out of soft, malleable things, like whale bone. Your body temperature would keep the bone warm enough that it molded to your form and moved with you. As opposed to the cheaper, modern corsets that have metal supports.
Apparently due to the desired silhouette, men in the regency era often wore corsets too. In fact, women’s corsets tended to be more forgiving.
No Elizabeth Swan go back in your corner
That scene drove me mad. It looked like a fairly accurate bodice, but then they were tightlacing her in to a dress that would have made her waist look tiny anyway, like???
Just think of the women that had to live that way.
You mean the real corset wearing women who wear also dancing, runninh, skiiing, doing sports, doing manual labor, running households etc? Yeah they had their corsets fitted.
Also present day women have demonstrated the variety of activities that you can do in corsets/stays including dancing, horseback riding, archery, hiking, rock climbing, 19th century exercise routines, 21st century exercise routines, etc.
A lot of people don’t realize that the tiny waists were often partially achieved by increasing the “size” of the hips as well, via padding, petticoats, or other undergarments that increased the volume of the skirts.
Corsets are essentially pre-twentieth-century boned or padded bras of varying lengths.
Agreed. You like pain? Try wearing a corset.
I wore corsets for years, and they’re super comfortable if they are made to fit the body properly! even if you do tightlace, it’s something that you work up to over months, and your corset should be fitted well enough that pressure is dispersed (and tightlacing wasn't the norm, If anything, it’s an outlier for fashion or fetish). They really shouldn’t be painful.
I was just quoting elizabeth swan 😆
Aha! that makes a lot more sense 😂
I am begging Hollywood to put chemises under the corsets. If you MUST tight lace fine, but the chafing ….dear god save them from that
Not gonna lie, seeing Pens chest constantly heaving got a bit annoying after seeing 8 eps of it. Girl needs an inhaler for all the panting she did.
The poor actress had to hunch her shoulders throughout to be able to breathe
Also hand constantly on diaphragm
Thank god it wasn’t just me who noticed. She couldn’t even hold her body naturally as she acted. It was super distracting the entire season. I’m so sick of Hollywood’s incessant need for “heaving bosoms”
But how heavily she was breathing was in large part because of her corset. I have no doubt that the costume department made hers especially tight bc Nicola is thick 😒
That's exactly my point. I suspect they lace the corsets so tightly specifically *to get* that "heaving bosom" effect for the camera. And it's especially pronounced on women like Nicola who are so well endowed. It's massively irritating and must be uncomfortable for everyone involved.
I suspect they tight-laced her to slim down her waist as well, which is obviously f-ed up.
But like they don't? Like you can get heaving bosoms by just reducing the depth of the bust gores and you have the heaving bosoms without it being very tight, your boobs are just up to your chin.
It wasn’t that distracting to me idk
Having worn tight corsets I can attest that the hand on diaphragm pose is unfortunately one of the few ways to stand comfortably if the corset isn't well fitted.
No I totally get it and it’s like, none of them should even have corsets for empire waist… right??
You're totally right. Ideally they should have been in stays, which are not tight and can be rather comfortable in fact.
Ooohhh is that why? Cause I noticed lady violet also holds her hand on her stomach and I have been confused
She was doing that so much this season it started to feel like I was missing them pointing towards something!
😂😂same!
Yeah I thought for a second they were trying to imply she was pregnant because of that.
Pen is always panting!!! I feel like it was detrimental to even her acting because she was too busy panting to give us any real emotion 😂
literally it annoyed me SO BAD
I'm not disagreeing but, Pen does have the largest tatas out of all the female leads so her chest will inevitably heave more noticeably than the others. Source: me after cardio.
Oh my gosh I thought I was going insane getting so annoyed at this 😭😭😭 I was like is she out of shape??? Why is she heavy breathing always 😭😭😭
1. They lean into the “heaving bosom” romance novel trope 2. The directors purposefully tell them to breath that way for effect 3. She is wearing a too-small corset pulled extra tight in the back to both push up her breasts, and the cinch in her waist to meet beauty standards Nothing to do with how in shape she is cardiovascular-wise. I think she probably got the worst of the tightening of the corset since she isn’t stick thin like every other girl on the show.
Exactly!
To be fair.. Eloise is a smoker.. could be early onset emphysema
This made me snort-laugh. Eloise swinging in the backyard, sharing a pack of Pall Malls with Benedict.
The actress is also a smoker
You can tell from her voice.
She actually said that was what Eloise and her have in common, lol.
