Loose in the Stays...
Women's undergarments, ships & sewing
I mentioned in my previous post that I want to share old blog posts of my sewing projects over the past ten or so years. At first I thought I’d just transfer them over as is, but I feel it would be more interesting to beef them up a little. So here is a combined post on some stays that I have made in the past.
Stays are a form of corset, a boned structure worn by women to give them the proper silhouette for the fashionable look of the era. Contrary to Hollywood portrayals, stays and corsets were not designed and made to subject women to discomfort, or to cinch their waists in too tight. A lot of ink has been spilled on this issue already, and several Youtube videos as well, so I’m not going to dive into this matter, but I did want to mention it.
There is an informative post by The Dreamstress that goes over the changing terminology of stays, jumps and corsets, and according to her, the term stays was used from about the early 17th century to the end of the 18th century. There are some suggestions for the etymology of the word, the most possible is that it came from the French word estayer, meaning to support.
Then one day, my husband Nick and I were listening to the rousing song, “Barrett’s Privateers” by Stan Rogers, and in one of the verses he sings, “she was broad and fat and loose in the stays” and I got very excited, wondering if the two terms were related, as I’d always heard that a “loose woman” referred to a prostitute whose stays or corset weren’t properly laced (which I think is incorrect, but I’m sure someone gave me this explanation when I was a teenager).
Until I was listening to this song, I hadn’t realized that at stay was a nautical term, being strong ropes or wires that steady the masts. This term, according to my dictionary, originates before 1150. The term for stays is much newer, so the steadying, supporting function of a nautical stay could have influenced the word choice of clothing stays.
Over the years, I have made three different stays (and am actually working on a 4th pair just now): Regency short stays, 18th century stays (good for 1770s or 1780s), transitional 1790s stays & the one I’m working on right now are the Regency short stays again.
The first Regency stays I made entirely by hand, as I didn’t have access to a sewing machine. I made them while I lived in Glasgow and was at school and used. The pattern I used is the same one I’m using again just now on my 2nd pair of Regency stays.
The subsequent stays I’ve made have all been sewn by hand as well. I find I really enjoy sewing by hand, and it is more historically accurate as well.
The third pair of stays I made, the transitional ones (pictured above) were probably my favorite to make. Working with the linen and the rushes for the boning was a really interesting and satisfying experience.
I did actually finish my second pair of Regency stays, but when I tried them on, they were too big - not because I’d lost any weight, I just must have measured them wrong. So I’m in the process of making them smaller, which is a difficult feat, as there are three separate layers of fabric sewn together that I’ve taken apart and will hopefully get back together in a way that will work! Wish me luck!
I have some Regency gowns, which I’ll feature in a later post. I’m hoping to finish my stays and wear them soon. It’s exciting to make historical clothing and to be able to wear them. I haven’t been sewing as much recently as I have in the past, but I’m hoping in the coming months to remedy that and dive into some new projects.
This is so fascinating. We just found out that there is a group that hosts a colonial ball quite close to where we live. Now 18th century costumes are on the bucket list. 😂 I was into historical outfits as a child - I think once was Dolly Madison for Halloween- but I’m not very good at sewing so I never got into it as a “hobby.” I love seeing the fruits of other peoples labor in that regard, and yours are really beautiful!
I am mesmerized, as I always am, by the pictures of your stays. Something gentle and quiet seems inherent in them, and you do look lovely in the photos. I am glad to see you "at work" again, and know how rewarding it will be to WEAR these, go about in them, and feel something beyond the here and now, which is real in this kind of effort. It seems you do excellent work. Bravo!!