Conservation Project: Costume Accessories, Corsets and Shaping Structures Photos

Woman’s stays, American, 1780s, Wool twill, linen plain weave lining, kid binding, plain weave silk ribbon, braided linen laces with metals tips, baleen boning, 34.3 x 33 x 26.7 cm (13 1/2 x 13 x 10 1/2 in.), Gift of Miss Ellen A. Stone, 99.664.11.

A corset held on an upright vertical mount.

Woman’s stays, American, 1780s, Wool twill, linen plain weave lining, kid binding, plain weave silk ribbon, braided linen laces with metals tips, baleen boning, 34.3 x 33 x 26.7 cm (13 1/2 x 13 x 10 1/2 in.), Gift of Miss Ellen A. Stone, 99.664.11.

An acid-free paper tube is surrounded by polyester batting to form an interior shape that supports and fills the corset as it would have been worn. The padded shape is covered with Tyvek. The corset wraps around the form and is tied in place by cotton twill tape. Soft pieces of blotter paper are used to cushion raised parts against the twill tape when needed. The tube fits over an insert inside a Coroplast box, which stabilizes the corset and protects its perimeter.

A design sketch of vertical supports used for shaping structures with boning.

Corset, American, 1960s, Cotton, lace, 33 cm (13 in.), Gift of Dorothy S. Zinburg, 1992.585.

A padded form made of polyethylene foam with polyester batting and cotton knit covering supports this bodice from the inside. The shaped form rests in spaces cut in the foam at the sides of the box.

A design sketch for the horizontal mount pictured above.

Corset, American, 1903, Silk satin, silk embroidered satin ribbon, metal bones, busk, and eyelets, 31.4 x 56.2 cm (12 3/8 x 22 1/8 in.), Gift of Mrs. David P. Wheatland, 1974.441.

Corsets like the one shown here do not require vertical or suspended storage. Instead, they are laid out flat on a padded mount wrapped in cotton or polyester stockinet. The mount for this corset is made of a corrugated board covered with foam and batting that is built up to fill voids in the corsets. Ribbons and lacing are rolled onto soft tubes of foam backer rod and acid-free paper.

Corselette, French, Silk, brocade, The Elizabeth Day McCormick Collection, 43.548a-c.

This three-part corselette is supported with individual shaped mounts under each section. The mounts are placed side by side in a protective tray.

Corselette, French, Silk, brocade, The Elizabeth Day McCormick Collection, 43.548a-c.

Each section rests on padded and fabric-covered corrugated boards.