Did women in ancient Rome wear corsets, and if so, what were they made of?
score:7
I suspect the short answer to this is that we do not know for sure. The reason for this is that the evidence we have for what the romans wore is not their actual physical clothes as over the period of time i doubt if any roman clothing intact has survived as throughout human history until industrialisation clothing was handmade and so expensive (relatively) and usually worn until it literally fell to pieces. We do have scraps and fragments (see here). So the evidence for clothes is usually statues, mosaics and any wall paintings that survive such as those at Pompei of Herculaneum as well as any writing on the subject that survives. The case against was that Roman clothing was quite simple and sophisticated tailoring was not employed so the construction of a corset as such is unlikely. It is possible that individuals may have "bound" themselves with bandages as rudimentary device, but they would then hardly have this made into a statue to put in a public place. The only possible source of material could be Roman erotic art, of which there is a lot although some of it still partially suppressed where you are seeing the Romans at leisure but this does not appear to yield corsetry.
Edit:- Someone has commented that i did not really answer the question but pointed to sources which is correct. At a distance of 2,000 years it would be hard to produce a definitive answer as evidence may yet be uncovered that would extend knowledge and reverse opinions.
However if i had to give an answer then i would say no, Roman women did not wear corsets. From all the evidence that we currently have in statues, writings, drawings, paintings, mosaics, graffiti etc. there is nothing to indicate a garment that was like a modern or victorian corset. It is also the case that Roman attitudes towards clothes and clothing, the state of tailoring and engineering would not lend themselves to the manufacture of such a garment. And before someone tells me the Romans were brilliant engineers then yes they but a corset is not an aqueduct, or a ballistae or poured concrete
More post
- 📝 Which names are correct? Mala vs Malka Zimetbaum and Edward vs Eduard Galinski?
- 📝 Why is King Henry V regarded as such a great King?
- 📝 Were the borders of British India deliberately poorly demarcated?
- 📝 Did Poland help Germany take Czechoslavakia before Germany invaded Poland?
- 📝 Date of Transatlantic crossing postcard
- 📝 Why is Crispus Attucks the one who gets all the attention?
- 📝 Is this Hitler's account of seemingly counterproductive British radio war propaganda true?
- 📝 Was there a bribery attempt by the UK to get the Ottomans to switch sides in World War I?
- 📝 What was the population of the Roman Empire?
- 📝 How was the Washington Naval Treaty enforced?
- 📝 Was Japan known to be a potential threat to the USA in the 10 year period prior to 1941
- 📝 Were naval mines an underutilized weapon in WW2?
- 📝 Which car was the first to come with a cigarette lighter receptacle?
- 📝 Did the Germans lose the U-Boat war in World war II because of a shortage of quality, rather than quantity?
- 📝 Who first called natural satellites "moons"?
- 📝 Was Pawiak prison in Warsaw originally for political or general prisoners?
- 📝 What (primary) sources are there on the life of female slaves in Classical Greece, more specifically Athens?
- 📝 Is it true that Spartan soldiers fought naked?
- 📝 Did a Jewish King of Narbonne exist?
- 📝 Was Carausius the grandfather of Magnus Maximus?
- 📝 What are some cases where a country bought land from another country, other than the United States?
- 📝 Why did Gandhi give the violent "Do or Die" slogan to the Quit India movement?
- 📝 How was reconnaissance performed in medieval warfare?
- 📝 Why did not Spain manage to keep any colonial possessions in the new world?
- 📝 Did the Gallic army besieged in Alesia conduct itself well when expecting relief?
- 📝 What is the earliest reference to King Arthur being raised by Sir Ector?
- 📝 Were there more robberies of "commercial" or "personal" nature in 19th century in USA?
- 📝 What is known about the origins of the "western given-name-first-surname-last system"?
- 📝 Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03: Why is there a Russian flag on the cover of the prominent newspaper 'Le Petit Parisien'?
- 📝 Does it make sense to mention months (and days) in any BCE date?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Did women in ancient Rome wear corsets, and if so, what were they made of?
- 📝 What were the Government Press Prosecutions of 1858 and why did they occur?
- 📝 Were there bows employed by tribes living in the desert, and if so, what were they made of?
- 📝 Did Ancient Romans use metal thimbles? What were they like?
- 📝 What irreplaceable manuscripts were lost in the burning of Jaffna Public Library and what history did they contain (and subsequently lost forever)?
- 📝 What was the main driver of conquest and wars in ancient times? Why were they so frequent?
- 📝 What is the evidence to claim that political order in ancient Rome was sufficiently different under "kingdom", "republic" and "empire"?
- 📝 What did Tacitus write about Nero and the Great Fire of Rome 64AD?
- 📝 Were bookshops 'common' in the late 19th century, and how did they differ from modern ones?
- 📝 What were Greek and Roman sails made from?
- 📝 What were the thoughts of the Celts, Romans and other ancient European people about the standing stones which survive from prehistoric times?
- 📝 What ships did pirates use in ancient Greece and Rome?
- 📝 For how long were freed slaves in Ancient Rome supposed to wear a Pileus hat?
- 📝 Did Spain and the Republic of China (Kuomintang) have diplomatic relations between 1931 and 1939? Were they friendly or unfriendly?
- 📝 What happened to the coins in ancient Greece and Rome when monarchs changed?
- 📝 What exactly were currours, and what were they used for?
- 📝 How did the US "Greek" fraternity system at universities arise and what is its relationship with ancient Greece?
- 📝 What universities existed in Dutch East Indies, and how available were they to the native population?
- 📝 What was the first instance of native Americans using gunpowder weapons in battle and did they ever make their own powder?
- 📝 Were there any well-established land trade routes in the US colonies around 1700? What did they look like?
- 📝 What specific changes were made to political ideologies around during and before World War I?
- 📝 Has anyone scanned ancient structures with x-rays or similar? And if so, were any major discoveries made by doing so?
- 📝 What did they call Gothic and Baroque architecture before the modern terms came into use?
- 📝 What were the limitations on possession of wealth in Soviet Russia and how were they enforced?
- 📝 What did ancient Romans wear when sleeping?
- 📝 What alternate north-south supply routes did the Soviet Union have when the Volga and Stalingrad were under attack?
- 📝 How did the news of the reality Nazi concentration camps reach the United State's mainstream? What were the waves of awareness and when?
- 📝 What sort of maps did the ancient Greeks make and distribute?
- 📝 How did early Judaism and Zoroastrianism influence each other, if they were so far apart?
- 📝 Why did European writers and artists continue to depict the Moors as being black skinned, even though they were mostly Berbers and Arabs