Date: 1901
Origin: France
Brand: Mme Desbruères
This is an advertisement for the Corset de Faculté (“faculté” could potentially be translated to freedom, competence, power or faculty in English). Created by Madame Desbruères, the advertisement boasts that this corset is “straight fronted, very hygienic, suppresses the waist, and flattens the belly.” Beneath the illustration, readers are informed that “Upon request, all our readers will receive, free of charge, the illustrated booklet showing how to precisely take their own measurements. Just write to this renowned house: Jeanne d’Arc, 265, rue Saint-Honoré, Paris.”
The illustrated corset is highly decorated, with some sort of print for the body of the corset, ruffled lace trimmings, and what appear to be attached hose supporters. The woman in the drawing has the popular “Gibson Girl” bouffant, emblematic of fashion in the early 1900s, and the corset emphasizes the “S” silhouette of the early nineteenth century, which can be seen in many corsets and advertisements from the same time period, such as this catalog or this “Bust Improver and Corset.”
Many thanks to Katherine Shark for the object description and research.
From the collection of The Underpinnings Museum. Translation with thanks to Serindë Corsets.
