#phoebe's look isn't great but at least the waistline is in the right spot

[youremyonlyhope]

Ok gonna go full historical costume nerd, those elements aren’t the same between the eras at all.

Regency fashion didn’t require corsets the way that Gilded Age fashion did because of where the waistline was in the fashionable dresses. Regency dresses were empire waisted, just below the breasts, so they wore stays to support the breasts but the stays did very little slimming of the waist because the skirt goes straight down from the empire waistline to create a column-like effect, so there was no natural waist definition.

In the Victorian era that followed, the waist fell back to the natural waistline and that’s when we start seeing tight lacing corsets to create super small waists. Then they did a complete 180 and wore large hoop skirts and larger sleeves with wide necklines to create the hourglass figure and give the illusion of a really small waist when compared to the larger top and bottom of the dresses. The Gilded Age came at the end of the Victorian era, so the natural waist was still defined, but tight lacing wasn’t as common and the bodices were designed to elongate the waist to make the torso look longer. Hoop skirts and crinoline started to fall out of fashion, but they still used bustles and petticoats to add some volume, especially at the back of the skirt.

The necklines aren’t the same either. Regency era had pretty low necklines to show off the breasts that were sitting high and the Gilded age’s were a little higher and wider and the breasts didn’t get pushed as high.

phoebe dynevor looks stunning but girl you’re literally on BRIDGERTON this was your MOMENT