A widely believed misconception about Victorian fashion is that tight corsets and
bustles virtually crippled Victorian women.
Although almost all women in Europe and North America wore corsets, these corsets
were not nearly as tight as popular legend has it. The 17-inch (43-cm) waist that
later authors attributed to Victorian women was so rare as to be essentially mythical.
Corsets were advertised and sold in waist sizes ranging from 18 to 30 in (46 to 76
cm), and the laces usually provided another 1 to 2 in (2 to 5 cm) in back. Larger
sizes with waists measuring up to 42 inches (107 cm) were also available. There is
no evidence that corsets caused serious health problems, as is widely believed.
Women did wear a great deal of clothing during the Victorian Age, however, which
could have led to overheating and, in turn, fainting. An average woman of 1850 wore
a chemise (underslip), a corset, several petticoats, drawers (underpants), a two-piece
dress (consisting of a matching skirt and bodice), stockings, shoes, gloves, a bonnet
or hat, and any necessary outer garments, such as a shawl. The development of synthetic
dyes led to the popularity of extremely bright colors, which replaced the pastel
colors that were previously fashionable.
