Retail Performance

Essentially a corset is made up of a bra and a mid section in one suite. They then tend to zip or button up at the back, and are generally very form fitting and usually quite tight. For a woman’s physique this is the perfect combination as they not only lift the breasts and push them together – making them look perkier and increasing the appearance of the cleavage, but also hold the stomach in thereby.

The corsets gave the illusion that a woman had rounded breasts, a voluptuous derriere and a "tiny" waist. Of course you could only get so small. They manipulated the body just as plastic surgery, stomach banding and liposuction do in our day and age.