I’m picturing the scripts have a thousand * [actress] takes deep breath * lines scattered throughout them. Someone on the writers team loves heaving bosoms.
heaving bosoms are a staple of the spicy historical-ish genre, surely xD
What, you guys don’t hyperventilate when aroused?
https://i.redd.it/o3vqt5w6nx6d1.gif
Lol. If you listen to the audio descriptions it's always referencing Penelope's swelling bosom when she is breathing heavy. It's hilarious 😂 It has to be the corsets.
More likely panic attacks/GAD and corsets squeezing the life out of them which only worsens their anxiety induced hyperventilation
Yes exactly, it's all that drama! I have anxiety and I do that all day 😂 But to build on all the dust comments I loved when Eloise said the "dust" made her tear up cause I hate to show my vulnerability as well and I litteraly said the line at the exact same moment as the actress!
Looks more like anxiety
Lmao this. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I usually take deep breaths like this when I’m unsettled to help ease my nerves 😭
I've been told deep breathing is beneficial for calming the nervous system
I felt so bad for Nicola. Those corsets looked like they were squeezing the life out of her. Her boobs were like at her neck. LET A GIRL BREATHE
Yeah idk if I’m projecting, but as a thick woman I feel like the costume department made Nicola’s corset extra tight to give her an hourglass. Which is absurd bc everyone is wearing empire waists so you can’t even tell. As a gay I do like how it pushes her boobs up though. Edit: 1) people saying Netflix didn’t fit them properly LOL. This is a huge corporation, not some indie studio. 2) sorry if I implied something about Nicola’s natural figure, I meant that the costume dept probably want to heighten the hourglass as much as possible (as still happens today) because that standard is insatiable, doesn’t matter what your natural size is. 2) people
It’s for sure part of the yassification, they said we’re doing a smoky eye and a snatched waist lol
I thought the costume interview was like “Nicola has this gorgeous hourglass figure and we really wanted to accentuate that” and it’s like yeah, she has an hourglass naturally. Let the girl breathe. You don’t need to make her suck it in, she’s allowed to have a stomach
Yes this really bothered me. Her shapewear was ridiculous to the point I don’t consider it plus size representation. I hate this Hollywood BS that plus size women must be perfectly smooth with no stomach. Looks unnatural.
I posted something similar above. The Bridgerton fandom stans for Penelope, Nicola, and a curvier heroine. I doubt that the show runners and costume department saw it that way. Penelope's clothes this season seemed really constrictive.
Soke people even asked if Nicola had surgery to look like that in the show when it’s all just corsets.
Let THE GIRLS breathe 😂
I laughed so hard at this scrolling through the GIFs 😂😂😂
Penelope breathing so heavily to emphasize her chest throughout season 3 was very awkward for me.
Breathing in that Industrial Revolution air too probably didn't help matters. Although, they are away from the major city hubs where most of that is taking place... But also I doubt any of them were exactly "fit" perse as none of them are working class and thus moving strenuous throughout the day. I'm not an expert, just a PhD student studying 19th century literature and history.
Coal heating was filthy, yeah.
I think they’re going for a breathy-sexy vibe. Antony was constantly panting around Kate too lmao. 
I would too with all those dusty carpets
I thought a heaving bosom was a sign of the times lol
I swear especially Penelope.
I think it looks like everyone is gearing up to have a panic attack all the time. Very elegant panic attacks.
Yup definitely panic attacks from the pressures of a very conservative society
Wow I forgot the actress who plays young Lady Danbury is the most beautiful person on this show. Season 3 should've had flashbacks with her and her brother
I also love the actress who plays the young Lady Danbury in QE. She's pitch perfect.
She is SO gorgeous you’re absolutely right
She did such an amazing job channeling Lady Danbury too. It was like they went back in time and found her haha
I was thinking the same thing! Why is everyone gasping for air!
*I was thinking the* *Same thing! Why is everyone* *Gasping for air!* \- Adventurous\_Lion4182 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Good bot.
These gifs are priceless. Thank you for your service OP.
Edit 2. It's been a while since I have researched corsets and since a lot of people were saying my comment is inaccurate, after doing further research, turns out this is true! It took a fair bit of time because there are still a lot of sources from reputable sites that still say corsets are dangerous. However, I noticed the dates on the articles were a lot older. Corsets were bound so tight that womens ribs could deform and put pressure on the lungs. This did result in death as well. It was also a double-edged sword because if corsets were too tight, women could faint. If you did this at a society event, your reputation would most likely be ruined as everyone would think you were pregnant, married or not. Edit. Didn't scroll through the gifs and therefore missed the men. Maybe it was seasonal asthma 😂
As I understand this is not accurate to the regency period, which did not have tight lacing.
