Sexy Bustiers Perfect For Your Figure Now And Forever

Apr 13
15:03

2008

Mindy Cotterill

Mindy Cotterill

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Basques and bustiers are popular sexy costumes today. However, the history of these pieces provides an interesting look at lingerie through the ages. This article provides a brief guide to the history of both basques and bustiers.

mediaimage

Sexy costumes are beloved by many women today. The sensual basque and exotic bustier go from the bedroom to a night on the town,Sexy Bustiers Perfect For Your Figure Now And Forever Articles depending on the exact design. Both bustiers and basques have played an important part in history, although they have been adapted over the years. Provided here is a brief history of these sexy costumes.

Corsets

Corsets came into style in the 16th century as a way to sculpt the body into a more flattering shape. By the Victorian era, fashion dictated that women's waists should appear quite small. The Victorian corset was tightlaced, removing inches from the woman's waist. Far the sexy costumes that they would later become, however, Victorian corsets were simply undergarments. Girls began wearing corsets in childhood, and continued tightlacing throughout their lives.

Victorian corsets were longer than those of earlier eras, flaring over the hips and extending several inches down from the waist. This shape became extremely popular, and soon other clothing items adapted the shape.

Basques

Basques were originally Victorian-era jackets that mimicked the shape of the corset. The jackets were tightly fitted and extended past the hips, flaring out to accommodate a bustle.

Over time, fashions changed. Corsets began to fall out of favor in the 1910s, as the rational dress movement took over. Gradually bras and girdles took the place of the corset. Basques fell out of fashion as women stopped wearing bustles and waistlines crept upward.

Merry Widows

By the 1920s, traditional corsets were all but unheard of. The late 1940s, however, saw a revival of the corset. The corsets of the 1940s were known as merry widows, and were much shorter than traditional corsets. This was the first time that the garments were introduced specifically as sexy costumes.

Although merry widows were a brief phenomenon, their introduction set the stage for the use of basques and bustiers as sexy costumes. Women were beginning to enjoy their own sexuality, although it was still strictly behind closed doors.

The 1980s

By the 1980s, fetish wear was in. Following the freewheeling 1960s and 1970s, 1980s-era mainstream entertainers enjoyed nearly unprecedented freedom of expression. Trendsetters such as Madonna began the underwear-as-outwear craze. Sexy costumes escaped the bedroom and began to appear across the country.

Today's basques and bustiers are largely rooted in the fetish trends of the 1980s and 1990s. Largely modeled after Victorian-era corsetry, as well as the Victorian basque jacket, today's basques and bustiers range from mild to wild.

A supportive choice to wear underneath backless dresses, the strapless bustier is especially popular. However, more exotic bustier and basque choices are also available, including largely see-through pieces that are perfect for bedroom wear.

Today's bustiers and basques mirror the shapes of earlier corsets. However, they use modern materials to provide subtle body sculpting without compression. A blend of exotic, beautiful and functional uses ensures that these sexy costumes are here to stay.