These corsets included an addition to the bottom that made skirts balloon out, thus exaggerating the appearance of a tiny waist. Corsets included heavy boning, made from wood, steel, or actual bones, to keep their shape.
Like any fashion choice, corsets went in and out of style. During the French Revolution, the English swore off corsets, for example, but for most of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, fashionable upper-class women regularly wore corsets as part of their ensembles.
As the waistlines of corsets moved up and down according to trends, their purposes changed. In the early 1800s, corsets had higher waistlines and primarily served to support the breasts, but by 1840, the primary function of the corset was to emphasize the waist by lacing the back of the corset very tightly.
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