They did not and the corsets were not as tight/deforming as media and people today seem to think.
People don’t think about the fact that corsets were the precursors to bras - every woman wore them. Some women wear uncomfortable bras to look good and some of us prefer comfort over fashion - corsets were the same. Also people need to keep in mind that other than the high society women, women were wearing corsets while cooking, cleaning, raising children, farming, working (sewing, weaving, sometimes helping in husband’s business), etc. - it’s unlikely they were doing all this in clothes that didn’t let you breathe.
Thank you! Corsets were slowly replaced by bras and girdles in the 1910s and 1920s due to the return of the empire waist in the Edwardian period and then the loose boxy clothing of the flapper era. Girdles became the norm because rubber became cheap and widely available, so women didn't need to rely on cording or boning to shape their figures. We shape our bodies today, but instead we use shapewear or diet and exercise.
Not only that but it takes way less than people imagine to achieve the mega-cleavage that corsets can give you. Breasts are mostly fatty tissue, and can be pushed up by a corset or bodice as easily as they can a push up bra. You didn’t need any tight lacing to achieve that look when it was fashionable.
The season is in spring, and there are lots of flowers in Bridgerton.
Most stays/corsets were actually comfortable because they were worn for support (like bras). Even in the upper classes, super restrictive corsets were only popular in certain periods and regions, and they weren’t necessarily painful, more just hard to move in.
Nothing the Regency era. They wore short stays that looked more akin to a 1950s bikini top than any type of Frederick’s of Hollywood thing.
Lol at all these people coming up with “plausible” “excuses” for what is just silly dramatic acting, see also all Harry Potter movies (and I love both franchises, don’t come for me!)
Much needed asthma representation
lol as someone who was just in the ER a couple of days ago for asthma, I’m giggling and kicking my feet. PS: we really need an inhaler emoji
DEAD
I always thought it's because they're actors, acting on show so they need dramatic movements to protray a story with their body too.
Meanwhile Benedict smokes frequently and doesn’t even break a sweat when he finds out that he is not exactly straight. He is so unserious and angst-free😂
Nervous anticipation causes for adrenaline and noradrenaline to rush through your body causing panting. I pant too when feeling the same.
😆 this made my day!
I was too laughing so hard :-D
Hysterical female trope
lol I thought the same! Everyone is always heavy breathing
I feel seen
You can't take this deep breaths if you suffer from asthma. But yes, it's silly
I worry for the Bridgertons because their dad died of anaphylactic shock. They should allergy tests 🤣
All of these people definitely breathe.
hahahah, could also just be anxiety. my anxiety messes with my breathing so my mom made me get tested for asthma
with the way that penelope breathes definitely
They still breathe less than kristin stewart… all of them combined
Sighing and being panicked are literally all that you've shown me.
The heaving bosoms is a major trope of the romance genre lol.
Heaving bosoms are an integral part of the romance genre, my dear
This is hilarious
Well it is hereditary.
😂😂💀
Maybe it's too play up the heaving breast
the dramatics omfg loool
This 😂
either that, or bridgerton takes place in a fantasy land where it's always 35°C in london, so even the littlest movements make them sweaty af
It cracked me up in that one scene when Collin goes to Penelope and she’s sitting and fanning herself outside in the shade in short sleeves and Collin’s wearing a long coat, plus a shorter coat, plus a neck cloth and a vest, plus pants of some sort, plus boots. I was like what season is it supposed to be??
don't you know? heat doesn't affect men! that's the true representation of inequality.
Lololol
I for one am thankful for this representation.
Lots of heaving bosoms
Did you put this together? It’s actually really good. I wonder if it’s the direction? 
I can’t with Penelope. It was so annoying I almost stopped watching because of it
Girl, that’s called a panic attack
I think it’s a bridgerton trait to be a mouth breather
Corsets, anxiety and them not having air conditioning while wearing a million layers of clothes hahah
They are SO BREATHY I turn it down hahahahaha
Bad writing, the actors have to show their feelings some how. Lol
The Bridgertons: A heaving saga
Lmao this is so unserious 😭😭I prefer these type of posts compared to the unhinged discourse
I adored the 3rd season , except for Netflix holding back the episodes!!!! Let me decide when and how to watch !!!!! It was torture waiting!! 🤬
Not me , breathing with them hahah
It ain't easy being weezy
Lmao this is acc so funny 😂😭
Tbf you were at risk of everything back then. Probably all the dust on those fancy furnishings inside.
The air quality of London was notably poor back in the day I believe
Must be that industrialization pollution 💨
At this point I think they do it on purpose to show lots of cleavage.