4 April 1916: "No Other Garment Has So Much Power"

On this day in 1916, the W. T. Collins & Company clothing store, located at 335 E. Clayton Street, ran this ad to alert female Athenians to the arrival of a professional corsetiere the following Monday:

Sport corsets were first developed in Paris in 1898, and originally were cut high on the sides so a woman could sit to ride a horse without difficulty. The pressure of the corset was moved from the abdomen to the back, and encouraged a straighter posture and easier movement, allowing women to be more active than the tighter, more restrictive Victorian corsets of the 19th century. The new designs were called either "health" or "sport" corsets.

These 1916 styles advertised in the Athens Banner were heavily reinforced with elastic bands along the hips, allowing for easy sitting and movement but still providing a foundation for the straight, stylish skirts of the period. Their $3.00 price tag is approximately $60.50 in today's dollars. Many corsets after 1917 removed all metal boning due to metal shortages from the war, and most women found the new corsets to be both patriotic and far more comfortable.

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Mar. 1916 - May 1916 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Unmentionables: 250 Years of Underwear, 1720-1970 online exhibit for the Museum of Vancouver.
• Lingere in Vogue Since 1910 by Christina Probert in the general collection.
• Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations that Have Made Us Beautiful by Teresa Riordan in the general collection.
• Imaging American Women: Idea and Ideals in Cultural History by Martha Banta in the general collection.
• The Costume Collector's Companion, 1890-1990 by Rosemary Hawthorne in the general collection.
• Knitting Lingere Style: 32 Basic and Lingere-Inspired Designs by Joan McGowan-Michael in the general collection.
• Women's Health and Fitness: A Take-Charge Plan for Lifetime Well-Being by Prevention magazine in the general collection.
• For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich in the general collection.
• 1916 Sears, Roebuck, & Company catalog in Ancestry Library Edition via GALILEO.
• Underwear! by Mary Elise Monsell in the children's fiction collection.